MEPC provides free, highly acclaimed, non-partisan workshops on the Middle East and Islam across the U.S. Our education director Barbara Petzen will come to your school, organization or conference with innovative strategies for teaching these complex topics. We tailor workshops to your specific needs
Arab Culture & Civilization
Explore this exemplary library of articles and resources on Arab societies and culture. This site was originally created by the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE).
Oman has prospered over the last decades because of its strategic position on the Arabian Peninsula at the mouth of the Gulf of Oman and because of its progressive approach towards both the economy and politics. Its position on the Gulf has allowed it to trade easily with other countries on the rim of the Indian Ocean. Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said has ruled Oman since he overthrew his father in 1970. He has pursued a modernization program that has led in particular to a moderate, independent foreign policy that has stressed good relations with all of the country’s neighbors. In 1996 he issued a royal degree that provides for “a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens.”
Oman has an extremely young population; 42% of the population is 14 and under. (The average is 5 children per family.) As a result of dwindling oil reserves that will see revenue from oil shrink to 9% of GDP by 2020, the country is pursuing a plan of diversification, industrialization, and privatization. The sultan is also attempting to replace foreign workers with local workers.
Education: Free public schools consist of primary level of six years, lower secondary level of three years, and upper secondary level of three years. Most teachers (60 percent) foreign.
Health: Improvement and expansion of health care facilities major ongoing government priority. In 1994 infant mortality estimated at thirty-seven per 1,000. In 1994 life expectancy at birth sixty-eight years on average, with sixty-six years for males and seventy years for females.
Ethnic Groups: Most Omanis are Arabs, although numerous citizens of non-Arab African origin. Foreign community includes Egyptians, Pakistanis, Indians, and others.
Population The population of Oman in 2009 was estimated by the United Nations at 3,418,08 which placed it as number 134 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2003 approximately 2% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 35% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 135 males for every 100 females in the country in 2003. According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2000–2005 is 2.93%, with the projected population for the year 2015 at 3,908,000. The population density in 2002 was 12 per sq km (31 per sq mi). The greatest concentrations are around Muscat and on the Batinah coast; together, they have more than half the population.
It was estimated by the Population Reference Bureau that 84% of the population lived in urban areas in 2001. The capital city, Muscat, had a population of 887,000 in that year. Salalah is the principal town of the south. According to the United Nations, the urban population growth rate for 2000–2005 was 4.4%. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Oman-POPULATION.html
This page on Oman from the Al-Bab website provides several pages on cultural information. Pages include books, economy, history, internet, media, news, politics, and travel.
This website provides information on Omani music, instruments, gallery, dance, and rhythms. There are several music clips for listening or there is an option to download the full song.
This website provides information on several museums in Oman. Included are the Museum of Omani Heritage, the National Museum, the Children’s museum, the National History Museum, and the PDO Planetarium.
