General Info
 
 Area: 309,500 sq km
 Population: 2.4 million
 Capital city: Muscat (population 380,000)
 People: Arab, Asian, African, Baluchi
 Languages: Arabic (official), English, Farsi, Baluchi, Urdu
 Religion: Muslim
 Government: Sultanate
 Head of State: H.M. Sultan Qaboos bin Said
 

Location
The Sultanate of Oman is situated on the southeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula and is located between Latitudes 16° 40' and 26° 20' North and Longitudes 51° 50' and 59° 40' East.
The coastline extends 1,700 Km from the Strait of Hormuz in the north, to the borders of the Republic of Yemen in the south and overlooks three seas: the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
The Sultanate borders Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the West; the United Arab Emirates in the Northeast, the Republic of Yemen in the South; the Strait of Hormuz in the North and the Arabian Sea in the East.
The Musandam Peninsula forms the country's northern tip, and is separated from the rest of the Sultanate by United Arab Emirates' eastern coast and includes the only coast the Sultanate has on the Arabian Gulf.
Musandam is just over 50 Km (30 miles) south of the Islamic Republic of Iran across the Strait of Hormuz.
The total land area is around 309,500 Km2 and it is the third largest country in the Arabian Peninsula.

Climate
The varied geography of the Sultanate resulted in a wide variety of climatic conditions. Although lying in the tropics, th Sultanate is subject to seasonal changes like the more temperate regions of the world.
The hottest months are June through August. The summer monsoon just touches the southern coast of Dhofar during these months bringing regular light rain to Salalah and reducing the average daytime highs to 30° C.
The most pleasant months to visit Oman are mid October through March when daytime temperatures fall into the lower 30s and below.
Rainfall varies but in general remains sparse and irregular. In the south most of the year's rainfall occurs during the summer monsoon months. In the north the opposite occurs. Here most rain comes from occasional winter storms which descend out of the eastern Mediterranean during the months of January through March, depositing an annual average of 10 cm of rain on the capital area.

 Economy
  Oman enjoys a stable political, economic, and social system, which is enhanced by the excellent relationships between the Sultanate and neighboring countries. His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos, encourages market-orientated policies and private sector development as the mechanism for prosperity and growth.
 Commercial export of oil began in 1967 and since Sultan Qaboos' accession to the throne in 1970, many more oil fields have been found and developed. In June 1999, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) discovered a new oil field in southern Oman after drilling and testing three wells which demonstrated the commercial viability of the reservoir. This is the most significant find in five years. There is currently only one oil refinery in the Sultanate, which is located at Mina al Fahal. Plans are now underway to build a refinery at Sohar with an associated polypropylene programme. The Sohar Refinery is expected to produce 75,000 barrels/day. The basic engineering design has been finished and completion of the whole project is anticipated for the end of 2003, with beneficial operation achieved in early 2004.
 Since the slump in oil prices in 1998/99, Oman has made active plans to diversify its economy and is placing a greater emphasis on other areas of industry, such as tourism and liquid natural gas. Oman's Basic Statute of the State expresses in Article 11, that, "The National Economy is based on justice and the principles of a free economy."
 The Vision Conference: Oman 2020, held in June 1995, has developed the following aims with regard to securing Oman's future prosperity and growth:
 • To have economic and financial stability
 • To reshape the role of the Government in the economy and to broaden private sector participation
 • To diversify the economic base and sources of national income
 • To globalise the Omani economy
 • To upgrade the skills of the Omani workforce and develop human resources