Oil rich yet plagued with high unemployment, Oman has announced plans to spend an additional $1 billion to create jobs for its citizens over the next 12 months.
According to Reuters, the Arab state had reported earlier this month that government revenues surged 35 percent from a year earlier to 7.37 billion rials ($19.1 billion) in the first six months of this year, because of higher-than-anticipated oil prices and sharper growth in gas revenue.
Oman’s economy is 60.7% services, 37.2% industry and 2.1% agriculture. It is one of the least farmable countries in the world, with only 0.12% of the land used for arable farming.
Oman industry sectors include crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production; construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals and optic fiber. Oman’s industrial production growth rate was estimated at 3.4 percent in 2008 and stayed the same in 2009.
Since the 1970’s, Oman has had a distinguished turnaround in the overall structure of their economy when Sultan Qabus came into power and a foundation of a modern economy was outlined. The growth plan focused on oil export, agriculture and trade – as well as nonexistent infrastructure. In the early 70’s substantial progress was made in developing roads, a new deep-water port, an international airport, power plants, schools, hospitals, and low-cost housing.
Oman’s key strategic challenge is that its oil reserves are dwindling, and it therefore must diversify its economy.
By 2020, it is aiming to have only 9% of GDP driven by oil.
Oman ranks 65th out of 183 countries in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index for 2009. Omani exports have good access to international markets, especially in comparison to its region and income group. Oil accounted for about 70 percent of Oman’s export revenues over the last decade. Therefore, Oman benefited from the high oil prices in 2008, which peaked at US$147 per barrel in July.
Oman is a country in the Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE and measures 309,500 sq km in size. Oman’s population as of 2010 stands at 2.981 Million.
Oman has traditionally relied on Gulf & Indian Ocean sea trade, supplemented by fishing and basic agriculture. In the 18th century the sultanate of Oman signed the first of series of agreements with the United Kingdom. Although it became closer and more dependant on the UK, it was never a colony in the British Empire.
