The Sultanate of Oman is located between Yemen and the United
Arab Emirates bordering the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and
the Persian Gulf. It has a total area of 212,460 square kilometers.
Omans total population is estimated at 2,713,462, including
527,078 non-nationals (July 2002 estimate). It is a multi-ethnic
society made up of Arabs, Baluchis, Africans and South Asians
(Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and Bangladeshis). Population
growth is 3.4 percent, one of the highest in the Arab world.
The political system is monarchical, the Sultan being both head
of state and chief of government. In November 1996, Sultan Qabus
bin Sa`id al-Sa`id issued a royal decree promulgating a new basic
law which, among other things, clarified the royal succession,
provided for a prime minister, barred ministers from holding
interests in companies doing business with the government, and
established a bicameral legislature that guarantees basic civil
liberties for Omani citizens. The legal system is based on English
common law and Islamic shari`a. The majority of Omanis are Ibadi
Muslims. Some are Sunni and Shi`ite as are foreign nationals
who also include Hindus. Arabic is the official language, although
English, Baluchi, Urdu, and a number of South Asian languages
are also spoken. Economically, Oman has a GDP per capita $8,200
(2002 est.). Its main industry is crude oil production and refining.
It also has a small agricultural sector and copper mining. It
trades primarily with South and Southeast Asia.
Al-Bab.com (http://www.al-bab.com/arab/countries/oman.htm)
Provides a quick briefing via links to other sites including information on travel and cites recent publications about Oman
Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development (http://www.arabfund.org/)
Search for information on projects funded throughout the Arab world.
Arab German Consulting (http://www.arab.de/oman.htm)
Major portal site on the Arab countries. Includes up-to-date information on the government, history, economy, education systems.
Arab Net (http://www.arab.net/oman/index.html)
It is a major Arab website that contains information on the government, history, geography, business, culture, transport, tourism of each country, and provides links to other relevant websites.
CIA -- The World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mu.html)
An annual publication of the CIA, contains up-to-date information on all aspects of the political, social and military history of a particular country.
Country Reports about ... (http://www.countryreports.org/country.aspx?countryid=184&countryName=Oman)
Offers links to sites about many countries by such subjects as government, the military, economy, the weather, etc.
Development Gateway Country Overview(http://home.developmentgateway.org/cg/countrygateways/country.do~country=om~iso3=OMN)
“The Development Gateway helps communities, organizations, and individuals build partnerships, share ideas, and work together to reduce poverty.” Search by development projects as well as by country to identify additional web sites and documents.
Encyclopedia.com (http://www.encyclopedia.com/SearchResults.aspx?Q=oman)
From the Electronic Library, searching the Encyclopedia.com by country provides numerous narrative articles on its history, culture, politics.
Fares.net (http://www.fares.net)
Site includes a directory and a list of sites on a wide range of subjects including tourism, entertainment, culture, the media, news and business in English and Arabic. Search under the name of the country.
The Gulf / 2000 Project - SIPA - Columbia
University (http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/)
This site was developed by the Gulf/2000 Project at the School of International
and Public Affairs of Columbia University in New York City. It is designed to
make available in a single location a wealth of information on the eight countries
of the Persian Gulf region--Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
and the United Arab Emirates. Click on a flag above to visit one of these countries.
Infoplease (http://www.infoplease.com/)
Part of the electronic Learning Network, this homepage allows searches by country which yield articles in almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical works, etc. Additional reference links are provided as well.
Islamic Calendar Converter (http://www.oriold.unizh.ch/static/hegira.html)
This English language website not only converts the present Gregorian date, in common use in the West, to its modern Hijra equivalent (in common use in the Islamic World), it also provides a mechanism, based on software developed by Waleed A. Muhanna, to convert all past dates from Gregorian-Hijra or Hijra-Gregorian.
Islamic Web Directory (http://www.islamicfinder.org/cityPrayer.php?country=oman)
Important portal on Islam that includes information on Islamic texts, law, banking, culture, mosques, healthcare, history, art and culture and much more. It can be searched by country.
Library of Congresss. Virtual Reference Shelf (http://www.loc.gov/rr/askalib/virtualref.html)
The Library of Congress has mounted this useful site on its home page to give scholars and researchers access to common online sources which are excellent for initial stages of research. These online tools are organized by subject and format, e.g., "Almanacs and Fast Facts," "Directories," "Libraries," etc.
Lonely Planet - Destinations (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/middle-east/oman)
Search by country to find information on travel, attractions, history, culture, and environment. of that location.
Middle
East – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (http://www.carnegieendowment.org/programs/global/index.cfm?fa=proj&id=107&proj=zme)
The main feature of the Carnegie Arabic Web Portal is the Arabic-language version
of the Arab Reform Bulletin, an online monthly journal on the latest political
reform developments from Arab and Western perspectives. Also included are
Arabic translations of select Carnegie Papers, commentaries on the Middle
East and related subjects such as nuclear nonproliferation, as well as writings
originally published in Arabic.
Ministry of Information (http://www.omanet.om)
The site of the Ministry of Information of Oman includes information on the history, geography, culture, business, sports and exhibitions in the country. Local news are also updated regularly.
Oman: general reference (http://www.oman.org/referenc.htm)
This page leads to general information on the Sultanate of Oman.
Oman Web Directory (http://directory-oman.com/index.htm)
An online web directory service that has local and regional news, links to business and industries, White and Yellow pages, as well as search engines and links to other websites.
OneWorld.net (http://bibpurl.oclc.org/web/2124)
Searchable by country, regions and topics. Includes current headlines and special reports.
Search Engine (http://www.4arabs.com/links/Countries/Oman/)
Important Search engine on the Arab world. Search by country.
US Embassy in Muscat (http://oman.usembassy.gov/)
This site includes information on consular services in Oman, special events, Foreign Service exam dates, Muslim life in America, articles on topics of international interest and much more.
United Nations (http://www.unodc.org/egypt/en/country_profile_oman.html)
The official site of the United Nations provides articles, reports, etc. in several languages on all aspects of the initiatives and mission of that organization as well as on the contemporary life, culture, society, international relations, etc. of all the countries and peoples of the world.
United Nations ReliefWeb (http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc104?OpenForm&rc=3&cc=omn)
“ReliefWeb is a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)... serving the information
needs of the humanitarian relief community” Offers news updates to crisis
situations around the world and includes information about refugee camps and
other relief efforts.
United States. Agency for International Development. Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) (http://www.dec.org/)
“The purpose of the DEC is to strengthen USAID's development projects, activities, and programs by making ... development experience documents available to USAID offices and mission staff, PVO's, NGO's, universities and research institutions, developing countries, and the public worldwide.”
United States. Library of Congress Country Studies (http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/omtoc.html)
A series published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Studies Handbook Program sponsored by the Department of the Army.
University of Texas Middle East Website (http://menic.utexas.edu/Countries_and_Regions/Oman/)
Excellent website on the government, politics, news and media, education and the social sciences in the Middle East
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