Demographics of Oman

Demographics of the population of Oman include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.
About 50% of the population in Oman lives in Muscat and the Batinah coastal plain northwest of the capital; about 200,000 live in the Dhofar Governorate; and about 30,000 live in the remote Musandam Peninsula on the Strait of Hormuz.
Since 1970, the government has given high priority to education in order to develop a domestic work force, which the government considers a vital factor in the country's economic and social progress. In 1986, Oman's first university, Sultan Qaboos University, opened. Other post secondary institutions include a law school, technical college, banking institute, teachers' training college, and health sciences institute. Some 200 scholarships are awarded each year for study abroad.
Nine private colleges exist, providing two-year post secondary diplomas. Since 1999, the government has embarked on reforms in higher education designed to meet the needs of a growing population. Under the reformed system, four public regional universities were created, and incentives are provided by the government to promote the upgrading of the existing nine private colleges and the creation of other degree-granting private colleges.

Population

UN estimates

	Total population	Population aged 0–14	Population aged 15–64	Population aged 65+
1950	456	42.3	54.6	3.0
1955	501	43.6	53.2	3.2
1960	557	44.6	52.1	3.2
1965	631	45.6	51.2	3.3
1970	732	46.4	50.4	3.2
1975	898	46.1	50.9	3.0
1980	1 181	45.6	51.8	2.6
1985	1 539	46.0	51.6	2.4
1990	1 868	45.6	52.1	2.3
1995	2 232	40.3	57.5	2.2
2000	2 264	36.7	60.8	2.5
2005	2 430	32.1	65.1	2.8
2010	2 782	27.2	70.3	2.5
2015	4 321	32.1	65.1	2.8
2020	5 106	27.2	70.3	2.5

Structure of the population

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	1 971 115	1 202 802	3 173 917	100
0-4	139 614	132 530	272 144	8.57
5-9	124 776	120 250	245 026	7.72
10-14	129 964	124 646	254 610	8.02
15-19	145 215	139 611	284 826	8.97
20-24	238 483	148 965	387 448	12.21
25-29	327 686	147 717	475 403	14.98
30-34	247 107	120 429	367 536	11.58
35-39	192 483	79 617	272 100	8.57
40-44	149 090	58 112	207 202	6.53
45-49	103 908	41 522	145 430	4.58
50-54	83 057	30 530	113 587	3.58
55-59	40 488	19 402	59 890	1.89
60-64	23 538	16 192	39 730	1.25
65-69	11 811	9 000	20 811	0.66
70-74	7 721	7 212	14 933	0.47
75-79	3 303	3 514	6 817	0.21
80+	2 871	3 553	6 424	0.20
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	394 354	377 426	771 780	24.32
15-64	1 551 055	802 097	2 353 152	74.14
65+	25 706	23 279	48 985	1.54

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2 332 687	1 290 314	3 623 001	100
0-4	164 406	158 435	322 841	8.91
5-9	132 469	127 235	259 704	7.17
10-14	111 287	105 301	216 588	5.98
15-19	128 311	119 875	248 186	6.85
20-24	262 201	147 485	409 686	11.31
25-29	438 633	160 772	599 405	16.54
30-34	335 104	131 241	466 345	12.87
35-39	234 343	96 312	330 655	9.13
40-44	177 171	63 301	240 472	6.64
45-49	122 574	47 241	169 815	4.69
50-54	89 917	39 602	129 519	3.57
55-59	56 448	28 380	84 828	2.34
60-64	28 338	20 629	48 967	1.35
65-69	17 199	15 561	32 760	0.90
70-74	13 925	12 439	26 364	0.73
75-79	9 475	7 373	16 848	0,47
80+	10 882	9 113	19 995	0.55
unknown	4	19	23	<0.01
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	408 162	390 971	799 133	22.06
15-64	1 873 040	854 838	2 727 878	75.29
65+	51 481	44 486	95 967	2.65

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	2 739 954	1 731 194	4 471 148	100
0–4	225 585	217 574	443 159	9.91
5–9	214 408	205 923	420 331	9.40
10–14	164 249	158 269	322 518	7.21
15–19	128 650	123 805	252 455	5.65
20–24	178 099	126 838	304 937	6.82
25–29	364 479	167 905	532 384	11.91
30–34	426 671	185 002	611 673	13.68
35–39	355 022	159 996	515 018	11.52
40–44	245 069	122 600	367 669	8.22
45–49	162 792	78 866	241 658	5.40
50–54	107 609	52 247	159 856	3.58
55–59	67 579	39 990	107 569	2.41
60–64	43 899	32 405	76 304	1.71
65-69	21 548	21 790	43 338	0.97
70-74	14 117	15 524	29 641	0.66
75-79	9 414	10 427	19 841	0.44
80-84	6 369	6 459	12 828	0.29
85-89	2 813	3 176	5 989	0.13
90-94	1 066	1 462	2 528	0.06
95-99	319	597	916	0.02
100+	197	339	536	0.01
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	604 242	581 766	1 186 008	26.53
15–64	2 079 869	1 089 654	3 169 523	70.89
65+	55 843	59 774	115 617	2.59

Vital statistics

Registered births and deaths

Year	Population	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Rate of natural increase	TFR
2006	2,577,062	49,494	5,484	44,010	19.2	2.1	17.1	2.660
2007	2,743,499	52,500	6,810	45,690	19.1	2.5	16.6	2.589
2008	2,867,428	58,250	7,415	50,835	20.3	2.6	17.7	2.607
2009	3,173,917	64,735	7,098	57,637	20.4	2.2	18.2	2.669
2010	2,773,479	65,528	6,974	58,554	23.3	2.7	20.6	2.974
2011	3,295,298	67,922	7,667	60,255	20.6	2.3	18.3	2.853
2012	3,623,001	72,867	7,884	64,983	20.1	2.2	17.9	2.818
2013	3,855,206	79,417	7,669	71,748	20.6	2.0	18.6	2.882
2014	3,992,893	82,981	7,819	75,162	21.9	2.0	19.9	2.900
2015	4,159,102	86,286	8,167	78,119	19.3	2.0	17.3	2.903
2016	4,414,051	88,346	8,828	79,518	20.0	2.0	18.0	2.888
2017	4,559,963	90,371	8,861	81,510	20.5	1.9	18.6	2.895
2018	4,601,706	89,071	8,979	80,092	19.4	1.9	17.5	2.858
2019	4,617,927	86,819	8,581	78,238	18.8	1.9	16.9	2.689
2020	4,481,042	84,405	10,589	73,816	18.8	2.4	16.4	2.664
2021	4,527,446	82,224	12,649	69,575	18.2	2.8	15.4	2.604
2022	4,933,850	77,628	10,035	67,593	15.7	2.0	13.7	2.305
2023	5,165,602	71,107	8,982	62,125	13.8	1.7	12.0	2.010
2024	5,268,072	70,209	9,264	60,945	13.3	1.8	11.5	1.913
2025	5,359,557	69,445	9,388	60,057	13.0	1.8	11.2

Ethnic groups

According to the CIA, Oman's population chiefly consists of Omani Arabs, with a small minority having Balochi descent. South Asians are common due to migrants and foreign workers, with an African and Afro-Arab minority.
Omani society is largely tribal. Oman has three known types of identities. Two of these identities are 'tribalism' and 'Ibadism'; the third identity is linked to 'maritime trade'. The first two identities are widespread in the interior of Oman; these identities are closely tied to tradition, as a result of lengthy periods of isolation. The third identity, which pertains to Muscat and the coastal areas of Oman, is an identity that has become embodied in business and trade. The third identity is generally seen to be more open and tolerant towards others. Thus, tension between socio-cultural groups in Omani society exists. More important is the existence of social inequality between these three groups. Gwadar, a region of Balochistan in Pakistan, was a Colony of Oman for more than a century. In 1958, Pakistan bought Gwadar from Oman for US$22.4 million, and hence many Omanis have Baloch descent.

Languages

Languages commonly spoken in Oman include Arabic, Bangla, English, Hindi, Malayalam, Balochi, Swahili, Urdu, Sindhi, Gujarati, Jadgali, Achomi, Shehri, Tamil and other Indian languages

Religion

The religious affiliations in Oman in 2021 according to the CIA World Factbook were Islam 85.9%, Christianity 6.5%, Hindu 5.5%, Buddhist 0.8%, Other 1%, Unaffiliated 0.2%.
Omani citizens are predominantly Muslim. Proportionally 47% are Sunni Muslims, 35% are Ibadi Muslims and 6% Shia Muslims.

Migration

Immigration

Because of the combination of a relatively small local Omani population and a fast-growing oil-driven economy, Oman has attracted many migrants. At the 2014 census the total immigrant population was 1,789,000 or 43.7% of the population. Most migrants are males from India, Bangladesh or Pakistan. Female migrant workers are mainly from Indonesia, the Philippines or Sri Lanka. Migrants from Arab countries account for 68,986 migrants and other Asian countries for 12,939 migrants. There were 8,541 migrants from Europe, 1,540 from the United States and 15,565 from other countries.

Emigration

Today several thousand Omani-born people have emigrated abroad. The figures are shown below.

Country

Omani population

Foreign residents

The Gulf Labour Markets and Migration Research Centre established that 45% of the population had a foreign background in 2017.