Oman Geography - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and the UAE

Geographic coordinates

21 00 N, 57 00 E

Map references

Middle East

Area

total: 309,500 sq km

land: 309,500 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

twice the size of Georgia

Area comparison map

Land boundaries

total: 1,561 km

border countries (3): Saudi Arabia 658 km, UAE 609 km, Yemen 294 km

Coastline

2,092 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south

Terrain

central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south

Elevation

highest point: Jabal Shams 3,004 m

lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m

mean elevation: 310 m

Natural resources

petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas

Land use

agricultural land: 4.7% (2018 est.)

arable land: 0.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 4.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 0% (2018 est.)

other: 95.3% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

590 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

1.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Population distribution

the vast majority of the population is located in and around the Al Hagar Mountains in the north of the country; another smaller cluster is found around the city of Salalah in the far south; most of the country remains sparsely poplulated

Natural hazards

summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

consists of Oman proper and two northern exclaves, Musandam and Al Madhah; the former is a peninsula that occupies a strategic location adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil

NOTE: The information regarding Oman on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Oman 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Oman 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.