Oman Country Overview
Oman also is known as The Sultanate of Oman is a middle eastern country which shares land borders with the United Arab Emirates to the north, Saudi Arabia to the west and Yemen to the south. Oman is located on the southern-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula.
Oman General Information:
Capital: Muscat
Language: Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Swahili, Urdu, Indian dialects
Religion: Muslim 85.9%, Christian 6.5%, Hindu 5.5%, Buddhist 0.8%, Jewish <0.1%, other 1%, unaffiliated 0.2% (2010 est.)
Currency: Omani Rial
Cryptocurrency: Oman has yet to recognise cryptocurrency. Given that the value of cryptocurrency is volatile and subject to change, it is hard to determine a stable benchmark.
The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) board has even issued a warning to the general public against investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
GMT: (+) 2
The oldest independent state in the Arab world, Oman is one of the more traditional countries in the Gulf region. The country has so far been spared the militant Islamist violence that has plagued some of its neighbours, but has had political issues.
About Oman
Oman also is known as The Sultanate of Oman is a middle eastern country which shares land borders with the United Arab Emirates to the north, Saudi Arabia to the west and Yemen to the south. Oman is located on the southern-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. The capital of Oman is Muscat and its official language is Arabic while English is the second most widely spoken language. Oman has a population of 4.9 million making it the 122nd populated country. The official religion is Islam, where the majority of the population follows Ibadi Islam and the minority follow Sunni Islam or Shi’a Islam.
The ruler of Oman is His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said who took over from this father Said Bin Taimur in a bloodless coup in 1970 with the help of the British. After the coup Sultan Qaboos Bin Said brought major changes to the country as by 1980 363 schools were built, 12,000km of road was built and 28 hospitals were built. However, till this date, there is no freedom of the press. Oman has an absolute monarchy and the laws reflect this. Article 29,30 and 31 of the Basic Law allows for freedom of expression of the press but limits the material that leads to “public discord, violates the security of the state, or abuses a person’s dignity or rights”. Oman’s 1984 Press and Publications Law is one of the most restrictive statutes of its kind in the Arab world and ensures that the media remain censored and subdued. Oman ranks 132 on the Reporters without borders index and ranked 127th in 2018. This restrictive nature of the press in Oman is reflected on the closure of the Azamn newspaper. It was initially shut down in August 2016 and permanently closed with a Supreme Court ruling in October 2017.
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