Oman overview
Filed under Asia and more precisely Western Asia, Oman is a sovereign state. The long form of the name is Sultanate of Oman. Muscat is the capital.
Around 5.3 million people live there, placing it 124th of 249 by population — between New Zealand above it and Mauritania below. Within Western Asia alone it is the 5th largest of 17 and the 12th most populous.
By land area it covers 309,500 km², which ranks it 73rd of the 249 countries and territories in this dataset — just behind Poland and just ahead of Italy. Put next to a country most people can picture, it is almost exactly the same size as Poland.
Oman and its neighbours, side by side
Oman has 3 land neighbours, and together they hold 86,869,844 people — about 16 times Oman's own population. Sharing a frontier with that much weight on the other side shapes trade, migration and language in ways the map alone does not show.
| Neighbour | Population | Area (km²) | vs Oman by area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 35,300,280 | 2,149,690 | 6.9× larger |
| Yemen | 40,583,164 | 527,968 | 1.7× larger |
| United Arab Emirates | 10,986,400 | 83,600 | 3.7× smaller |
By area the largest neighbour is Saudi Arabia and the smallest is United Arab Emirates; by population Yemen is the heaviest presence on the border. Taken together the neighbours hold more people than Oman does, which is the usual situation for a country with several borders and rarely a comfortable one.
Oman at a glance
- Capital
- Muscat
- Population
- 5,281,538
- Area
- 309,500 km²
- Region
- Western Asia, Asia
- Languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- Omani rial (OMR)
- Calling code
- +968
- Internet TLD
- .om
- People per km²
- 17
Where Oman is and what surrounds it
The coordinates the dataset gives are 21.0° N, 57.0° E, which puts it in the northern hemisphere, roughly 2,338 km from the equator, in what geographers would call tropical latitudes.
The Tropic of Cancer passes across it. Mexico, Mauritania and Myanmar sit at almost exactly the same latitude on other parts of the globe.
3 countries share a land border with it: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The largest of them by area is Saudi Arabia, while the most populous is Yemen. Together those neighbours hold about 86.9 million people.
Unlike its landlocked neighbours it reaches the sea directly, while also sharing land frontiers.
Where Oman is on the map
The map below is centred on Oman at roughly 21.00°, 57.00°. Pan and zoom to see how it sits against its surroundings — the shape of a country's borders explains a surprising amount about its history.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Population, density and language
Spread across 309,500 km², that works out at about 17 people per square kilometre, which makes it less crowded than the typical entry on this list. For comparison, the median entry on this list sits near 91 per square kilometre.
Someone from Oman is an Omani.
Arabic is the only official language. Arabic is one of the widely shared official languages here, listed by 24 other entries including Algeria, Bahrain, Chad and the Comoros.
Inside Asia it places 39th of 50 by population, and it accounts for 1.7% of everyone living in Western Asia.
Money and language in Oman
The Omani rial (OMR) is used only in Oman among the 249 entries on this site. Its own currency is one of the clearest markers of an economy that sets its own monetary policy rather than importing somebody else's.
Language reaches wider still. Arabic is listed for 25 entries here, Oman among them, so a visitor who speaks it can be understood across a large part of the map. Shared language tends to outlive the empires, trade routes and migrations that spread it, which is why the linguistic map and the political one rarely line up.
Oman within Western Asia
Zoom in from the world to Western Asia and Oman sits 12th of 17 by population and 5th by area. Its immediate company in that ordering is Palestine just above and Kuwait just below, which is a more honest comparison set than a global league table.
Türkiye is the largest of the group by population, and every entry in Western Asia has its own page here if you want to work through the whole neighbourhood rather than one country at a time.
How big is Oman, really?
Put next to every other entry on this site, Oman ranks 73rd of 249 by area and 124th by population. That works out at 0.21% of the combined land area of all 249 entries and 0.065% of their combined population. Those denominators matter: this list includes territories and dependencies as well as UN member states, so a rank here is not the same as a rank among sovereign countries.
For a sense of scale, the entries immediately either side of Oman in the size ordering are Poland at 312,679 km² and Italy at 301,336 km², against Oman's 309,500 km². If you can already picture one of those, you can picture this one.
Density tells a different story from either raw figure. Oman averages 17 people per square kilometre of total area, which makes it thinly settled by global standards — 212th of the 247 entries that have both a population and a measured area. Total area includes inland water, so the true figure for habitable land is higher than this.
Currency and codes
Money there is the Omani rial (ر.ع., OMR). It is issued for Oman alone.
Muscat is the seat of government and the answer most quizzes are looking for.
Websites there use the .om domain. The international dialling code is +968. Standard country codes: om and OMN.
Oman is one of the 192 UN member states in this dataset. The other 57 entries are territories, dependencies or observers, which is why totals on this site run to 249 rather than the familiar 195.
Oman codes and abbreviations
Every country carries a small set of codes that quietly run the practical world — phone networks, web addresses, passports, luggage tags and dropdown menus. Here are Oman's, and what each one is actually for.
- Calling code+968
- Dial +968 after your international access code to reach a number in Oman.
- Internet domain.om
- .om is the country-code top-level domain, so a web address ending in it is registered to Oman.
- ISO two-letter codeom
- Used on vehicle plates, in currency pairs and in almost every dropdown list of countries.
- ISO three-letter codeOMN
- The form you will see on passports, at airports and in sports scoreboards.
- DemonymOmani
- The correct word for a person from Oman, and for the adjective form.
Fun facts about Oman
- In land area it is almost exactly the same size as Poland.
- Within Western Asia it is the 5th largest of 17.
- Websites based there use the .om domain.
- It is 124th of 249 by population, with about 5.3 million residents.
- It lies about 2,338 km from the equator, in tropical latitudes.
- People from Oman are known as Omanis.
- Arabic is official here and in 24 other entries worldwide.
Oman — frequently asked questions
- What is the capital of Oman?
- The capital of Oman is Muscat.
- Which countries border Oman?
- Oman borders 3 countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Saudi Arabia is the largest of them by area.
- How big is Oman?
- Oman covers 309,500 km², ranking 73rd of 249 by land area. That makes it almost exactly the same size as Poland.
- What is the population of Oman?
- Oman has a population of about 5.3 million, which makes it the 124th most populous of the 249 countries and territories listed on this site. New Zealand sits just above it and Mauritania just below.
- Is Oman a country?
- Yes. Oman is a sovereign state and one of the 192 UN members listed on this site.
- What currency does Oman use?
- Oman uses the Omani rial, written ر.ع. (currency code OMR). No other entry in this dataset uses it.
- What language is spoken in Oman?
- The official language of Oman is Arabic. It is also official in 24 other entries on this list.
- Where is Oman located?
- Oman is in Western Asia, part of Asia. Its reference coordinates are 21.0° north and 57.0° east, roughly 2,338 km from the equator in tropical latitudes.
