Oman

Economy - overview:
Oman is a middle-income economy that is heavily dependent on dwindling oil resources, but sustained high oil prices in recent years have helped build Oman’s budget and trade surpluses and foreign reserves. As a result of its dwindling oil resources, Oman is actively pursuing a development plan that focuses on diversification, industrialization, and privatization, with the objective of reducing the oil sector’s contribution to GDP to 9% by 2020. Some of these projects may be in jeopardy, however, because Muscat overestimated its ability to produce or secure the natural gas needed to power them. Oman actively seeks private foreign investors, especially in the industrial, information technology, tourism, and higher education fields. Industrial development plans focus on gas resources, metal manufacturing, petrochemicals, and international transshipment ports. The drop in oil prices and the global financial crisis in 2008 will affect Oman’s fiscal position and it may post a deficit in 2009 if oil prices stay low. In addition, the global credit crisis is slowing the pace of investment and development projects - a trend that probably will continue into 2009.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$67 billion (2008 est.)
$62.97 billion (2007)
$59.51 billion (2006)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$56.32 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
6.7% (2008 est.)
5.8% (2007 est.)
7.5% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$20,200 (2008 est.)
$19,600 (2007 est.)
$19,200 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.1%
industry: 37.2%
services: 60.7% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
920,000 (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Unemployment rate:
15% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Investment (gross fixed):
17.9% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $14.6 billion
expenditures: $16.7 billion (2009 est.)
Public debt:
2.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12.5% (2008 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
1.98% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
7.29% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$4.984 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$11.04 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$13.88 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$23.49 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish
Industries:
crude oil production and refining, natural and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production; construction, cement, copper, steel, chemicals, optic fiber
Industrial production growth rate:
3.4% (2008 est.)
Electricity - production:
14.43 billion kWh (2007)
Electricity - consumption:
11.19 billion kWh (2007)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
758,600 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption:
69,100 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
593,700 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - imports:
15,440 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
5.5 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
24.1 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
11 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
13.1 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
849.5 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
$5.669 billion (2008 est.)
Exports:
$33.9 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles
Exports - partners:
China 26.8%, South Korea 15.2%, Japan 14.3%, Thailand 10.4%, UAE 7.6%, US 4.3%, Iran 4.1% (2007)
Imports:
$13.32 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants
Imports - partners:
UAE 19.3%, Japan 17.6%, US 7.4%, Germany 5.2%, India 4.1% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$11.11 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external:
$6.12 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$NA
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA
Exchange rates:
Omani rials (OMR) per US dollar - 0.3845 (2008 est.), 0.3845 (2007), 0.3845 (2006), 0.3845 (2005), 0.3845 (2004)