Fact Sheet

Area: 309,500 Km2.
Population (2005):  2,509,000 inluding 666,000 expatriates.
Language: Arabic (official), English (widely spoken), German & French (most hotel staff).
Capital: City of Muscat.
Natural Resources: Petroleum, Natural Gas, Copper, Fishery, Agriculture.
Local Time: GMT +4. 
Currency: Omani Rial, which equates to $ 2.58.
Business Hours Government:
Private Sector: 07:30 - 14:30.
08:00 - 13:00 then 16:00 to 19:00. 
Shopping Hours: 09:00 - 013:00 then 16:30 - 24:00.
Electricity: 220 - 240 Volts at 50 cycles.

Geography

Location:

The Sultanate of Oman occupies the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula and lies between latitudes 16° 40' and 26° 20' north, and longitudes 51° 50' and 59° 40' east.
The total area is approximately 309,500 km2 and it is the third largest country in the Arabian Peninsula.

Oman’s coastline extends 3,165 km from the Strait of Hormuz in the north, to the borders of the Republic of Yemen in the south and shares its coast with three seas: the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It also comprises a number of islands off the coast, among them the islands of Masirah, Halanyat and Salama.

The Sultanate borders the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the west, the United Arab Emirates in the northeast, the Republic of Yemen in the southwest, the Strait of Hormuz in the north and the Arabian Sea in the east. The Musandam Peninsula forms the country's northern tip. It is the only coast the Sultanate has on the Arabian Gulf and is just over 50 km south of the Islamic Republic of Iran across the Strait of Hormuz.

Climate:

The varied geography of Oman has resulted in a wide variety of climatic conditions. Although lying in the tropics, the Sultanate is subject to seasonal changes like the more temperate regions of the world.

During the winter it is cool and pleasant, but summer on the coast is hot and humid. The interior remains hot and dry, except for the mountains where temperatures can drop drastically at night.

The hottest months are June through August but on the southern coast of Dhofar the monsoons bring light but persistent rain, resulting in a cool and misty summer. Rainfall varies but in general remains sparse and irregular. In the south, most of the year's rainfall occurs during the summer monsoon months. In the north, the opposite occurs.

Here most rain comes from occasional winter storms which descend out of the eastern Mediterranean during the months of January through March, depositing an annual average of 10 cm of rain on the capital area.