Sultan, prime minister, foreign minister: Qaboos Bin Said Al Said
President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Population
3,090,150
65,630,692
Life Expectancy
74.470 years
81.460 years
Capital City
Muscat
Paris
Largest city
Muscat (population: 797,000)
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Human Development Index
0.839
0.955
GDP per capita
$26,900 US
$35,600 US
Literacy Rate
81.4%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
5.5
6.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
9.1%
19.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
15.000%
9.300%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
monarchy
republic
Independence date
1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese)
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
Religions
Ibadhi Muslim 75%, other (includes Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu) 25%
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Languages
Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Exports
petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
External Debt
$9,054,000,000 $
$5,633,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Omani rials (OMR) per US dollar - 0.3845 (2008 est.), 0.3845 (2007), 0.3845 (2006), 0.3845 (2005), 0.3845 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
11.400%
2.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
40
Location
Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Area
309,500 km sq
643,801 km sq
Coastline
2,092 km
0 km
Climate
dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south
