Demography of Omani Society: Lecture 5

• Lecture 5 covers demography of Omani Society
• The lecture contains information about:
• Definition of demography and its components
• Development of demographic characteristics
• Demographic indicators and human development
• Population challenges and ways to confront them

Demographic Indicators and Human Development

• The population issue has evolved from a quantitative concern to a threat to human security regarding food, energy, and fresh water
• A society's level on the human development scale is determined by achievements within the demographic indicators framework
• The most important demographic indicators is discussed with available data, and then present them in light of the determinants of human development

Human Development

• In terms of content, it is human development
• In terms of outcome, it is the development for human beings
• In terms of tool, it is the development by human beings

Demographic Indicators

• Demographic indicators include:
• Population growth
• Population distribution
• Population composition
• Education
• Labor force

Population of Oman

• In January 31, 2023, the population was 4,962,758 with a 1.84% growth rate in 2022
• The birth rate was 22.11 births/1,000 population and the death rate was 3.23 deaths/1,000 population for 2022
• The life expectancy was 76.9 years
• Male: 74.96 years
• Female: 78.93 years
• The fertility rate was 2.7 children born/woman in 2022
• The infant mortality rate was 14.45 deaths/1,000 live births
• The net migration rate was -0.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population in 2022

Age Structure

• 0-14 years: 26.53%
• 15-64 years: 70.88%
• 65 and over: 2.59%

Sex Ratio

• Total: 1.17 male(s)/female (2022)
• At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

Ethnic Groups

• Oman has great ethnic diversity
• Ethnic groups include:
• Arabs
• Swahilis
• Iranian Lur peoples
• Hindus
• Mahra tribes
• Iranian Baluchis who are the largest non-Arab race
• There are nearly 600,000 foreigners, mostly workers from Egypt, India, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Bangladesh
• In 2024, there were 1.1 million Indian and Bangladeshi expatriates

Language

• Arabic is the official language and primary teaching language in Oman
• Arabic dialects spoken vary by region
• Some dialects are similar to those in Arab Gulf countries
• Other groups speak ancient Arabic especially in mountainous regions
• English, Persian, Urdu and Swahili are also spoken
• Those born in Zanzibar and East Africa may speak Swahili
• Some South Asian languages are also spoken

Age structure Table

• This table shows the age composition of Oman
• 0-14 years: 586,608 males, 558,770 females, 29.88% of population
• 15-64 years: 1,404,289 males, 1,132,250 females, 66.17% of population
• Greater than 65: 70,976 males, 80,572 females, 3.95% of population
• The median age in Oman is 29.5 years (2024)

Unemployment Rate

• The unemployment rate in Oman reached 4% by the end of August 2024, compared to 4.9% last July

Education Level

• There was a decline in the rate of job seekers with a bachelor's degree, reaching 8.6% by the end of August
• There was a decline in the rate of job seekers with a higher education diploma, reaching 10.2% by the end of August 2024
• There was a decrease in the rate of job seekers with a general education diploma or equivalent to 6.7% by the end of August 2024
• The rate of job seekers with a master's or doctorate degree reached 0.7% by the end of August
• The rate of job seekers with qualifications below a general education diploma declined to 1.1% by the end of August 2024
• Statistics indicated the job seeker rate in Dhofar Governorate was 3.5% and and Muscat Governorate 1.8%

Population Growth

• Statistics have recorded a decline in the average annual population growth rate
• 1.4% in the eighties
• 3.2% in the nineties
• Reached approximately 1.5% at the beginning of the twenty-first century
• This is due to:
• The spread of education which led to an increase in the average age of marriage for girls
• A decrease in birth rates
• Official and civil efforts related to national population policy programs, the birth spacing program, and reproductive health
• Changes to expatriates, especially from 1993-2003

Population Distribution

• There has been relative stability in governorates and regions over the past two decades
• More than half of the population is in Muscat Governorate and Al Batinah Region
• Just over a fifth of the population is in the Eastern, Ad Dakhiliyah, Ad Dhahirah and Dhofar regions
• Al Wusta Region and Musandam Governorate are the least populated, with a share not exceeding 2.2%

Population Composition

• Omani society is characterized by a stable gender ratio
• The 1993 census saw an expansion in the category of young people and reached 51.6%
• This category decreased in the 2003 census to 40.6%, but remains somewhat high
• This is linked to the dependency rate burdens the state and the Omani family in providing various means of care
• The decrease of the under 15 age group was linked to an increase in the adult category (15-64)
• In 1993, this age group was 45.4%, and in 2003 it increased to 56.2%

Education

• Education indicators reflect the modernity of the educational renaissance that began in 1970
• The spread of education in Oman is costly, given the population spread over a wide area with difficult terrain
• Achieved important indicators include:
• A significant decrease in the illiteracy rate from 41.2% in 1993, to 22% in 2003
• A convergence occurred between the share of males and females in the levels of basic education and general education
• The share of females increased by more than half in higher education
• The rate of pre-university education increased from 66.8% in 1993 to 73.6% in 2003
• There was an increase in post-basic education outputs compared to those completing higher education stages

Labor Force

• The national labor force is working to dominate the Omani labor market in the face of a high percentage of expatriate labor force
• Omani participation in the labor market has increased from 38.6% in 1993 to 50.7% in 2003
• Projections indicate continued growth
• The youth category predominates in the Omani labor force by more than 79%
• These are the total national labor force in the age group less than 45 years
• There is the beginning of entry of the national labor force into the specialized and administrative professions sector at various levels
• A significant increase in the rate of participation of Omani women in the labor market from 6.8% in 1993 to 22.2% in 2003
• It is expected that the increase in economic participation of women will majorly increase the growth rates of the labor force
• Projections indicate an expected increase in the supply of Omani labor, and the efforts needed to provide new opportunities
• The goal is to replace expatriate labor with Omani labor

General Demographics

• The population of Oman is 5,281,538
• Most Omanis are ethnically Arab
• Omanis from the Arabian Peninsula
• Omani Arabs have a higher-than-average rate of African ancestry
• Around 1.1 million Indian and Bangladeshi expatriates
• This group makes up one of the largest foreign populations.

Fertility in Oman

• A Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1 is needed represents the Replacement-Level Fertility
• Replacement-Level Fertility represents the average number of children per woman
• A value below 2.1 will cause the native population to decline

Other Stats.

• Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.5 Live birth per women (2024)
• Both sexes in Oman 80.2 year life expectancy combine

Infant Mortality

• Infant Mortality and Deaths under age of 5 is 8.3 deaths per 1,000 live births
• The Death rate under Age is 10.1 of 1,000 live births

Urban Population

• Oman contains 92.8% of Urban Population and has about(4,900,404 people in 2024)

Pop. Density

• The 2024 density in Oman has about 17 people per Km^2 (44 people per mi^2) on 309,500(119,499 sq. miles.)

Largest Cities

• Muscat which consists of 797,000
• and others like Seeb (470,878) as well as Bawshar (383,257)