About Oman

His Majesty
His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said was born in Salalah in Dhofar on 18th. November 1940. He spent his childhood in Salalah, where he was educated in Arabic language, Islamic foundation under the guidance of specialized teacher. In 1960 he was sent to a private educational establishment in England and then at the age of 20, he enrolled at the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy as an officer cadet.
After passing out of Sandhurst, he joined a British Infantry battalion on operational duty in Germany for one year, followed by a staff appointment with the British Army. After military service, he studied local government in England and successfully completed this specialized courses in administration and management affaires. Sultan Qaboos bin Said acceded to the throne on 23 July 1970. Right from the beginning, His Majesty started with a clear vision about the realities of the Omani communities and was fully aware of the internal & external issues which had gripped the country and was convinced of the need for swift action. Thereafter, he started developing proper plans to achieve modernization, better life for all classes of Omani communities and interacting with international bodies. He clearly define priorities and procedures for the uplift of the country. Within a short period of time, Oman became to be known as a modern country in the world and acquired its place amongst other countries.

Quotes

“We are devoting our attention. Come up with means, ways and projects to uplift our country’s economic status and provide employment for better life style for all citizens. We have foreseen the current status that we are in and known our importance in the region”
20th. November, 1974.


“Achieving integrated development at different areas and directions is the main goal and objectives. We can not live without achieving it. We built our country with continuous hard work and nationalism to uplift our status in the world.”
18th. November, 1991


“Today we ensure to move forward to achieve the strategic goal of our future vision that indicates clear achievements of uplifting the standard of living of all citizens, assurance of benefits from the development results and protecting, and taking care of national achievements and developments.”
18th November, 1999.

Geographic Location

The Sultanate of Oman occupies the south eastern quarter of the Arabian Peninsula between latitudes 16° 40' and 26° 20' north and longitudes 51° 50' and 59° 40' east. Its coast stretches to a distance of ( 3,165 ) km from the most south eastern point where the Arabian sea and the entrance for Indian Ocean exist, then the Sea of Oman to end by the Strait of Hormuz in Musandam in the north, overlooking three seas, the Arabian Gulf , the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Oman borders the Republic of Yemen to the South West, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the west and the UAE to the north & west.

Administrative Divisions

The Sultanate is divided administratively into Eleven governorates, Muscat, Dhofar, Musandam, Al Buraymi, Ad Dakhliyah, Al Batinah North, Al Batinah South, Ash Sharqiyah South, Ash Sharqiyah North, Adh Dhahirah and Al Wusta.

Each governorate or region has one or more regional center. The total number of regional centers is 12, One regional center in each of Muscat, Musnadam and Dhofar Governorates, Adh Dhahirah and Ad Daklhliyah Regions and two regional centers in each of Al Batinah, Ash Sharqiyah and Al Wusta Regions.
These governorates and regions are divided into 60 wilayats and each wilayat has one wilayat center, so there are 6 centers in Muscat Governorate, 12 in Al Batinah Region, 4 in Musandam Governorate,3 in Adh Dhahirah Region,8 in Ad Daklhliyah, 11 in Ash Shraqiyah Region,4 in Al Wusta Region, 10 in Dhofar Governorate and 3 in Al Buraymi Governorate.