Capital: Muscat

IDD: +968

Area: The Sultanate encompasses an area of 300,000 sq km.

Population: 3.10 million (2006 figures). Around 2.0 million are Omani nationals. The remaining are expatriates from India, Pakistan, Asia, other Arab countries, Europe and USA.

Religion: Islam, predominantly Ibadhi sect

Language: Official language is Arabic. Other languages spoken include Urdu, Swahili and Baluchi. English is widely spoken and along with Arabic is the common business language. Most hotel staff speak German and French as well.

Time: GMT +4 Hours

Currency: Omani Rial (RO). 1 Omani Rial is divided into 1000 Baizas. Currency notes are available in denominations of RO 50, 20, 10,5, 1 and 100, 200, 500 Baizas.
1 RO ~ 0.388 US $ (Approx)

Government: Monarchy with a provisional legislature (the Majlis Ash Shura)
Head of State: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said

Government: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said is Head of State and rules by decree. He is assisted by a cabinet of ministers, Diwan of the Royal Court (the central body of bureaucratic affairs), and the Majlis Ash Shura, a body of representatives elected by the populace.

Major Industries: Oil, natural gas, agriculture and fishing

Airports: Seeb International Airport, 40 km from Muscat city centre is the primary gateway to Oman. It serves many international airlines such as British Airways, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Swiss, Emirates, Air India and Pakistan International Airlines. The national carrier is Oman Air, which flies to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Qatar, Egypt, and Jordan and also has domestic flights to Salalah, Masirah Island and Musandam. Oman has an airport in the South at Salalah, primarily catering to domestic flights.

Best time to visit: The best time of the year to visit Oman is between October and April, when the weather is pleasantly warm in the day and cool in the evening. Temperature averages at 25-35 degrees centigrade during the day and dips to 17-19 degrees centigrade at night.
 
Culture: Like all the Arab countries, Arab Islamic culture dominates the lifestyle in the Sultanate.
 
Working Hours: Ministries and government establishments - 7:30am to 2:30pm (Sat-Wed, week-end is Thursday and Friday)
Private sector companies - 8:00am to 1:00pm; 4:00pm to 7:00pm (Saturday-Wednesday) 8:00am to 1:00pm on Thursdays.

Markets: 8:00am to 1:00pm, 4:00pm to 9:00pm.

Banks: 8:00am to 12 noon.

Timings differ during Ramadan. Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, is the ninth month on the Islamic calendar, which is a lunar calendar. Every year Ramadan shifts back about ten days on the western solar calendar. In the year 2007 Ramadan will begin in the first week of September. Restaurants and other eateries are closed during daylight hours during Ramadan.
Shopping hours: Shopping establishments are open from 9am to 1pm and 4pm to 9pm. Department stores, supermarkets and shopping complexes are open throughout the day during Ramadan from 9am to 10pm, with a short lunch break all through the week, except Fridays. These timings could vary with different shops.