​The (NCSI) has issued a booklet on the features of development, which has detailed indicators and information about the development process in the Sultanate. This publication is part of NCSI's belief in the growing importance of economic and social statistics for the use of all segments of the society, including experts, analysts, officials of government and private sector institutions, in general, and planners, in particular.

These statistics show that the population of the Sultanate by the end of 2017 has reached 4,560 million of which 2,505 million are Omanis and 2,055,000 are expatriates. This is an increase by over 4,414 million people at the end of 2016; of whom Omanis were, 2,428 million and 1,986 million were expatriates. Population density increased by the end of 2017 to 15 per square kilometer compared to 14 per square kilometer at the end of 2016. The sex ratio was stable at 189 males per 100 females.  The number of planned land plots by the end of 2017 increased to 73,091 plots, and the number of plots distributed reached 362,902. This is an increase compared to the number in 2016, when there were 63,640 planned plots of land and 36,811 plots distributed.  The number of building permits by the end of 2017 was 29,714, which is a decrease from 38,306 permits at the end of 2016.  In the agriculture and fisheries sector, the number of farms owned by the farmers increased to 3,446 in 2017 from 2,399 farms at the end of 2016. The area of cultivated land was 1,504 hectares. The amount of fish caught by traditional fishermen reached 343,926 tons in 2017 compared to 277,014 tons by the end of 2016. In the health sector, in 2017, with the addition of two private hospitals and a one-health centre, the Ministry of Health had 76 hospitals, 184 health centers, 23 health complexes, 6,697 beds, 9,130 doctors and 19,942 nursing staff.

In the education sector, the number of government schools in the Sultanate reached 1,808 schools, with 770,481 students and 69,427 teachers, with an average of 11 students per teacher.  The total electricity output by the end of 2017 increased to 35,673 gigawatts per hour from 33,600 gigawatt hours per hour in 2016. This also led to an increase in the distribution to 32,349 gigawatts hours per hour compared with 30,359 gigawatts hours per hour. The number of electricity connections reached 1,147,000. Total water production also increased by the end of 2017 to reach to 401 million cubic meters compared to 378 million cubic meters in 2016. The distribution also increased to 275 million cubic meters compared to 245 million cubic meters in previous year. The number of water connections reached 558,000.  In the transport and communications sector, the length of paved roads by the end of 2017 was about 37,718 kilometers, while the number of fixed telephone lines reached 497,716. The total number of mobile phone users was 6,943,910, and users of internet were 351,335.

In terms of the economic situation, the Gross Domestic Product at current prices rose by 27% to reach OR 216,400,000 by the end of 2017. Total government revenues also increased to RO 8,514,100,000, of which oil and gas revenues were 72.9%. The total government spending decreased to OR 12,273,700,000. The average daily production of oil was 970.6 million barrels, while the average price per barrel was US$ 51.3. The total value of goods exports was RO 12,652 billion, of which RO 3.176 billion were non-oil exports of Omani origin. The total value of merchandise imports recorded was RO 10.164 billion. With regard to the labor force in the Sultanate, the number of civil services employees was 232,000, while the number of Omanis enrolled in the Public Authority for Social Insurance was 238,688, and the total number of expatriate workers was 1,796,000. About the social services sector, the booklet showed that the number of cases benefiting from housing assistance was 242, with a total value of OR 5,765,765 riyals Omani. The number of social security beneficiaries also reached 79,487, with the total value of OR 122,946,000.  The total number of new marriage documents issued by the notaries was 22,284. Similarly, 3,867 divorce documents were issued by it.  The number of mosques, grand mosques and Eid al-Fitr prayer grounds reached 16,004, while the number of Omani women Association units reached 64, with 6,138 members. The number of sports complexes was 10 and 44 sports clubs.  In the tourism sector, the total number of hotels and accommodation facilities reached 359, while hotel revenues reached OR 236 million. Similarly, the number of gardens and parks reached 326. For the full bulletin of Development at Glance, log on to the website of the NCSI

For more information for "Glimpses of Development", please visit the website for the National Centre for Statistics and Information www.ncsi.gov.om.