The average monthly income of households in the Sultanate of Oman has recorded an increase by 21.5% to reach RO 1,173, compared to the results of survey in 2011, when it was only RO 965, according to the results of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The results of the survey, which started on October 20, 2018, was carried out by the Sultanate for the fourth time. The survey, implemented by NCSI and conducted among 5,660 Omani and expatriate households, indicated that the monthly average income of Omani households reached RO 1,552, while the average income of expatriate households reached RO 668. The results showed that wages and salaries were the main source of income of 83% of the Omani households, which is a drop from 87% in 2011 to 78% in 2019. The survey pointed out that the percentage of pension bursaries, which 15% of Omani households depend on, recorded an increase by 15%, compared to 5.5% in 2011. The percentage of transfers and other sources of income also increased to 2.6%, compared to 1.2% in 2011. The result also showed that the percentage of private projects and own account worker declined from 4.3% to 3.3%, despite an increase in the average income from private projects from RO 838 to RO 1,234. Meanwhile, income from properties also declined from 2% to 1.1%. The results also showed that 91.2% of Omani households own a house, compared to 87.6% in the 2011 survey. The percentage of Omani households living in villas also increased to 56.8%, compared to 36.9% in the survey of 2011, while the percentage of households living in Arab-style houses declined to 36.6%, compared to 56% in 2011. The percentage of expatriate households living in rented houses increased to 68.5%, compared to 49.4% in 2011, while expatriates living in staff accommodations recorded a decline by 30.9%, compared to 49.9% in the 2011 survey.

With regard to the proximity of residence to public services, the results indicated that a large percentage of households enjoy public services at a distance of less than 5 kilometers from home. Meanwhile, the proximity to paved roads was 100% in urban areas and 96.9% in villages. The proximity to primary schools reached 94.6% in urban areas and 72.9% in villages, while the proximity to commercial shopping centers reached 99.3% in urban areas and 83.9% in villages. The proximity to hospitals and health centers reached 88.8% in urban areas and 51.9% in villages. According to the results, a large percentage of urban households enjoy public services at a distance of less than one kilometer from their homes, recording 99% proximity to paved roads, 64% proximity to primary schools, 93% proximity to commercial shops, and 45% proximity to a health center or hospital. As much as 50.6% of households use bottled drinking water in urban areas, while the percentage of households depending on water network has increased to 72.2%, compared to 68.9% in the result of 2011 survey. The percentage of households depending on governmental water point also increased to 15.5%, compared to 10.3% in the result of 2011 survey. The percentage of households depending on a private well inside or outside their house has declined to 8.4% and 3.7%, respectively, compared to 11.4% and 8.4% in the result of 2011 survey. The percentage of households that depend on other water sources declined to 0.2% compared to 0.9 in the result of 2011 survey. Regarding household expenditure in the Sultanate, the expenses for food and drink accounted for 24.6% (23.4% in urban areas and 28.8% in villages), which is less than the expenditure for the same purpose in the result of 2011 survey, which reached 29% (26% in urban areas and 34.3% in villages). 

The percentage increases in villages, due to an increase in the size of households by about 1.2 persons, compared to households in urban areas. The average consumption of food and drinks by Omani households reached 25.3%, with an average expenditure of RO 587, compared to RO 657.7 in the 2011 survey, which is a drop by 31.1%. Regarding the percentage of monthly consumption of food and drink among households, the consumption of meat and poultry was up from 18.6% in 2011 survey to 20.7% in 2019. Those depending on restaurants for meals increased from 15.8% to 16.2%. The consumption of fish increased from 7.2% to 7.5%, oils and fats from 2.1% to 2.2% and other products from 3.9% to 5.3%. The results also showed that the consumption of cereals and their products declined from 12.5% to 12.3%, while the consumption of vegetables and legumes decreased from 10.4% to 8.2%. The consumption of dairy products and eggs declined from 10% to 9.8%, fruits from 9.2% to 8.5%, non-alcoholic drinks from 6.5% to 5.9%, and sugar and honey from 3.9% to 3.3%.

In non-food and drink category, the average monthly expenditure recorded an increase housing by 27.2%, compared to 26% in 2011. The average spending on transportation rise from 20.7% to 21.1%, while the average spending on household supplies rise from 8.3% to 11.8%. The average monthly expenses for clothes and shoes accounted for 10.1%, decreased from 10.4%, while the spending of the households on communication services decreased from 12.3% to 9.5%. The spending on personal care was recorded at 6.4%, which is the same as in the results of 2011 survey.

The average monthly expenditure on education and culture decreased to 5.9% compared to 7.3% as in the results of 2011 survey; and travel and tourism costs reached 4.1% compared to 4.6% in 2011. The average medical expenses increased to 2%, compared to 1.8% in 2011, while the average consumption of other goods and products increased to 2.2%, compared to 1.8% in the results of 2011 survey.