The data issued by the National Centre for Statistics & Information showed a significant increase of 46.8 percent in the total number of micro, small and medium enterprises registered with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority of the Sultanate of Oman by the end of July 2022, reaching 81,460 enterprises, as compared to 55,491 enterprises during the same period in 2021.

Dhofar Governorate recorded the highest growth of 84.0 percent in the number of SMEs as of July 2022, followed by Musandam Governorate with a growth rate of 70.7 percent; Al Wusta came third with a growth rate of 66.8 percent, while Adh Dhahirah recorded the lowest growth rate of 32.0 percent by the end of July 2022.

Statistics indicated that Muscat governorate is home to majority of SMEs as 33.6 percent of SMEs registered are based in Muscat, followed by Al Batinah North Governorate, which houses 15.3 percent of the total registered SMEs in the Sultanate of Oman and Ad Dakhliyah Governorate came third with 11.1 percent. Musandam Governorate accounted for the lowest percentage of small and medium enterprises in the Sultanate by the end of July, with only 0.5 percent of SMEs located in this governorate.