From the coastline,
which is more than 2,100 km (1,300 mi.) long, a coastal plain
up to 19 km (12 mi.) wide extends to a range of hills, which give
way to a plateau with an average altitude of 305 m (1,000 ft).
The mountainous north central area, the Hajar, reaches 3,035 m
(9,957 ft) at Mount Al-Sham in the Al-Akhdar Mountains. Except
for the highest parts of the Hajar, Most of the hills are barren,
and the plateau is cultivable only at oases. The extreme southwestern
province of Dhofar, however, is very fertile.
The
population is mostly Arab, (Population of 1.9 million)
with the exception of about 0.4 million expatriate workers (mostly
Indian and Pakistani, Brits, Lebanese, Sudanese, Jordanians, Palestinians,
Sri Lankans, Filipinos), who constitute more than half of the
salaried labour force
The
chief cities are MUSCAT, the capital and main port: Sohar, the
boat building center of Sur, Nizwah and the second largest city
in Oman, Salalah in the Dhofar region bordering Yemen. (info from
:Revi Nair: Salalah looks exactly like Kerala village, even tender
green coconuts are available on streets)
In
1965, Oman had only three primary schools and one 12-bed hospital,
but education and health-care facilities have increased dramatically
since 1970. Sultan Qaboos University was opened in 1986. Oman's
economy is based on petroleum, which accounts for the bulk of
its exports. Since 1970, petroleum revenues have been used to
build roads and housing, provide electricity, expand irrigation,
develop manufacturing, and modernize the fishing industry.
A majority of the population is engaged in subsistence farming,
although water shortages hamper agriculture and less than 1% of
the land currently is under cultivation.
Salary variations across Nationalities differ even for the same
profile and experience : besides as in most Gulf states, expat
westerners generally get more the average salary for the same
job than an Asian employee.
