Oman At A Glance

Oman at a Glance

The Sultanate of Oman lies in the extreme south-east corner of the Arabian Peninsula between 16.4o N and 26.2 o N latitudes and 51.5 o E and 59.4 o E longitudes. Oman is bordered on the West by Saudi Arabia and the Empty Quarter, on the North by the United Arab Emirates, on the south by Yemen and on the East by the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The Sultanate is distinguished by its strategic location as it controlled from this location the oldest and most important sea routes in the world, namely the sea route between the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. It is from this location caravan routes continued across the Arabian peninsula to connect the west, east, north and south.

Today in the modern world, Oman controls the Strait of Hormuz that takes special significance given the fact that more than 60 percent of the world's oil exports flow through this narrow passage. Oman's total land area is around 309,500 square kilometers and it is the second largest country in the Arabian peninsula.