A report by the GCC Statistical Centre regarding ‘poverty eradication’ showed that GCC countries had crossed the international poverty line of $2.15 per day.
The Sultanate of Oman has achieved high levels of coverage of basic services provided to the population by about 100 per cent, the percentage of expenditure on these services has reached 25.4 per cent, and the daily per capita share for groups eligible for social security pensions has risen to $6.8 from the level of the international poverty line, which was set at $2.15 per day.
The percentage of the population covered by minimum limits benefiting from social protection systems in the Sultanate of Oman reached 4.8 per cent, according to the data monitoring progress in achieving sustainable development goals in 2030 in the GCC.
All GCC countries have crossed the threshold of international poverty line, and the GCC countries enjoy the presence of social protection systems that target a broad segment of society with limited incomes, the report said.
The lower-income groups in the society obtain special privileges, such as the right to own land without fee, obtain housing assistance such as loans, and direct ownership of housing units.
The average per capita share of social security pensions in Oman in 2019 was about $6.8 per day.
Data from the GCC countries indicate that the percentage of the population living above the international poverty line - less than $2.15 per day - is about 100 per cent.
For groups entitled to social security pensions, which are among the lowest-income groups in these countries, where the average daily income of these groups exceeds about $29 per day, which is about 13 times higher than the level of the international poverty line, and at the international level, the number of poor people living in poverty increased extreme in 2020, to range between 75 and 95 million people.
The data indicates a clear gap between the GCC countries in the percentage of the population covered by the minimum levels of social protection systems, which ranges between 0.7 per cent and 10 per cent of the population, and the Sultanate of Oman recorded 4.8 per cent of the population.
With regard to the indicator of the percentage of the population which can access basic services, it has reached about 100 per cent of all GCC countries in 2020.
The percentage of government spending on basic services in GCC countries ranged between 21.3 per cent and 37.3 per cent in 2021, it said. Spending on the agricultural sector is less than one per cent in all Gulf countries.
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