Oman hits zero poverty as SDG progress gains pace

Muscat: Oman has eliminated extreme poverty and achieved near-universal access to electricity, safe drinking water, and essential healthcare, marking a major milestone in its pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a new national report.

The SDG Statistical Report — May 2025, issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), confirms that zero per cent of the population lives below the international poverty line of $1.25 per day — a target met well ahead of the 2030 deadline.

Average monthly household income was reported at RO 1,174, with per capita income at RO 234. Meanwhile, maternal mortality fell to 17.1 per 100,000 live births and under-five child deaths to 11 per 1,000, in line with global benchmarks.

In education, Oman maintained a 95.6 per cent primary school completion rate, with literacy among adults reaching 97.9 per cent. However, gender gaps persist in post-basic education, with 74 per cent of females completing compared to 50.4 per cent of males.

The report also highlighted growth in clean energy: renewables now account for 4 per cent of final energy consumption, up from zero in 2020, following the launch of the Ibri solar plant.

Public spending on education represented 15 per cent of government expenditure in 2023, while social protection coverage reached 36.9 per cent, supported by the rollout of the new Social Protection Fund.

Oman has also reduced disaster-related deaths to 0.06 per 100,000 and achieved 100 per cent wastewater treatment, reinforcing its resilience strategy.

The report indicates that 72 per cent of SDG indicators now have national data, with continued alignment between Oman’s development policies and the targets of Oman Vision 2040.

Titled, ‘Progress Towards the Sustainable Development Goals,’ the May 2025 report uses inputs from more than 50 international and regional organizations to assess progress made since 2015 against the global SDG indicator framework. It finds that the world is on track to meet or is making “moderate” progress on 35 per cent of the 137 SDG targets with available data. It also shows that progress on 47 per cent of the targets is insufficient, and 18 per cent of the targets have regressed from the 2015 baseline. The report “reaffirms the imperative to intensify efforts to reverse these trends” in the five years that remain until the 2030 deadline.