Muscat: Despite a fall in the total number of people in the Sultanate, the percentage of Omanis is nearing the 60 per cent mark, the latest statistics reveal.
As of June 26, this year, according to data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the number of Omanis reached 2,718,665, taking the highest share of 59.30 per cent of the total population.
With the number of expatriates reduced to 40.70 per cent to reach 1,864,442, the total population in the Sultanate now stands at 4,583,107.
However, data from the recent months show that there has not been any increase in the Omani population in any of the governorates except Al Wusta where the number of nationals witnessed an upturn with a 3.09 per cent.
The local population in the governorate reached an all-time high of 25,633 in May 2020 and a record low of 13,650 in 1993.
The difference, according to experts, is mainly due to the drop in the expatriate workers who have been leaving the country for different reasons.
“With the opening of a large number of new projects in the Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm, hundreds of Omani youth are migrating to the township as they find jobs there”, said Khalid al Balushi, a human resource expert.
According to him, the new opportunities coupled with the Omanisation policy have aided to the growth in the number of citizens living in the governorate.
The population pyramid in the Sultanate shows that youth and children below the age of 29 years comprise the largest segment of Omanis representing 64 per cent and children younger than five years below 15 per cent mark.
The figures released by the NCSI show that Muscat Governorate has the highest number of citizens (572,682) followed by Al Batinah North with 531,361 registering a fall of 1.27 and 0.97 per cent, respectively.
Muscat Governorate has the highest population density among the governorates of the Sultanate as there are more than 355 persons every one kilometre. Al Wusta, however, has the least density, as there is one every one kilometre.
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