Oman is one of the world’s youngest countries, with almost half the population under the age of 25. The rest of the population is overwhelmingly of working age, with 44 per cent aged between 25 and 54, and only seven per cent (around 250,000 people) aged over 55.
This lean towards youth is a key reason for Oman’s remarkably low death rate – only 3.3 deaths per 1,000 people each year (only fellow Gulf nations Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE are lower) – and explains why the country’s population is growing at two per cent every year, despite having a negative immigration rate.
Regardless, nearly half of Oman’s roughly five million population is made up of immigrants, primarily from south Asian nations such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.