Expats population in Oman decreases

According to the latest numbers released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the number of expats in Oman has seen a decline by over 97,000.

This decline has been consistent over the last two months. As per the number, the sultanate’s population was 4,584,591 on July 10, which also included 2,581,390 Omanis and 2,003,201 expats.

This number increased to 4,592,759 as of June 30, which is an jump of 1,819,280, around 65 per cent over the over 2010 census when it was 2,773,479.

The population further jumped up by 2,251,944 (96 per cent) since 2003 census when population was at 2,340,815. At the end of April, the total population of Oman was 4,670,899 – which consisted of 2,569,994 Omanis and 2,100,905 expats.

As per the NCSI, the decline in the overall population over the two months is primarily because the expat population has fallen by 97,704 over the same period.

A United Nations initiative, the World Population Day is held every year on July 11 to bolster awareness about the rising world population. The agenda this year was to focus on family planning as one of the human rights.

“Tragically, reliable family planning methods are out of reach for hundreds of millions of people around the world.

“Many resort to unsafe, unreliable methods, some of which can be dangerous,” the United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) stated.

Dr Natalia Kanem, executive director, UNFPA, in a message said that family planning is not only a matter of human rights, it is also central to women’s empowerment, reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development. ‏

“Yet, in developing regions, some 214mn women still lack safe and effective family planning methods, for reasons ranging from lack of information or services to lack of support from their partners or communities. This threatens their ability to build a better future for themselves, their families and their communities,” she quipped.