The National Center for
Statistics and Information (NCSI) has released a study indicating the
strengthening of religious beliefs among its citizens. The number of Jamea
increased during 2016 to 1,419 and mosques to 14,367 during 2016 across the
nation, according to the data. There was an increase in
the number of schools and teaching centres for Holy Qur’an to 1,051. According
to the NCSI data, in 2016, the number of pilgrims reached 11,064, of whom 95%
were Omanis. While 6% of the pilgrims were youth in the 15-29 age group, the
elderly constituted 14% of the pilgrims. The number of religious
cadres in the Sultanate reached 5,050, while the number of preachers decreased
by 40% to 132, and the number of religious guides decreased by 7% to 1,130. The
numbers of imams and preachers rise by 0.8% to 3,703.
There was a considerable
increase in the number of visitors to museums in the Sultanate in 2016 compared
to 2015. The Museum of the Land of Frankincense witnessed a 15.5%
rise in the number of visitors to 117,744 compared to 2015. There were 91,166
visitors to Bait Al Zubair Museum (24% growth over 2015), while the Children’s
Museum saw a 26.8% rise in number of visitors to 24,883. The number of visitors
to the Museum of Natural History was down by 18.2% with the number at 15,011. The
number of visitors to the Museum of Sultan’s Armed Forces increased by 61% to
20,121 compared to 2015, according to the NCSI data.
The number of visitors
to the House of Baranda decreased by 1.3% to 7,690 visitors, and the number of
visitors to the Omani French Museum decreased by 9% to reach 3,032. Ghalya’s
Museum of Modern Art was visited by 2,279 visitors. The number of visitors
to Museum of Bidiya was 1,789.In 2016, three museums
were set up, namely the National Museum, which was visited by 11,991 people,
the Currency Museum, which received 585 visitors, and Al Saidia Education
School Museum, which was visited by 1,515 visitors.The number of visitors
to castles and forts in the Sultanate also saw an increase compared to the
previous year by 14% to 284,719.The number of craftspersons
has increased by 11% to reach 19,576, including 17,206 females, and 2,370 males,
according to the NCSI data.The number of reserved areas
reached 14 with 242 workers. There are three types of reserved areas in the
Sultanate: animal (three reserves with 23,681 visitors), plants (two reserves
with 2,020 visitors) and both animal and plants (Nine reserves with 600 visitors).
Overall, the percentage of visitors to reserved areas decreased by 31% in 2016
compared to 2015.With eight theatres, the
number of theatrical performances increased twice to 41 reaching 128,950
spectators, down by 2% in attendance compared to 2015.The number of paintings
and drawings decreased by 80% to 800, while the number of visitors to art
galleries decreased by 9% to reach 15,250. The number of Omani artists saw a
decline of 21% to 1,050.
The number of books
published in the Sultanate increased by 17% to 775 in 2016 of which 47% were on
education with 363 books. In the subjects of social
sciences, business and law there were 30 books and in humanities and arts
there were 25 books. In science there were 18 books, health and social service
there were 15 books, agriculture four books on agriculture and 320 books were
published on other subjects.
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