The Sultanate’s population increased by about 978,000 people during the period between mid-2012 to mid-2018 to reach 4.6 million people.

According to the Population Statistics Bulletin recently issued by the National Centre for Statistic and Information (NCSI), the rate of change among Omanis was 23.3%.

Based on the mid-2018 data, the NCSI population statistic bulletin shows that the gender-wise population structure for Omanis for 2018 was almost equal, with 50.4% for males and 49.6% for females.

It also shows that two-thirds of the Omani population (64%) consisted of youth and those under the age of 29, while the category of children under 5 made up 15% of the Omani population.

Gender wise, the statistic bulletin revealed that in the age group of 65 and above, for 100 females, there are 92 males, with a slight difference in the age group between 15 and 64 years, which was about 101 males against 100 females.

The dependency rate among Omani population for the period under review reaches 71 dependents for every 100 working-age persons, with 63.7% for every 100 persons that are dependent children and about 7.1 per every 100 persons that are dependents of elder people who are in the working-age group.

According to the Population Watch, the population of Oman is increasing every hour by about 8 Omani people.

The Population Statistics Bulletin also shows that the Governorate of Muscat is the highest in terms of population density, with 364 inhabitants per square kilometer followed by the Governorate of Al Batinah North, Al Batinah South and Al Sharqiya South, reaching about 96, 80 and 26 inhabitants per square kilometer, respectively.

The Governorates of Dhofar and Al Wusta, which make up 59% of the Sultanate’s area, are home to only 11% of the Sultanate's population, with a population density of about 6 persons per square kilometer.