Muscat:
The Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat) confirmed that the Sultanate of Oman has achieved numerous milestones in its efforts to enhance sustainable development, strengthening the GCC’s indicators in achieving sustainable development goals.
The Centre highlighted that Oman’s development journey continues with steady progress toward the goals set by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik – may Allah protect and preserve him – with the sustainable development goals aligning with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040, ensuring a balanced approach that meets present needs while achieving future aspirations.
In celebration of the Oman’s 54th National Day, the Centre stated that the statistics and data reflect the significant achievements in the Sultanate of Oman. Among these achievements, 100 per cent of the population lives in households that can access basic services, 99.8 per cent of the population benefits from safely managed drinking water services, 100 per cent of the population has access to electricity, and 99.9 per cent of births occur under medical supervision.Additionally, 100 per cent of urban solid waste is regularly collected and adequately disposed of.
In the economic sector, the Sultanate of Oman has made notable progress according to statistical indicators. The annual growth rate of real GDP per capita reached 1.5 per cent, while total government expenditure in 2023 amounted to $30.185 billion. The contribution of the non-oil sector to GDP at current prices was 64.2 per cent, and the per capita GDP was $21.1 thousand. Furthermore, the Sultanate of Oman successfully controlled inflation, which stood at 0.9 per cent.
The Sultanate of Oman has strengthened its position at the forefront of many global and Arab indicators, ranking first globally in the 2024 Cybersecurity Readiness Index, second globally in the proportion of science and engineering graduates to total graduates in 2023, and eighth globally in the 2023 Quality of Life Index. The Sultanate of Oman also ranked ninth globally in government spending per student.
Regionally, the Sultanate of Oman ranked first in the Arab world in the 2023 Renewable Energy Regulation Index, second in the 2024 Environmental Performance Index, and fourth in the 2024 Competitive Industrial Performance Index.
The Sultanate of Oman is progressing towards achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals through Oman Vision 2040, where the Sustainable Development Goals have been integrated into the pillars and objectives of Oman Vision 2040.
Through the 10th Five-Year Development Plan, the Sultanate of Oman has set 430 national strategic programmes, including national transformation programmes such as sustainability, the National Employment Programme, the National Programme for Digital Economy, “Diversify,” “Prosper,” “Zero Emission,” and comprehensive development for the governorates.
There are also developmental initiatives, including the Social Protection Fund, Future Fund Oman and the ambitious Green Hydrogen Strategy.
The Centre’s statistics indicate that the Sultanate of Oman’s development efforts are enhancing the indicators achieved by the GCC countries. The GCC ranks 11th globally as the largest economy, contributing 2 per cent of the global GDP.
The size of the GCC sovereign wealth funds has reached USD 4.4 trillion, representing 34 per cent of the total assets of the world’s top 100 sovereign wealth funds.
All GCC countries fall within the “very high human development” category according to Sustainable Development Indicators and possess highly advanced communications infrastructure.
The GCC countries are ranked first globally in oil production with 16.7 million barrels per day and hold 512 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, the largest in the world. Additionally, the GCC ranks fourth globally in the merchandise trade balance surplus at USD 163.7 billion and third globally in marketed natural gas production at 463.5 billion cubic metres.
The GCC is ranked fourth globally in total merchandise exports at $823.1 billion, sixth globally in merchandise trade volume at $1.5 trillion, and 11th globally in GDP at current prices, with $2.1 trillion.
The GCC contributes 2 per cent of global GDP at current prices, 3.3 per cent of global trade, and 1.44 per cent of global foreign direct investment inflows.
Regionally, the GCC ranks first in the Arab world in the indices of the most competitive economies, institutional environment, human development, and logistics performance. The GCC contributes 60.5 per cent of the Arab world’s total GDP at current prices.
