MUSCAT: The population of the Sultanate of Oman reached 4,527,446 people at the end of December 2021, compared to 4,481,042 people in the same period in 2020.

The Sultanate recorded an increase of 1.04 percent, according to the annual bulletin of population statistics at the end of December 2021 issued by the National Center for Statistics and Information.

The data showed an increase in the Omani population by 2.49 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 2,804,117 people, accounting for nearly 62 percent of the total population, compared to 1,723,329 expatriates, or 38 percent. 

The Governorate of North Al Batinah ranked first in terms of the top five governorates in which Omanis are concentrated with a rate of 20.1 percent, followed by Muscat Governorate in the second place with 19.7 percent, and Al Dakhiliyah Governorate came in third place with a rate of 13.4 percent, while the Governorate of South Al Batinah ranked fourth with 12.9 percent. South Al Sharqiya is followed by 8.3 percent.

The population density of the Sultanate of Oman reached 14.6 people per square kilometre by the end of December 2021. Muscat Governorate is the highest in terms of population density with 327.5 people per square kilometre. Al Wusta Governorate has the lowest population density among all the governorates of the Sultanate with 0.6 per square kilometre.

Residents of urban areas constituted 79.5 percent of the total population, while residents of rural areas constituted about 20.5 percent of the total population of the Sultanate of Oman.

The bulletin stated that the population pyramid for Omanis by gender for 2021 is almost equal, with the proportion of males reaching 50.4 percent and females 49.6 percent, and the number of males reached 1,412,508 and females, 1,391,609, and the gender ratio was 102 males for every 100 females.

The youth and children groups (29 years and under) represent the largest segment of Omanis, constituting two-thirds of the Omani population, at 63 percent.

On the other hand, the gender ratio among expatriates recorded a decrease in 2021, as the gender ratio reached 360 males for every 100 females, as the percentage of male expatriates reached 78%, compared to 22% of female expatriates, while the percentage of expatriates in the age group from 30 to 34 years reached 20 percent of all arrivals.

The youth category from 18 to 29 years old represents the largest segment of the expatriate population, as the percentage of young people out of the total expatriate males reached 22.1 percent, while the youth percentage of the total expatriate females was 17.4 percent.

The male population of nationalities (Indian, Bengali, Pakistani and Egyptian) constitutes about 91.8 percent of the total male expatriates, who numbered 1,723,329.

The statistics showed that the male population of Bangladeshi nationality came at the top of the list of the incoming population in the Sultanate of Oman, where it represented 38 percent. 

The Indian population came in second place with 35.6 percent, followed by the Pakistani population with 15.3 percent, and the Egyptian population with 2.9 percent, as male expatriates of Egyptian nationality constitute the largest number of Arab expatriates in the Sultanate of Oman.

The female population of nationalities (Indian, Bengali, Filipino, and Egyptian) constitutes the highest percentage of female expatriates, at about 60.3%. 

The statistics showed that the Indian female population came at the top of the list of the expatriate population in the Sultanate of Oman with a rate of 33.1 per cent, and the Filipino population came in second place with 10.2 per cent, followed by the Bangladeshi expatriate population with 9.9 per cent. Fourth, the population is of Egyptian nationality, at 7.1 percent.

The age dependency rate for Omanis was about 73 dependents for every 100 people of working age. The dependency of Omani children amounted to 67 dependent children for every 100 people of working age, while the dependency of the elderly was low among Omanis, reaching about 6.3 dependents of the elderly for every 100 individuals of working age.

The age dependency rate for expatriates was 10 dependents for every 100 people of working age, as the dependency for expatriate children amounted to 9 dependent children for every 100 people of working age, while the dependency for the elderly is almost non-existent among expatriates.