MUSCAT : Oman’s birth rate fell nearly 39% over the past decade, according to national figures presented at a forum that recommended financial support for young families, expanded fertility treatment and family-friendly workplaces to address the decline.

The rate dropped to 20.8 births per 1,000 people in 2025 from about 34 in 2015, participants at the 13th intellectual forum organised by the National Bioethics Committee were told.

The forum, which concluded on Wednesday, called for a national strategy to strengthen family stability and raise fertility rates, with family stability indicators incorporated into Oman Vision 2040.

Ahmed bin Said Al Busaidi, secretary of the committee, said the decline reflected a demographic shift with long-term implications for economic development, healthcare and the balance between generations.

He called for an integrated national response addressing the social, economic, cultural and medical factors influencing marriage and parenthood.

Financial support and housing

The forum recommended studying financial incentives for low-income young families as they have more children, alongside higher child benefit payments to help ease the costs of parenthood.

It also proposed improving access to affordable housing through interest-free loans or rent-to-own arrangements.

Participants called for an endowment to support the marriage fund in cooperation with private-sector institutions, and recommended studying an increase in the assistance provided and an expansion of eligibility.

Fertility treatment

The forum urged the expansion of reproductive healthcare, fertility services and infertility clinics, alongside the establishment of a centre for research and treatment of infertility and delayed conception.

It also recommended supporting scientific research into the causes of infertility and declining fertility.

Support for working mothers

Participants called for studying a family-friendly workplace initiative in public and private institutions, including flexible working hours and remote work for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

They also recommended reviewing maternity leave policies, supporting childcare facilities at workplaces and providing flexible retirement options for mothers.

Further measures should enable women to have children while maintaining their academic or professional careers, the forum said.

Reducing barriers to marriage

The recommendations included free, mandatory preparation and counselling programmes for couples planning to marry, as well as a national campaign promoting marriage and family stability.

Participants also called for national guidelines to reduce excessive wedding costs and closer coordination among organisations providing family counselling.

The proposals remain recommendations from the forum and have not been announced as government policy.

His Excellency Health Minister Hilal bin Ali Al Sabti presided over the opening, attended by His Highness Sayyid Dr. Fahd bin Al Julanda Al Said, president of Sultan Qaboos University and chairman of the National Bioethics Committee, alongside officials and specialists.

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