MUSCAT: More than 300,000 new and renewed driving licences were issued to expatriates in Oman in 2025, accounting for the majority of licences processed during the year, according to data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Figures published in the 2026 Statistical Yearbook showed that expatriates received 300,112 new and renewed driving licences, compared with 227,718 issued to Omanis.

Overall, Oman issued and renewed 527,830 driving licences in 2025, an increase of about 5.4 percent from 500,738 in 2024.

Of the total licences processed last year, 136,491 were newly issued, while 391,339 were renewals.

The latest figure also marks a sharp increase from 2021, when 338,990 new and renewed driving licences were recorded. Licence activity has therefore risen by about 56 percent over the four-year period.

The figures come as Oman continues to expand its transport infrastructure. The country’s paved road network reached 45,659 kilometres by the end of 2025, compared with 40,546 km in 2021, according to the yearbook.

Single roads accounted for 41,478 km of the network, while dual roads totalled 4,182 km.