Country Comments

Oman is a largely desert country rich in petroleum. There are currently five times as many people than can be naturally supported by its renewable resources. Although the Sultanate has prioritized the environment, the pressures from population growth are mounting especially around fresh water scarcity and increase in pollution from development.

Oman’s fertility rate has hovered around three children per woman the past decade down from as high as eight children in the 1980s. A 2017 study published in Science Direct attributes modernization, educational development of women and their participation in the workforce are the likely factors that affect the reproductive behavior of women and thus help reduce fertility in Oman. The gap in literacy rates between girls and boys has largely disappeared and at universities females are already better represented than males and girls are outperforming boys. Many young females in the country today are not only better educated than their mothers, but they are also better educated than their fathers and husbands. Women are increasingly taking part in paid-labor force in all public and private sectors. This clearly has a major impact on fertility as well as on the health of mothers and the growth and survival of their children. (1)

Population growth however still remains stubbornly high with both high fertility and a large annual immigration of workers each year making up roughly half of this annual growth and Oman must do more to encourage growing smaller if it wants to become sustainable.

(1) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110569017300687