Oman

Location	Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE
Geographic coordinates	21 00 N, 57 00 E
Map references	Middle East
Area	total: 309,500 sq km land: 309,500 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries	total: 1,374 km border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km
Coastline	2,092 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south
Terrain	central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m
Natural resources	petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas
Land use	arable land: 0.12% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 99.74% (2005)
Irrigated land	590 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	1 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 1.36 cu km/yr (7%/2%/90%) per capita: 529 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues	rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; limited natural freshwater resources
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil