Oman is home to 1.5 million children, accounting for more than one-third of the total population. According to a report from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), 86 percent of these children are Omani, while the remaining 14 percent are expatriate children.
In Oman, a child is defined as someone under 18 years of age according to the Gregorian calendar. The NCSI report covers various aspects of childhood in Oman, including economic, demographic, and social protection dimensions.
Iman al Kindi, Director of the Department of Social Statistics at NCSI, stated that despite the current growth in the child population, this trend is expected to stabilize by 2040. Speaking at a Unicef media workshop organized in association with the Ministry of Information and Media Training Centre, she noted that while the number of children has increased by 23,000 (a 2.5 percent increase compared to 2023), this growth rate will likely stabilize by 2040. She also pointed to a relative increase in birth rates in recent years.
She said, “The stabilization of the number of children is attributed to the declining birth rate, driven by increased awareness of family planning and more women joining the workforce.”
Al Kindi emphasized that the demographics of the country are changing, as women are becoming more actively involved alongside men in various jobs.
One significant point in the report is that child labor does not exist in Oman. However, an increasing number of children are acting as business owners. In 2022, 2,181 Omani children owned businesses, with more than a quarter of them involved in the construction sector. Additionally, 14,551 Omani children owned one or more pieces of land.
Regarding age distribution, 33 percent of Omani children fall into the 5 to 9-year-old age group, followed by 30 percent in the 0 to 4-year-old group, 25 percent in the 10 to 14-year-old group, and 12 percent in the 15 to 17-year-old group.
Other key statistics include:
- The life expectancy at birth for children in Oman reached 77 years.
- The birth rate per 1,000 population was 24.9, down from 27.3 the previous year.
- The child mortality rate for Omanis under 5 years old stood at 11.5 per 1,000.
This shift in child population trends reflects Oman’s social and economic development and emphasizes the importance of family planning and education, further strengthening the Sultanate’s progress toward sustainable growth.
Source: Children Constitute One-Third of Oman’s Population! – Oman Observer
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