Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Reto Stöckli

Oman: population and ages

Oman: 5.59 million people on 1 January 2026.

The UN projects growth until at least 2100, to 12.1 million.

Figures for 2026 are UN projections (medium variant). Estimates end in 2023.

Population, 1 January 2026
5,591,450
Median age
29.8
Births in 2026
90,828
Deaths in 2026
10,553
Life expectancy at birth
80.7
Children per woman
2.44
Under 15
24.2%
65 and over
2.7%
Population pyramid, Oman, 1 January 2026MaleFemale0102030405060708090100+060K60K120K120K
Population pyramid, Oman, 1 January 2026 Projection

Where does your age fit here?

Only the year is needed. It stays in this browser.

Enter your birth year to see where you fit in.

Population over time

In mid-1950 there were 457,000 people, so the population is now 12.4 times as large.

The UN projects 90,800 births and 10,600 deaths in 2026, 80,300 more births than deaths.

More people move in than leave: net migration in 2026 is projected at plus 79,700.

Population, 1950 to 2100Projected from 202405M10M15M1950197520002025205020752100
2026 Oman: 5.7M

Ages

The median age is 29.8, which is 1.3 years below the world’s 31.1.

24% of the people are under 15 and 2.7% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).

In the UN projection, children under 15 outnumber people aged 65 and over in every year to 2100.

Women have 2.4 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 7.3 in 1950.

Life expectancy at birth is 80.7 years, above the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 29.3.

Median age, 1950 to 2100Projected from 2024010203040501950197520002025205020752100WorldOman
2026 Oman: 30World: 31

See how the pyramid changes from 1950 to 2100

Births, deaths and the years ahead

For mid-2050 the UN projects 7.83 million people, 38% more than now, with a median age of 31.5.

Births and deaths per year, 1950 to 2100Projected from 2024050K100K150K1950197520002025205020752100BirthsDeaths
2026 Births: 90.8KDeaths: 10.6K

Compare Oman with other countries

Development and urbanisation

In 2025, 45% of the people lived in cities, 35% in towns and semi-dense areas and 20% in rural areas. For 2050 the UN projects 53% in cities.

Degree of urbanisation: one rule for every country, a city has at least 50,000 people at 1,500 or more per km². National definitions of “urban” differ.

IndicatorLatest valueYear
People using the internet95.3%2024
Access to electricity100.0%2024
Adult literacy (ages 15 and over)97.3%2022
92.7%2024
99.3%2024
100.0%2024
Human Development Index0.8582023

Each value is the latest one published, with the year it refers to. Countries publish in different years. Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (ITU, SDG 7.1.1, UNESCO UIS), UNDP, Human Development Report, UN, World Urbanization Prospects 2025.

Longevity, ageing and the future

By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 80.0 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 19.7 more years for women and 17.4 for men.

On 1 January 2026, there are 3.7 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 8.6.

For 2100 the UN projects a population of 12.1 million, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 4.41 million to 26.8 million.

Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.

Sources: World Population Prospects 2024, life tables, probabilistic projections, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

International migrants

In mid-2024, 2.28 million international migrants lived here, 43.2% of the population.

In mid-2024, 17,100 people from here lived in other countries.

Largest countries of origin
CountryPeople
India803,105
Bangladesh737,087
Pakistan280,339
Egypt84,977
Philippines61,483
Largest countries of destination
CountryPeople
Palestine11,971
Australia1,986
Libya1,909
Chile458
Sri Lanka335

Counted by citizenship. A migrant stock counts people living outside their country at mid-year, not journeys or yearly moves. Sources: International Migrant Stock 2024, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

Cities

Cities of 50,000 people or more here, by the UN degree of urbanisation: 12.

CityPopulation 2025
Masqąt (Muscat)780,545
Seeb630,072
Salalah279,161
Sohar154,765
Dahariz park99,668
Al Amerat98,300
Al-Buraimi91,315
Al-Rustaq81,798
Barka73,222
Ibri67,005

Sources: World Urbanization Prospects 2025, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

All cities

Data and sources

Oman every ten years
YearPopulation (1 July)Median ageBirthsDeathsLife expectancyChildren per woman
1950456,98817.823,74316,12729.37.26
1960530,48417.827,98715,95235.47.28
1970662,68016.134,16113,26846.67.52
19801,001,24815.451,69310,58359.67.89
19901,763,95417.364,3808,38169.06.46
20002,282,13219.954,4097,19973.63.85
20102,757,44624.264,3936,77377.22.97
20204,522,49628.885,27611,05177.82.64
20306,112,70629.989,26211,09881.42.29
20406,931,97430.193,71412,96183.32.03
20507,827,00231.5104,81716,85584.91.91
20608,752,18632.6108,38723,93386.21.84
20709,617,88233.5112,70534,34987.41.80
208010,441,46934.2120,48343,36888.41.76
209011,272,54834.9127,25948,38489.41.75
210012,094,99635.5132,34756,98690.41.74

Rows from 2024 on are UN projections (medium variant), shown in italics.

The UN estimates every country and area within its present borders for every year since 1950, also for years before it became independent or took its present shape. Figures for earlier years therefore describe the people who lived on today’s territory.

Sources: World Population Prospects 2024, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

All countries and areas