The Sultanate of Oman is a country in Southwest Asia, on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates in the northwest, Saudi Arabia in the west, and Yemen in the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea in the south and east, and the Gulf of Oman in the northeast. The country also contains Madha, an enclave enclosed by the United Arab Emirates, and Musandam, an exclave also separated by Emirati territory.

The Omani economy has been radically transformed over a series of development plans beginning with the First Five­-year Plan (1976-1980). At Sultan Qaboos's instruction, a vision of Oman's economic future up to the year 2020 was set out at the end of the first phase of the country's develop­ment 1970-1995. Vision 2020, outlined the country's economic and social goals over the 25 years of the second phase of the development process (1996­-2020).

Oman enjoys a stable political, economic, and social system, which is enhanced by the excellent relationships between the Sultanate and neighboring countries. His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos, encourages market-orientated policies and private sector development as the mechanism for prosperity and growth.

Oman is the world's easternmost Arabian country. The majority of Omanis are Arabs, although there are sizable Pakistani Baloch and Swahili minorities. As in most other of the smaller, oil-rich Persian Gulf Arab countries, a large number of foreign workers live here, mostly from India and other parts of Pakistan. The official language is Arabic, but the minorities speak their own languages. A non-Arabic Semitic language Bathari is spoken in Dhofar.