Distillers Oman
A one-page guide to Oman for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Muscat
- Official languages
- Arabic
- Currency
- Omani rial (OMR)
- Time zone
- UTC+4 (no DST)
- Area
- 309,500 km²
People
- Population
- 5.5 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 4.0% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 79.5%
- Aged under 15
- 24.3%
- Aged 65 and over
- 2.7%
- Life expectancy
- 80.2 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$109.6 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$19,947 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 2.4% (2025)
- Inflation
- 1.0% (2025)
Climate
Muscat and the north average 30-40 C in summer, reaching about 54 C in the May-September hot season; Muscat gets about 100 mm of rain a year, mostly January. The Dhofar region around Salalah has monsoon rain and fog from late June to late September with 20-30 C summers.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Restricted
- Legal drinking age
- 21; residents need a personal liquor licence to drink at home
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 1.18 litres of pure alcohol (2022-2024 average (WHO estimate for 2024))
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); World Bank indicators (population, area, GDP, GDP per capita, growth, inflation); WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator SA_0000001688; UN Comtrade public API (HS 2208); Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; Wikipedia: Oman; GTAI - Oman customs duties; US TTB - Oman international affairs resources; US Commerce - Oman import tariffs. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.