Oman’s expat numbers on the rise since October

Muscat: Oman’s expatriate population has been on the rise since October 2021, according to figures available from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The NCSI population clock shows that on 1 October, 2021, there were 1,634,357 expatriates in Oman, having declined from 1.64 million in September and 1.68 in August of last year.

Since October, however, the nation’s expatriate population has been steadily rising. The expat population rose from 1.63 million in October to 1,657,055 in November of 2021 and then climbed to 1,688,461 in December last year.

At the start of the New Year, Oman’s expatriate population figures crossed the 1.7 million mark to reach 1,729,965, before rising to 1,753,264 on 1 February.

During the period from 1 October 2021, the country’s total population rose from 4,419,156 people to 4,562,995. The Omani population also increased from 2,784,799 to 2,809,731.

According to the NCSI’s Monthly Statistical Bulletin for January 2022, there were 1.131 million expatriates employed in the country’s private sector in December 2021, up from 1.108 million in November.

However, the number of expatriates employed in government dipped by 10 percent, from 38,073 public sector employees in November 2021, to 37,996 in December. In total, there are some 1.38 million expatriates employed in Oman.

The majority of expatriate employees work in Muscat (579,875), followed by North Al Batinah (193,851) and the southern Dhofar region (159,931). The fewest expat workers are found in Oman’s northern Musandam region (10,200) and Al Wusta (23,343).

Similarly, the majority of expatriates in Oman live in Muscat (758,309), followed by North Al Batinah (231,171), Dhofar (199,867), South Al Batinah (114,290) and Ad Dakhiliyah (113,371). The fewest expatriates are in Musandam (14,963) and Al Wusta (27,416).