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Welcome To Oman
Country number
57
Selected MR Agencies
  • Elephants Can't Jump

    Ensuring brand initiatives work in practice as well as in theory. To have marketplace impact, we believe every research assignment should consist of three elements consumer exploration or validation, within a competitive context, generating commercial outputs.
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  • Firefish Ltd

    29 full time staff, operating in all corners of the globe, on all manner of projects. No methodology is squashed to fit. We approach each brief with fresh eyes and minds, to make sure you get the most out of your research, helping your brand move forward.
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  • Grass Roots

    Grass Roots is one of Europe's largest performance improvement companies. Established in 1980, Grass Roots UK is the founding company of a group with offices and partners operating in 15 countries around the world.
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  • DIGITAL-MR

    In addition to Social Media Research (Web Listening) DigitalMRs solutions also include community panels, access panels, Web usability and a distinct focus on qualitativeresearch online.
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An Introduction to Oman

The Sultanate of Oman is on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and has been settled since the Stone Age and beyond. The inhabitants of present day Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. They specialized in perfumes and incense and the country is one of the few places the Frankincense tree grows in the wild. See full country profile.

Latest Research News from Middle East

Mar 21
Southeast Asia-based qual and quant marketing intelligence and panels provider Divergent Insights has appointed Swagata Moitra Ghosh to its Leadership Team as VP Global Research and Insights. Mar 21 2024
Feb 19
Yahoo has launched a rapid insights solution called PurpleLab, based on Qualtrics technology - initially in Australia and Southeast Asia. Feb 19 2024


1 current Middle Eastern job:

Survey Research Manager, Remote Working - Worldwide, $ Competitive salary - (posted Feb 27 2024)
Know of an MR agency based in Oman? We don't - please get in touch


Fast Facts
Map of Oman
CAPITAL: Muscat
GOVERNMENT: Monarchy
AREA: 309,500 sq km
POPULATION: 3,418,085 (includes 577,293 non-nationals) (2010 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Arabic
Al Hamra Yemen Village, Oman
Al Hamra Yemen Village, Oman


Arabian Atlantis The city of Ubar (or Iram) was the centre of the highly lucrative Frankincense trade from 3,000 BC to around 300 AD. As described in The Arabian Nights, Ubar "...had two vast gates of large size and loftiness, inlaid jewels and jacinths, white and red and yellow and green. The high pavilions were built of gold and silver and inlaid with many-coloured jewels and pearls." According to Islamic beliefs, King Shaddad defied the warnings of the prophet Hud and God smote the city, driving it into the sands, never to be seen again.

That is until researchers found the city by tracing ancient desert roads detected in pictures taken from several spacecraft, including radar and optical cameras carried by Challenger in October 1984. Evidence indicates that the city fell into a sinkhole created when an underground limestone cavern collapsed. Excavations are still in progress to find the riches of the city T. E. Lawrence called "The Atlantis of the Sands".

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Oman in Profile

The Sultanate of Oman is on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula and has been settled since the Stone Age and beyond. The inhabitants of present day Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. They specialized in perfumes and incense and the country is one of the few places the Frankincense tree grows in the wild.

The current Sultan is a moderniser and has opened the country to the outside world while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries.

Some Business and General Info

GDP: $186.8 billion (2009 est.) - $38,900 per capita

Religions Ibadhi Muslim 75%, other (includes Sunni Muslim, Shia Muslim, Hindu) 25%

Currency: Rial (OMR) - 1 OMR = 1.65 GBP

Telephone Code: +968

Overview of the Research Industry

MR Association(s):

Oman has no MR association and no locally-based research providers as far as we know.

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) - including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates - had a total MR spend of USD 130m in 2008 an absolute growth of 18.2% (net 6.6%) on 2007.
Source: ESOMAR

Overview of Trade and Industry

According to the CIA World Factbook, Oman exported $27.65 billion worth of goods in 2009. Exports comprised petroleum, re-exports, fish, metals and textiles, and went principally to China, South Korea, Japan, UAE and Thailand. Imports in the same year were worth $18.46 billion, consisting of machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock and lubricants.

Omani citizens enjoy good living standards, but the future is uncertain with Oman's limited oil reserves. Other sources of income, agriculture, local industries are small in comparison and count for less than 1% of the country's exports. The sales of imported products in markets provides income for people in Oman. Agriculture, often subsistence in its character, produces dates, limes, grains and vegetables. Less than 1% of the country is under cultivation but, in general, food has to be imported. Industries contribute only 4%, but there are governmental plans to increase this.

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).

My view
from...
Oman
Researchers Talk!
Have your say!
If you are a researcher based in Oman, in whatever capacity, then we would love to hear from you!

Email me:
laurence@mrweb.com

Views from...

If you are a researcher in Oman, in whatever capacity, then we would love to hear from you!