Regions of Oman

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Updates: 

FIPS PUB 10-4 Change Notice 13 was issued on 2008-02-04. It shows a new governorate in Oman called Al Buraymi.

The Census Administration at the Ministry of National Economy of Oman has released a census report  (PDF file) for the 2003 census. It includes region maps.

International standard ISO 3166-2 was published on December 15, 1998. It superseded ISO/DIS 3166-2 (draft international standard). For Oman, the draft standard showed eight provinces. The final standard showed the same eight divisions, now identified as regions. The codes for Adh Dhahirah, Ash Sharqiyah, and Dhofar were changed, the other five remaining the same as before. The new codes are shown in this table.

Country overview: 

In 1900, Oman was an independent country. It was officially called the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The name Oman was used to refer to what is now Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Muscat and Oman. However, the territory was in reality a collection of sheikhdoms and emirates. The inland boundaries with Arabia were indefinite. By 1916, Britain had concluded treaties with Qatar and the seven emirates that in effect made them protectorates. Oil discoveries made it increasingly important to settle questions of sovereignty. By 1950, maps were showing boundaries between Qatar, Trucial Oman (now the United Arab Emirates), and the sultanate. In 1970, Sultan Qaboos ibn Said overthrew his father and changed the country's name to Oman. Oman's boundaries with Saudi Arabia and Yemen were finally delimited in the early 1990s.

Other names of country: 

1. Arabic: Saltanat `Uman (formal)
2. Danish: Oman
3. Dutch: Oman, Sultanate of Oman (formal)
4. English: Sultanate of Oman (formal), Muscat and Oman (obsolete)
5. Finnish: Oman
6. French: Oman m
7. German: Oman m
8. Icelandic: Óman
9. Italian: Oman m
10. Norwegian: Oman, Sultanatet Oman (formal)
11. Portuguese: Oman, Omão, Omã (Brazil), Sultanato m do Omã m (formal)
12. Spanish: Omán, Sultanía f de Omán (formal), Sultanato m de Omán (formal), Mascat y Omán (obsolete)
13. Swedish: Oman

Primary subdivisions: 

Oman is divided into five minţaqat (sing: minţaqah; regions) and four muhafazat (sing. muhafazah: governorates).

Postal codes: 

Oman uses three-digit postal codes. The first digit represents a region or governorate.

Further subdivisions:

See the Districts of Oman page.

Below the regions and governorates, Oman is divided into wilayat (districts).

Territorial extent: 

1. Ash Sharqiyah includes the islands of Masirah and Mahawt.
2. Dhofar includes the Kuria Muria Islands, also known as the Halaniyat after their largest member.
3. Musandam is a discontiguous part of Oman, at the northern tip of the Musandam Peninsula.

Origins of names: 

1. Adh Dhahirah: = back (rear or inland side of the Western Hajar (Stone) Mountains)
2. Al Batinah: = belly (front or seaward side of the Western Hajar (Stone) Mountains)
3. Al Wusta: = central
4. Ash Sharqiyah: = eastern

Change history: 

The administrative divisions of Oman had little significance or definition until very recently. Between ~1960 and ~1990, the number of primary divisions has varied from eight to ten, and their status was liwa (province). Most of the divisions have kept approximately the same territory.

1. 1958-09-08: Gwadar (a coastal enclave in Baluchistan) ceded to Pakistan.
2. 1967-11-30: Kuriya Muriya Islands transferred from British control to Dhofar province.
3. 2006-10: Al Buraymi governorate split from Adh Dhahirah region (former HASC code OM.ZA, FIPS MU05).

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Ad Dakhliyah: A'Dakhliya, Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Jauf, Al Joof, Dakhlia, Interior (variant); Al Goof (German)
2. Adh Dhahirah: A'Dhahirah, Az Zahirah (variant)
3. Al Wusta: Central Oman, Oman Proper, Rub al Khali, `Umān al-Wusţā (variant)
4. Ash Sharqiyah: Al Hajar, A'Shariqiyah, Eastern (variant)
5. Dhofar: Dhufar, Al Janubiyah, Southern Region, Zufar (variant)
6. Musandam: Mussandam, Ru'us al-Jibal (variant)
7. Muscat: Mascat (Spanish); Mascate (French, Italian, Portuguese); Maskat (German, Norwegian); Masqat, Muscat and Matrah (variant)