Oman escaped direct colonization, but it was a British protectorate from 1891 to 1951. In 1970, the British helped Qaboos bin Said overthrow his traditionalist father in a palace coup. Qaboos ruled Oman for fifty years, and during his life the country became an important facilitator of regional dialogue and was seen as the “Switzerland of the Middle East.” Faced with protests over unemployment during the Arab Spring in 2011, Oman received aid from the GCC, made some changes to its Basic Law, and created new jobs and social benefits for Omani citizens. While elections for the Shura (consultative) Council are regularly held, formal political parties continue to be banned. Sultan Qaboos died in 2020 and he was succeeded by his cousin, Haitham bin Tariq al Said. While Sultan Haitham has named a crown prince, in all other ways he appears to be following the policies set by his predecessor. The Shura Council, already weak, was stripped of some of the democratic accountability won in 2011.

Oman’s society is ethnically and linguistically diverse, including Omanis of East African descent, and there is little religious conflict within the country. Ibadi Islam, a small Islamic sect that is neither Sunni nor Shia, is functionally the state religion. Oman also has a sizeable Sunni population and a smaller Shia population. Against this backdrop, fault lines have instead been primarily determined by socioeconomic grievances. Cycles of contestation revolve around (state-provided) employment, with the state working to assuage the demands of protesters through economic benefits even as it cracked down on them and the media who covered them. This pattern repeated in large protests in 2018-2019, and smaller ones in 2021.

Oman’s government has sought to relieve its unemployment problems through the ‘Omanization’ of higher-skilled migrant jobs. These measures have impacted Oman’s large migrant worker population (40 per cent of the total population are expatriates, overwhelmingly from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Tanzania) who are denied the benefits of citizenship and operate under the kafala system which gives employers nearly complete power over their rights. Positioning itself between tradition and modernization, Oman has cultivated a reputation for being the most progressive of the Gulf countries. However, Oman’s government still closes newspapers critical of the state, arrests protesters, and prohibits speech that is judged to insult the Sultan or harm public order. Women are discriminated against in marriage and family law, and face arrest for even reporting rape or sexual assault.

Looking ahead, Rights will be an area to watch. Oman may face pressure to uphold its relatively progressive regional reputation and advance Gender Equality as neighboring countries slowly lift restrictions on women. With 44 percent of its population being underage, it will be important to watch unemployment, as Oman may face increasing economic challenges as a large contingent of young people enters the job market.

Last Updated: June 2024