GCC-Stat Confirms Oman's SDG Milestones

The GCC Statistical Centre (GCC-Stat) has confirmed that Oman has achieved numerous milestones in its efforts to enhance sustainable development, strengthening the GCC’s indicators in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In a statement released on Sunday, GCC-Stat highlighted that Oman’s development journey continues with steady progress toward the goals set by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, with the SDGs aligning with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040. This ensures a balanced approach that meets present needs while achieving future aspirations.

In celebration of Oman’s 54th National Day, the Centre stated that the statistics and data reflect the significant achievements in Oman. Among these achievements, 100% of the population lives in households that can access basic services, 99.8% of the population benefits from safely managed drinking water services, 100% of the population has access to electricity, and 99.9% of births occur under medical supervision. Additionally, 100% of urban solid waste is regularly collected and adequately disposed of.

In the economic sector, Oman has made notable progress according to statistical indicators. The annual growth rate of real GDP per capita reached 1.5%, while total government expenditure in 2023 amounted to US$30.185 billion. The contribution of the non-oil sector to GDP at current prices was 64.2%, and the per capita GDP was US$21,100. Furthermore, the sultanate successfully controlled inflation, which stood at 0.9%.

GCC-Stat mentioned that Oman has strengthened its position at the forefront of many global and Arab indicators, ranking first globally in the 2024 Cybersecurity Readiness Index, second globally in the proportion of science and engineering graduates to total graduates in 2023, and eighth globally in the 2023 Quality of Life Index. The country also ranked ninth globally in government spending per student.

Regionally, Oman ranked first in the Arab world in the 2023 Renewable Energy Regulation Index, second in the 2024 Environmental Performance Index, and fourth in the 2024 Competitive Industrial Performance Index.

The sultanate is progressing towards achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals through Oman Vision 2040, where the SDGs have been integrated into the pillars and objectives of Oman Vision 2040.

Through the 10th Five-Year Development Plan, Oman has set 430 national strategic programmes, including national transformation programmes such as sustainability, the National Employment Programme, the National Programme for Digital Economy, “Diversify,” “Prosper,” “Zero Emission,” and comprehensive development for the governorates. There are also developmental initiatives, including the Social Protection Fund, Future Fund Oman, and the ambitious Green Hydrogen Strategy.

GCC-Stat’s statistics indicate that Oman’s development efforts are enhancing the indicators achieved by the GCC countries. The GCC ranks 11th globally as the largest economy, contributing 2% of global GDP. The size of the GCC sovereign wealth funds has reached US$4.4 trillion, representing 34% of the total assets of the world’s top 100 sovereign wealth funds.

All GCC countries fall within the “very high human development” category according to Sustainable Development Indicators and possess highly advanced communications infrastructure.

The GCC countries are ranked first globally in oil production with 16.7mn barrels per day and hold 512bn barrels of crude oil reserves, the largest in the world. Additionally, the GCC ranks fourth globally in the merchandise trade balance surplus at US$163.7 billion and third globally in marketed natural gas production at 463.5bn cubic metres.

The GCC is ranked fourth globally in total merchandise exports at US$823.1 billion, sixth globally in merchandise trade volume at US$1.5 trillion, and 11th globally in GDP at current prices, with US$2.1 trillion. The GCC contributes 2% of global GDP at current prices, 3.3% of global trade, and 1.44% of global foreign direct investment inflows.

Regionally, the GCC ranks first in the Arab world in the indices of the most competitive economies, institutional environment, human development, and logistics performance. The GCC contributes 60.5% of the Arab world’s total GDP at current prices.