The Sultanate of Oman has 1.5 million children, constituting more than one third of the total population and Omani children constitute 86 per cent, while the remaining 14 per cent are expatriate children, said a report from the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
However, taking into consideration the spiralling rate of child population growth, the trend will stabilise by 2040, according to Iman al Kindi, Director of the Department of Social Statistics, NCSI.
Speaking at the two-day Unicef media workshop organised in association with the Ministry of Information and Media Training Centre, Iman said that although there has been an increase of 23,000 children, a 2.5-per cent increase compared to 2023, by 2040, these numbers would remain stable and that the proportionate rate of child birth has been increasing over the past few years.
"The rate of increase in child numbers would stabilise because of a marked decrease in birthrate seen over the years. This is because of more awareness on family planning and an increase in women working along with men in different jobs," Iman added.
A child is defined as a person who has not completed the age of 18 according to the Gregorian calendar and the reality of childhood in the Sultanate of Oman is covered by a number of axes, such as economic, demographic, social protection and societal facets.
“There is absolutely no child labour in Oman, while more children have become business partners in the recent past. The total number of Omani children who owned businesses in 2022 stood at around 2,181, more than one fourth of them are concentrated in the construction sector, while the total number of Omani children who owned one or more pieces of land stood at 14,551,” Iman further said.
Oman has the largest number of children in the age group of 5 to 9 years (33 per cent), followed by the age group from 0 to 4 years (30 per cent), then from 10 to 14 years (25 per cent), while the percentage for the age group from 15 to 17 years was 12 per cent.
The report further says that the life expectancy of children at birth in Oman reached 77 years, while the birth rate per 1,000 population was 24.9 compared to 27.3 the previous year, while child mortality rate for Omanis under 5 years old reached 11.5 per 1,000.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
