MUSCAT: The Sultanate had a total of 1.2 million youth in the age group 18 to 29 years by the middle of 2017, of which Omani youth accounted for 46.7 per cent, according to the data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). The ratio of Omani youth in the age group was close to what it was between 2013 and 2017, when there were 103 males for every 100 females. Largest ratio — 41.4 per cent — of Omani youth are in Muscat and North Al Batinah governorates and one per cent each from Musandam and Al Wusta. One-third of Omani youth are concentrated in six wilayats: Salalah, Suhar, Saham, Al Suwaiq, Ibri and Seeb.
According to statistics, illiteracy among youth is declining steadily, dipping from 1.1 per cent in 2013 to 0.9 per cent in 2017. In the age group 18 to 29 years, 88.3 per cent of the total number of students were enrolled in government and private higher education institutions in the academic year 2015-16. Youths graduating from higher educational institutes in the same academic year accounted for 83 per cent of the total number of graduates.
Youths (age group 15 to 29 years) represented 23 per cent of the total number of disabled card holders in 2017. At 61.6 per cent, males accounted for the largest number.
Among the young disabled people, mental disability is the most common, followed by disability in movement. The total number of employed youth in the age group 15 to 29 years was 699,581, accounting for 18 per cent of total Omani population. Youths accounted for 29 per cent of the total employed Omani population in 2017, which is 4 per cent less than in 2013. The number of male workers rose from 67 per cent of the total Omani youth population in 2013 to 68 per cent in 2017. The number of insured/self-employed youth in the age group less than 20 years to 30 years was 2,773 in 2017. Of the total number of job-seekers, 74 per cent are in the age group 15 to 29 years.
The total number of convicts in the country has reached 20,800, of which 39 per cent are youth in the age group 18 to 29 years. Among crimes committed by Omani youth, crimes against individuals account for the most (28 per cent) followed by crimes for money (27 per cent). The number of road accident victims in 2017 was 3,774, which led to 640 deaths and 3,134 injuries. Twenty-eight per cent of the deceased and 32 per cent of the injured comprised youth in the age group 16 to 25 years in 2017 as against 31 per cent of dead and 37 per cent of injured in 2013. — ONA
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
