Oman vs. Yemen
Geography
| Oman | Yemen | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and the UAE | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
| Geographic coordinates | 21 00 N, 57 00 E | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
| Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
| Area | total: 309,500 sq km land: 309,500 sq km water: 0 sq km | total: 527,968 sq km land: 527,968 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
| Area - comparative | twice the size of Georgia | almost four times the size of Alabama; slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,561 km border countries (3): Saudi Arabia 658 km, UAE 609 km, Yemen 294 km | total: 1,601 km border countries (2): Oman 294 km, Saudi Arabia 1307 km |
| Coastline | 2,092 km | 1,906 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate | dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
| Terrain | central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Jabal Shams 3,004 m lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m mean elevation: 310 m | highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,666 m lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m mean elevation: 999 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west |
| Land use | agricultural land: 4.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 4.5% (2018 est.) forest: 0% (2018 est.) other: 95.3% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 44.5% (2018 est.) arable land: 2.2% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 41.7% (2018 est.) forest: 1% (2018 est.) other: 54.5% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 590 sq km (2012) | 6,800 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts | sandstorms and dust storms in summer volcanism: limited volcanic activity; Jebel at Tair (Jabal al-Tair, Jebel Teir, Jabal al-Tayr, Jazirat at-Tair) (244 m), which forms an island in the Red Sea, erupted in 2007 after awakening from dormancy; other historically active volcanoes include Harra of Arhab, Harras of Dhamar, Harra es-Sawad, and Jebel Zubair, although many of these have not erupted in over a century |
| Environment - current issues | limited natural freshwater resources; high levels of soil and water salinity in the coastal plains; beach pollution from oil spills; industrial effluents seeping into the water tables and aquifers; desertificaiton due to high winds driving desert sand into arable lands | limited natural freshwater resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban |
| Geography - note | consists of Oman proper and two northern exclaves, Musandam and Al Madhah; the former is a peninsula that occupies a strategic location adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes |
| Total renewable water resources | 1.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 2.1 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | the vast majority of the population is located in and around the Al Hagar Mountains in the north of the country; another smaller cluster is found around the city of Salalah in the far south; most of the country remains sparsely poplulated | the vast majority of the population is found in the Asir Mountains (part of the larger Sarawat Mountain system), located in the far western region of the country |
Source: CIA Factbook
