Oman’s expat exodus continues as country continues nationalization push

DUBAI: More than 50,000 expatriates left Oman in August, national daily Time of Oman reported, citing government data.

The new figure comes as the country continues to implement nationalization programs, particularly integrating more Omanis into the country’s workforce.

According to the new census provided by the National Center for Statistics and Information, the expat population in Oman stood at 1,747,844 in August, which showed a decrease of 53,895 from the previous month.

More than 6,000 locals have been added to the country’s national population in the same period.

But the massive decline in the number of expats in Oman has resulted in a general 3.88 percent population dip – from 4,527,934 to 4,480,333 between August 2019 and 2020.

All governorates in Oman reported a decline in population, but Muscat, the country’s capital city, showed the drop at 6.2 percent, followed by the southern governorate of Dhofar with a 5.6 percent drop.