Oman

OMAN is a Middle Eastern country bordering the Arabian Sea in the east and the Gulf of Oman in the north. It is east of the countries Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and Yemen. The capital of Oman, located along the northern coast and north of the Al Hajar mountain range, is Muscat (also spelled Masqat). According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Oman’s population in the year 2020 is about 4,593,000 and is ranked 126th among populations of the whole world’s countries, dependencies, and territories. The currency is the Omani Rial, and its ISO 4217 currency code is OMR. Only a handful of countries have exclaves or a single exclave, and Oman has one in its northern extent on a peninsula. Exclaves are areas of land belonging to a particular country, but are separated from that country because of another. Sticking vertically into the Strait of Hormuz, the Musandam Peninsula of northern Oman serves as a boundary where the Persian Gulf - northwest of Oman and north of the U.A.E. - and Gulf of Oman meet. This is unusual: there is an exclave within an exclave, located between the Musandam Peninsula to the north and mainland Oman to the south. The Oman-occupied exclave is shaped like a doughnut, and here's why! A small area of U.A.E. land is surrounded by Oman territory, and that is then surrounded by the U.A.E.