Recent successful business ventures include Oman LNG and the Salalah Port. Both of these serve as landmark projects as well as models for future development in the country. Gross domestic product growth in 2000 was estimated at 3 percent. New projects, higher productivity and decreased government expenditure should ensure that this level is maintained under the new five-year plan. Its aim is to encourage diversification, to spread economic development evenly throughout the country and to boost the role of local and foreign investment in expanding the national economy.
Job creation is another key objective.
Oman s modest population of 2.3 million currently relies heavily on imported labor. With as much as 50 percent of Oman s population under the age of 15 and 33,000 new job seekers entering the market every year, the country has embarked on an Omanization program to create over 133,000 new job opportunities by 2005. Both institutions advise the government. Oman has also made considerable progress on women s rights. None of the country s three pre-1970 schools catered to girls, but Oman s Basic Statute of the State now includes equal rights for men and women.