More than 90 percent of Oman's population live in rural villages, where flat-roofed houses are commonly built of palm thatch or wood with mud and stone walls. Islam is the official religion. Although diseases such as tuberculosis, trachoma, and whooping cough have been largely controlled, health conditions in Oman are generally poor. The country's infant mortality rate is among the highest in the world. A remarkable change in the country's education system was the introduction of schooling for girls.
Oman now has women in banking, the foreign service, and the domestic civil service.
English is taught as a second language in Omani schools. Oman's first university opened in 1986. Radio Oman broadcasts daily in Arabic, the official language, and in English. An international airport is at Seeb. Arabs entered Oman around the 9th century BC .