Omanis

Omanis (Arabic: الشعب العماني) are the nationals of Sultanate of Oman, located in the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Omanis have inhabited the territory that is now Oman. In the eighteenth century, an alliance of traders and rulers transformed Muscat (Oman's capital) into the leading port of the Persian Gulf. Omani people are ethnically diverse; the Omani citizen population consists of many different ethnic groups. The majority of the population consists of Arabs, with many of these Arabs being Swahili language speakers and returnees from the Swahili Coast, particularly Zanzibar.

For a specific analysis of the population of Oman, see Demographics of Oman.
Omanis
العُمانيون
Flag of Oman
Total population
c. 2.67 million
Regions with significant populations
 Oman: 2.67 million[1]
Languages
Omani Arabic (majority)  · Standard Arabic  · Mehri  · Balochi  · Swahili  · Zadgali  · Kumzari  · Lurish  · Luwati · Persian  · Urdu · Harsusi  · Bathari  · Dhofari Arabic · Shihhi Arabic
Religion
Predominantly : Ibadi Islam, Sunni Islam Minority : Shia Islam

Additionally, there are ethnic Omani Baloch, Lurs, Persians and Mehri. There are also Omanis from South Asia like the Lawatis, Zadjalis and others.[2][3] Moreover, in Dhofar, Sur and Muscat, Afro-Omanis can be found. They are the descendants of the slaves who were brought from Africa centuries ago.[4]

Omani citizens make up the majority of Oman's total population. Over one and a half million other Omanis live in other areas of the Middle East and the Swahili Coast. In 2023, an estimated percentage of 47.2% of Omani Muslims were Sunni Muslims and 35.2% were Ibadi Muslims while only 6.5% were Shia Muslims.[5]

History

Omani presence in the Swahili Coast can be traced since the Nabhani dynasty.[6] In the late seventeenth century, Zanzibar became part of the overseas holdings of Oman after Saif bin Sultan, the imam of Oman, defeated the Portuguese in Mombasa, in what is now Kenya.[7]

Parts of Africa and Asia became a part of Oman

Large numbers of Omanis settled in the Swahili Coast — especially after 1832, when the Omani Sultan Said bin Sultan moved his court to Zanzibar. To the Omanis, the region became a land of economic opportunity.

Omanis who migrated to the Swahili Coast looked forward to a better life. The Omani community in the Swahili Coast grew and became financially successful.[8] Omanis stopped moving to Zanzibar after a revolution occurred in Zanzibar in 1964. The Omani descendant, sultan of Zanzibar, Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah was overthrown, and thousands of Omanis were killed, among many other Arabs.[9] Soon after the revolution, many Omanis fled Zanzibar to avoid persecution and returned to their ancestral homeland in Oman, but others chose to remain on the Swahili Coast.

Gwadar, a region of Balochistan in Pakistan, was a Colony of Oman for more than a century and in the 1960s, Pakistan gained the land. Hence, many people in this region are Omani.[10] Around 20% of Omanis are of Baloch descent whose ancestors migrated to Oman centuries ago, and are now considered native.[11] With an additional 15% expatriate population,[12] the figure rises to 35%.[13]

Notable Omanis
Qaboos bin Said Al Said, Sultan of Oman from 1970 to 2020

See also

References and notes
  1. "Monthly Statistical Bulletin: October 2019" (PDF). www.ncsi.gov.om. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  2. "Oman's Diverse Society: Northern Oman" (PDF). JE Peterson.
  3. "Oman's players of Pakistan origin caught in visa mix-up". 25 February 2016.
  4. Valeri, Marc (2009). Oman: Politics and Society in the Qaboos State. Hurst. ISBN 978-1-85065-933-4.
  5. "Oman - The World Factbook". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  6. Nabhan, Gary Paul (2008). Arab/American: Landscape, Culture, and Cuisine in Two Great Deserts. The University of Arizona Press. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-8165-2658-1. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  7. Thomas, Gavin (Nov 1, 2011). The Rough Guide to Oman. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-4053-8935-8.
  8. "The Omani Ascendancy". britannica.com/. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  9. "Regime Banishes Sultan". The New York Times. 1964-01-14.
  10. "Arab legacy lingers as Pakistan's Gwadar grows from tiny fishing town into port city | Arab News".
  11. Long, Roger D.; Singh, Gurharpal; Samad, Yunas; Talbot, Ian (2015-10-08). State and Nation-Building in Pakistan: Beyond Islam and Security. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-44820-4.
  12. "Oman". The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
  13. "Harnessing the GCC's Baloch pedigree". The Express Tribune.
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