Miss Mouna smile, Salalah, Oman

Oman (ⁱ/oʊˈmɑːn/ oh-maan; Arabic: عمان‎ ʻUmān), officially called the Sultanate of Oman (Arabic: سلطنة عُمان‎ Salṭanat ʻUmān), is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam enclaves are surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.

A niqab (Arabic: نِقاب‎ "veil or Mask"; also called a ruband) is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb. The niqab is most common in the Arab countries of the Arabian Peninsula such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and the UAE.

Women who wear the niqab are often called niqābīah; this word is used both as a noun and as an adjective. However, the correct form منتقبة muntaqabah (plural muntaqabāt) as "niqābīah" is used in a derogatory manner (much as with "hijābīah" versus محجبة muhajabah).

Because of the wide variety of hijab worn in the Muslim world, it can be difficult to definitively distinguish between one type of veil and another. The terms niqab and burqa are often incorrectly used interchangeably; a niqab covers the face while a burka covers the whole body from the top of the head to the ground.

A burqa (Arabic pronunciation: [ˈbʊrqɑʕ]; also transliterated burkha, burka or burqua from Arabic: برقع‎ burqu' or burqa' ) is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering (Arabic: jilbāb), plus the head-covering (Arabic: ḥijāb, taking the most usual meaning), plus^{[citation needed]} the face-veil (Arabic: niqāb).

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Oman, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

In Oman, about 50% of the population lives in Muscat and the Batinah coastal plain northwest of the capital; about 200,000 live in the Dhofar (southern) region; and about 30,000 live in the remote Musandam Peninsula on the Strait of Hormuz. Some 600,000 expatriates live in Oman, most of whom are guest workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Jordan, and the Philippines.

Since 1970, the government has given high priority to education in order to develop a domestic work force, which the government considers a vital factor in the country's economic and social progress. In 1986, Oman's first university, Sultan Qaboos University, opened. Other post secondary institutions include a law school, technical college, banking institute, teachers' training college, and health sciences institute. Some 200 scholarships are awarded each year for study abroad.

Nine private colleges exist, providing 2-year post secondary diplomas. Since 1999, the government has embarked on reforms in higher education designed to meet the needs of a growing population, only a small percentage of which are currently admitted to higher education institutions. Under the reformed system, four public regional universities will be created, and incentives are provided by the government to promote the upgrading of the existing nine private colleges and the creation of other degree-granting private colleges.

Adherents of Islam are concerned with clothing in two contexts: clothing for everyday wear, inside and outside the house; and clothing required in specifically religious contexts.

However, there are many different interpretations of what "modesty" requires. Most agree^{[citation needed]} that it is covering the awrah, from the belly button to the knees for men and from the head to the toes for women except the hands and the face or eyes, depending on what view one follows.