Oman in brief                                          Land Area: 309,500 square kilometers                                  Population: 2,018,074 (1993 census)                                                Capital:  Muscat                           Official language: Arabic (English widely used)                                        Time: 4 hours ahead of GMT                                      Currency: rial Omani = US$ 2.58                                               (RO 0. 387 = US$ 1)                                         National day: 18th November