Oman's Private Sector Records Robust Growth in Fourth Quarter of 2025
Oman's economy demonstrated a modest yet steady expansion throughout 2025, culminating in a significant uptick in private sector performance during the final quarter. According to official data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information and reported by the Oman News Agency, the private sector experienced notable growth in both enterprise numbers and economic contributions.
Enterprise Growth Across All Sizes
The number of active private enterprises in Oman increased by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, reaching 268,286 establishments compared to 267,734 in the same period of 2024. This growth was driven by impressive performances across most enterprise categories:
- Medium-sized enterprises posted the strongest growth, surging by 5.6 percent to 1,972 establishments from 1,867 in Q4 2024.
- Small enterprises ranked second with a 4.5 percent increase to 31,521 establishments from 30,163.
- Large enterprises grew by 3.6 percent to 751 establishments from 725.
- Only micro-enterprises experienced a slight decline of 0.4 percent to 234,042 from 234,979.
Economic Contributions and Value Added
The private sector's economic impact showed remarkable improvement during this period. The total value added of all enterprises reached 8.68 billion Omani rials in Q4 2025, representing a 4.7 percent increase from 8.284 billion rials in the same quarter of 2024. Their contribution to Oman's Gross Domestic Product reached approximately 11.06 billion rials, marking a 4.6 percent rise from 10.57 billion rials in Q4 2024.
Value added growth was particularly strong across enterprise categories:
- Micro-enterprises led with the highest increase of 5.6 percent, reaching 903 million rials from 855.2 million.
- Large enterprises ranked second with a 4.9 percent increase to 6.33 billion rials from 6.03 billion.
- Small enterprises recorded a 4.7 percent increase to 748.2 million rials from 714.8 million.
- Medium-sized enterprises showed a 2.7 percent increase to 700.5 million rials from 682.2 million.
Employment Trends and Job Creation
Total employment in private enterprises reached 1.82 million workers in Q4 2025, marking a 1 percent increase from 1.80 million workers in the same period of 2024. The employment landscape revealed interesting patterns:
- Medium-sized enterprises led employment growth with a remarkable 7.9 percent increase to 163,771 workers from 151,846.
- Small enterprises ranked second with a 6.7 percent rise to 573,530 workers from 537,313.
- Large enterprises recorded a 4.4 percent increase to 451,491 workers from 432,452.
- In contrast, employment in micro-enterprises fell by 7.2 percent to 635,685 workers from 684,907.
Broader Economic Context and Vision 2040
This private sector growth occurred against the backdrop of Oman's overall economic expansion. The country's Gross Domestic Product at current prices rose by 2.3 percent to 42.14 billion Omani rials (approximately $109.6 billion) by the end of December 2025.
The positive performance aligns with Oman's ambitious Vision 2040 strategy, which aims to reduce reliance on hydrocarbons through economic diversification. The government has implemented a series of reforms focused on improving the business environment, supporting entrepreneurship, and increasing the contribution of non-oil sectors to sustainable long-term growth.
These reforms appear to be yielding results, with medium-sized enterprises particularly benefiting from the supportive policy environment. The growth in value added and employment across most enterprise categories suggests that Oman's economic transformation is gaining momentum, positioning the country for more balanced and resilient economic development in the coming years.
