Oman's economy grows 5.1% in Q2 on non-oil strength

Summary

• Oman's real GDP rose 5.1% in the second quarter of 2026, official data showed.
• Output reached about OMR 9.9 billion at constant prices, up from OMR 9.4 billion.
• The reading signals momentum in a Gulf economy working to reduce its oil dependence.

The latest

Oman's real gross domestic product expanded 5.1 percent in the second quarter of 2026, reaching roughly OMR 9.9 billion at constant prices, according to figures carried by Qatar News Agency. That compares with about OMR 9.4 billion in the same quarter of 2025, an increase of around OMR 500 million in constant-price terms over twelve months.

Details

• The headline number: Real GDP at constant prices grew 5.1 percent year-on-year in the April–June quarter of 2026, according to the figures reported by Qatar News Agency from Muscat. Constant-price measurement strips out price changes, so the increase reflects actual growth in output rather than inflation.
• The absolute size: Second-quarter output came in at approximately OMR 9.9 billion, against approximately OMR 9.4 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2025. The gap works out to roughly OMR 500 million in additional real output over the year.
• The comparison base: The 5.1 percent figure is measured against the same quarter a year earlier rather than against the preceding quarter, a basis that smooths out seasonal swings in sectors such as tourism, construction and energy production.
• What was not broken out: The released figures state the aggregate growth rate and the constant-price value of output without a published breakdown between oil and non-oil activity, and without sector-level contributions from industry, services or agriculture for the quarter.
• The timing: The data carries a 4 October 2026 dateline from Muscat, placing publication roughly three months after the end of the quarter it covers — a lag consistent with the compilation of national accounts.
• The regional frame: Oman is one of the smaller Gulf Cooperation Council economies by output, and quarterly national accounts are among the main indicators used by investors and rating agencies to track the sultanate's fiscal and growth trajectory.
• The policy backdrop: Muscat has spent recent years pushing a diversification agenda intended to lift non-hydrocarbon activity's share of output, alongside fiscal consolidation measures taken after the oil price slump of the past decade weighed heavily on government revenue.
• Why the measure matters: Real GDP growth is the standard yardstick used to assess whether an economy is expanding faster than its population and whether government revenue projections, debt ratios and spending plans rest on realistic assumptions about future output.

Background

Oman's economy has historically been anchored in oil and gas, which long supplied the bulk of state revenue. Successive government plans have sought to broaden the base toward logistics, manufacturing, tourism and mining, making quarterly growth readings a closely watched test of that shift.

Between the lines

A 5.1 percent real expansion is a strong reading for a Gulf producer in a period of restrained OPEC+ output policy, which suggests activity outside hydrocarbons is doing meaningful work. But without a published oil and non-oil split for the quarter, the composition of that growth cannot be pinned down from the figures released, and the durability of the pace will only become clear in subsequent quarters.

What's next

Watch for the detailed national accounts breakdown separating oil from non-oil activity, third-quarter GDP figures later in the year, and whether rating agencies and the IMF revise their full-year growth projections for Oman.

Source: Qatar News Agency (QNA)