Comparative Economic - Research Paper Example

The impact of change in oil prices is directly linked to all countries in the world and since the selected countries are major players in the market, their economic conditions dictate oil prices in international markets, hence have an indirect impact on the entire world. The purpose of this research is to study the general economic and environmental conditions of various countries in a specific region having similar geographical boundaries, in order to identify and compare the effects of similar economic factors on these countries.

'The Sultanate of Oman is situated on the southeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula and is located between Latitudes 16 40' and 26 20' North and Longitudes 51 50' and 59 40' East' (Oman Ministry of Tourism, n.d.). Oman controls a small area on Musandam Peninsula which is linked to Strait of Hormuz. Due to its position at the mouth of Guld, the country has a significant strategic importance (ArabNet, n.d.). Oman's coastline is almost 1,300 miles long. Total area is 212,460 km2. The climate is hot and dry with average temperature from 64 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit.

Increase in soil salinity and lack of fresh water are the worrying factors for government. Saudi Arabia is the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula having borders with Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, UAE and Yemen. It has Persian Gulf to its northeast and Red Sea to its west. The total area of Saudi Arabia is 2,149,690 km2, which is almost 10 times greater than Oman. Most of the area is desert, hence extreme temperatures are observed. Desertification, depletion of water resources, and coastal pollution from oil spills are major concerns for the country.

Desalination plants have been installed to take care of water shortage issue (CIA World Fact Book, 2007).UAE is situated in the southeast of Arabian Peninsula and has a total area of 83,600 km2, least of the three countries. Like Saudi Arabia, most part of the country is desert, hence extreme temperatures are witnessed. Lack of natural fresh water resources, desertification, and beach pollution from oil spills are some of the major issues that the country faces, similar to Saudi Arabia.4. PeopleAs per July 2006 estimates, the total population of Oman is 3,102,229 with almost 577,000 expatriates working as non-nationals.

In contrast to this, the combined population of the seven states of UAE is 2,602,713, as per 2006 estimates. This shows that UAE is more densely populated as compared to Oman, due to relatively higher population living in lesser total area. Saudi Arabia is the most heavily populated of the three with total population of 27,019,273 as per 2006 estimates (CIA Fact Book, 2007). The population growth rate is highest for Oman, and is 3.28%. UAE has the least growth rate of the group with only 1.52% increase in population per year.

Population growth rate for Saudi Arabia is 2.18%.In Oman, 75% of the population in Ibadhi Muslims, and the rest of 25% include Sunni Muslims, Shi'a Muslims and Hindus. Similarly, UAE has 96% Muslim residents (including 16% Shi'a Muslims), others include Hindus and Christians. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that has 100% Muslim population.The official language of Oman is Arabic, but Eglish, Baluchi, Urdu and Hindi is also spoken. The national language of UAE is also Arabic but since a large portion of population is non-Arabic, hence English, Persian, Urdu and Hindi