Oman's digital economy hits RO3bn; 11th Plan targets 4% growth

Oman’s digital economy reached an estimated RO3 million — RO3bn between 2021 and 2024 — as the sultanate accelerates its diversification drive, officials said at a Ramadan evening hosted by the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The gathering, held under the patronage of H E Sayyid Ibrahim bin Said Al Busaidi, Minister of Heritage and Tourism, reviewed priorities under the 11th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), which targets average real GDP growth of around 4%, a larger private sector role and significant job creation.

"Progress under the National Programme for Digital Economy reached 96% in 2025," H E Dr Ali bin Amer Al Shidhani, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, told attendees, summarising implementation gains to date.

Context and details

• Domestic and foreign investments in the digital economy totalled around RO1.2bn between 2021 and 2024, contributing to overall sector activity estimated at RO3bn over the same period.
• In 2024 alone, digital economy activities were valued at approximately RO800mn, an increase of 3.4% compared with 2023.
• Digital government services expanded rapidly: more than 2,000 services were digitised between 2021 and 2025, and in 2025 more than 48 million digital transactions were recorded — a 78% increase on 2024.
• Employment indicators showed targeted talent gains: 1,289 Omanis were recruited in 2025 across 33 ICT professions, while roughly 5,000 jobs have been created since the programme’s launch in 2021.
• Oman was classified in the first global category of the World Bank’s Digital Government Maturity Index for 2025, a milestone highlighted by H E Dr Ali bin Amer Al Shidhani.
• Private and foreign capital flowed into strategic sub-sectors: investments were recorded in cloud data centres, cryptocurrency mining, semiconductor design and cybersecurity.
• The technology start-up ecosystem surpassed 200 firms, while the space sector’s workforce climbed to more than 400 employees — three times the level in 2023 — and the number of space companies rose to 25, representing 150% growth.
• National cybersecurity capabilities expanded with five new firms, and the semiconductor industry broadened to four operating companies with investments exceeding RO50mn; the sector has trained more than 200 individuals and employed over 100 specialists.

Outlook

Officials said these digital gains will underpin targets set out in the 11th Five-Year Plan. "The 11th Five-Year Plan aims to boost private sector participation in GDP and job creation," said H E Dr Nasser bin Rashid Al Maawali, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy. The plan seeks to lift the private sector’s contribution to 56% of GDP at current prices, raise private investment to 21% of GDP, and increase foreign direct investment inflows to 11%.

Crucially, the plan projects the creation of around 300,000 direct jobs for Omanis over the 2026–2030 period — averaging 60,000 new roles each year — setting a clear benchmark for how the digital economy’s recent momentum must translate into broader economic and employment outcomes.