World: Profiling the Gulf States

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OMAN. Ten years ago, Oman (pop. 800,000) was one of the most underdeveloped nations in the Arab world. It had only three elementary schools, a handful of doctors and nurses, and was ruled by tyrannical Sultan Said bin Taimur, who hoarded state revenues (all in gold) in the basement of his palace. Finally, his Sandhurst-educated son, Qaboos, then 29, staged a palace coup and set about bringing the country into the 20th century. Today Oman boasts 375 schools and 14 modern hospitals. A rebellion in the Dhofar region, fanned by Marxist South Yemen, has been snuffed out as Oman, gatekeeper of the Strait of Hormuz, has built up its military forces. Oman has no large Palestinian presence; Qaboos' top advisers and military commanders are British—two factors that may help explain Oman's special relationship with the U.S.

—:By Marguerite Johnson.

Reported by William Stewart and William Drozdiak/The Gulf States