Every 10 years Oman undertakes a full population Census. Remote settlements in the desert or tucked away up a mountain are somehow included. Already the process for the 2010 census is underway. The last one (in 2003) included enumeration by hand-held computers, along with old-fashioned spray-painting to number individual inhabitations. The government is bringing forward the next one so that all GCC states undertake theirs at the same time (it will be a first for some). What does the future hold – hand held GPS readers to map locations accurately. With the natural increase in the Omani national population and soaring numbers of foreign workers – Oman should easily top the 3million population figure in 2010.
