Barka: population and official figures
In depth
- Economy, jobs and prices in Barka: The unemployment rate in Al Batinah South Governorate, which contains Barka, was 3.9% in 2025 (2.4% for men and 9.5% for women), against 3.1% for Oman. The National Centre for Statistics publishes this by governorate only. That is joint 7th highest of 19 wilayats covered on this site.
- Health in Barka: Al Batinah South Governorate, which contains Barka, had 5 government hospitals with 256 beds and 3 private hospitals with 159 beds in 2025; Oman had 62 government hospitals (6,962 beds) and 36 private hospitals (1,854 beds).
- Education in Barka: Al Batinah South Governorate, which contains Barka, had 293 schools, 4,880 classes, 133,483 students and 9,786 teachers in 2025/2026 (government, private and international schools, including kindergartens).
What is the population of Barka?
The Wilayat of Barka (Al Batinah South Governorate) had 249,479 registered residents at the end of December 2025, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information: 132,952 Omanis and 116,527 expatriates. That is 4.7% of the 5,359,557 people in Oman. That is 5th highest of 19 wilayats covered on this site.
Source: National Centre for Statistics and Information (Oman) · saved copyHow many expats live in Barka?
In the Wilayat of Barka, 53.3% of registered residents were Omani and 46.7% expatriates at the end of 2025; across Oman the split was 56.7% Omani and 43.3% expatriate. That is 7th least Omani of 19 wilayats covered on this site.
Source: National Centre for Statistics and Information (Oman) · saved copyIs the population of Barka growing?
The registered population of the Wilayat of Barka was +4.9% on a year earlier (237,846 at end-2024) and +13.7% on two years earlier (219,423 at end-2023); Oman as a whole was +3.8% over the two years. That is the fastest-growing of 19 wilayats covered on this site.
Source: National Centre for Statistics and Information (Oman) · saved copyHow crowded is Barka?
Al Batinah South Governorate had 585,794 people at the end of 2025 on 5,323 square kilometres, a density of 110.0 people per square kilometre against 17.3 for Oman. The Wilayat of Barka accounts for 43% of the governorate's population.
Source: National Centre for Statistics and Information (Oman) · saved copyHow big is Barka compared with other wilayats?
The registered population of the Wilayat of Barka (249,479) was 6.2% of the combined population of the 19 Omani wilayats covered on this site, which together hold 75% of Oman.
Source: National Centre for Statistics and Information (Oman) · saved copyCities of a similar size in Oman
- As Seeb 594,155
- Bawshar 445,240
- Salalah 430,294
- Sohar 293,446
- Mutrah 225,926
- As Suwayq 214,198
- Ibri 188,862
- Saham 177,024
- Al Amrat 156,507
- Nizwa 148,746
- Al Rustaq 141,249
- Sur 129,511
- Jaalan Bani Bu Ali 125,828
- Al Buraymi 123,459
- Al Mussanah 117,335
- Bahla 103,066
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Sources
- National Centre for Statistics and Information (Oman): Statistical Year Book 2026 (issue 54, data for 2025): Table 18-2, Schools, Classrooms, Students and Teachers by Governorate, 2025/2026 (pages 361-362), read 28 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 67371bf3473d…)
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