Sunday 28 / June / 2026
Muscat: The total value of loans disbursed in the Sultanate of Oman during 2025 reached OMR213.8 million, distributed across 7,106 projects, compared to OMR234.9 million allocated to 7,398 projects in 2024, reflecting an annual decline of approximately 9 percent.
According to data from the 2026 Statistical Yearbook issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the industrial sector topped the list of beneficiary activities, receiving OMR71 million—accounting for 33.2 percent of total lending. The tourism, professional, and public services sector ranked second with OMR66.3 million, representing 31 percent, while the fisheries sector came in third with OMR31.6 million, or 14.8 percent. In contrast, the mining sector recorded a notable surge, rising from 0.7 percent in 2024 to 4.8 percent in 2025, with disbursements exceeding OMR10.3 million.
At the regional level, the Governorates of South and North Al Batinah maintained the largest share of Oman Development Bank loans in 2025, accounting for 24.9 percent of total lending at OMR53.3 million, spread across 1,617 projects. The Governorate of Muscat ranked second with 23.5 percent (OMR50.2 million) allocated to 762 projects, followed by South and North Al Sharqiyah at 16.6 percent (OMR35.5 million). Al Dakhiliyah Governorate accounted for 9.3 percent, while Dhofar represented 9 percent.
The data further indicate notable growth in the Governorate of Al Wusta, where the share increased from 3.6 percent in 2024 to 6.5 percent in 2025. Conversely, the Governorate of Al Buraimi recorded the lowest share among all governorates at 1.8 percent.
The figures also reveal an upward trend in housing finance, with total housing loans rising from OMR145.1 million in 2024 to OMR151.8 million in 2025, marking an annual increase of over 4.6 percent. The number of beneficiaries grew from 3,250 to 3,277 over the same period.
The Governorate of South Al Batinah led in housing loan value with OMR40.4 million, representing 26.6 percent of the total and distributed across 902 loans, followed closely by Muscat with OMR41.7 million—27.5 percent—allocated to 842 loans. North Al Batinah ranked third at 14.6 percent, followed by Al Dakhiliyah at 10.6 percent, while the Governorate of Musandam registered the lowest share at just 1.2 percent of total bank lending.
The data further indicate that the majority of Oman Housing Bank loans in 2025 were concentrated within the monthly income bracket of OMR701 to 1,000, which accounted for 75.8 percent of total housing finance—equivalent to OMR115 million—distributed across 2,456 loans. The income category "up to OMR400" ranked second with 16.8 percent, while the "above OMR1,000" bracket did not exceed 6.7 percent of the total.
