Muscat: The Sultanate has seen a sharp growth in the number of registered Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) – with the total number touching 45,706 – by the end of August 2020.

This marks a 12.4 per cent increase when compared with the numbers from the same period in 2019, as per a National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) report.

The Governorate of Muscat topped the list of with 33 per cent of SMEs registered in the period. This was followed by North Al Batinah with 16 per cent, A’Dakhliyah with 13 per cent, Dhofar with 8 per cent, and the rest of governorates clocking in at 30 per cent.

The Governorate of Muscat had 15,321 SMEs registered by the end of August this year, followed by North Al Batinah with 7,229, A’Dakhliyah with 5,797, Dhofar with 3,825, South Al Batinah with 3,390, and North A’Sharqiya with 3,096 SMEs registered.

This was followed by A’Dhahirah with 2,689 SMEs, South A’Sharqiya with 2,660 SMEs, and Al-Buraymi with 974 SMEs registered.

On the lower end of the spectrum, Al Wusta had 549 SMEs and Musandam had 176 SMEs registered.

The total number of SMEs registered in July 2020 was 45,094, while the number of SMEs in June 2020 was 44,448.

Source: ONA