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Good practice Imported

Oman's Digital Accessibility Guideline — Embedding Universal Access into the 'Tahawul' Digital Transformation Programme

Oman · Muscat · See the Oman profile · See the Muscat profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 55% 72/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Oman's ICT regulator began accessibility work in 2008 and won the Sultan Qaboos e-Government Award in 2010. G3ict's 2018 DARE Index ranked it 1st of 121 countries; in May 2025 the transport/IT ministry launched a national Digital Accessibility Guideline for developers.

81/100 (1st of 121)
G3ict DARE Index score (Dec 2018)
16th
G3ict DARE Index rank (later) (2020)
Oman's Digital Accessibility Guideline — Embedding Universal Access into the 'Tahawul' Digital Transformation Programme

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) — 'Tahawul' Government Digital Transformation Programme; formerly Information Technology Authority (ITA)
Period
2008–2025 (ongoing); guideline launched 15 May 2025
Keywords
e-government, digital accessibility policy, disability inclusion, ICT regulation

Context

Oman's accessibility programme began in 2008, when the then Information Technology Authority (ITA) set out to make the national government portal fully accessible, extending to other government entities in 2009-2010.

Activities

In September 2012, the ITA worked with ten government sectors to publish a national e-accessibility policy calling for WCAG 2.0 conformance across public websites and services. On 15 May 2025, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology launched a Digital Accessibility Guideline for project managers, designers, developers and decision-makers under the 'Tahawul' transformation programme.

Results

In G3ict's inaugural Digital Accessibility Rights Evaluation (DARE) Index (Dec 2018, 121 countries), Oman scored 81/100 — ranking first ahead of France (77) and the United States (75), topping the sub-ranking for actual, measured accessibility of digital products and services.

Conclusions

Public reporting on the 2025 guideline does not yet include adoption or compliance metrics, and a secondary source cites a 2020 DARE Index placing Oman 16th — suggesting its relative standing may have slipped as other countries invested.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Not disclosed; a sustained institutional programme rather than a single capital project.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Running since 2008; latest guideline launched May 2025.
Staffing & skills
Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (formerly Information Technology Authority)

Conditions for success

  • Sustained multi-year investment since 2008 rather than a one-off policy
  • Cross-sector coordination (ten government sectors) in setting the 2012 e-accessibility policy

Common failure modes

  • Relative international standing may have slipped (1st in 2018 vs reportedly 16th in 2020)
  • 2025 guideline's real-world effect not yet independently measured

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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