Jordan

constitutional monarchy

Jordan as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 118 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

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CapitalAmman
LocationMiddle East, between Israel and Saudi Arabia
1994

Every edition of Jordan

Populationas each edition published it
3.96 million July 1994 est. · 3.06m in 1990
Population growth% a year
3.5% 1994 est. · 3.57% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 21.8 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 71.61 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
5.64 children per woman 1994 est. · 6.2 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
32.3 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 55 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$3,000 1993 est. · $1,100 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
5% 1993 est. · 3% in 1993

Geography

Middle East, between Israel and Saudi Arabia

21 fields
Land boundaries
1,619km
total · Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km
Irrigated land
570sq km
(1989 est.)

Location

Middle East, between Israel and Saudi Arabia

Map references

Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

89,213 sq km

land area

88,884 sq km

comparative area

slightly smaller than Indiana

territorial sea

3 nm

International disputes

differences with Israel over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line that separates the two countries; water-sharing issues with Israel

Climate

mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)

Terrain

mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River

Natural resources

phosphates, potash, shale oil

arable land

4%

permanent crops

0.5%

meadows and pastures

1%

forest and woodland

0.5%

other

94%

current issues

  • lack of adequate natural water resources;
  • deforestation;
  • overgrazing;
  • soil erosion;
  • desertification

natural hazards

NA

international agreements

party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

People

21 fields
Population
3,961,194
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 3.5% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
38.77Death
4.22Net migration
0.47

Ethnic divisions

Arab 98%Circassian 1%Armenian 1%
Labor force
600,000
(1992)
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

32.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

71.85 years

male

70.04 years

female

73.77 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

5.64 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Jordanian(s)

adjective

Jordanian

Religions

Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%

Languages

Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes

total population

80%

male

89%

female

70%

by occupation

industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10.0%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52.0% (1992)

Government

Constitutional monarchy

33 fields

Legislature, 80 seatsone dot, one seat

Muslim Brotherhood (fundamentalist) 16Independent Islamic bloc (generally traditionalist) 6Radical leftist 3pro-government 55

conventional long form

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

conventional short form

Jordan

local long form

Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah

local short form

Al Urdun

former

Transjordan

Type

constitutional monarchy

Capital

Amman

Administrative divisions

8 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Ma'an

Independence

25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

National holiday

Independence Day, 25 May (1946)

Constitution

8 January 1952

Suffrage

20 years of age; universal

chief of state

King HUSSEIN Bin Talal Al Hashimi (since 11 August 1952)

head of government

Prime Minister Abd al-Salam al-MAJALI (since May 1993)

cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch

bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-'Umma)

House of Notables (Majlis al-A'ayan)

consists of a 40-member body appointed by the king from designated categories of public figures

House of Representatives

  • elections last held 8 November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1997);
  • results - percent of vote by party NA;
  • seats - (80 total) Muslim Brotherhood (fundamentalist) 16, Independent Islamic bloc (generally traditionalist) 6, Radical leftist 3, pro-government 55

note

the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the King several times since 1974 and in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held

Judicial branch

Court of Cassation

Political parties and leaders

NA; note - political parties were legalized in December 1992

Member of

ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOSOM, UNRWA, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador Fayiz A. TARAWNAH

chancery

3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

(202) 966-2664

FAX

(202) 966-3110

chief of mission

Ambassador Wesley EGAN, Jr.

embassy

Jabel Amman, Amman

mailing address

P. O. Box 354, Amman, or APO AE 09892-0200

telephone

[962] (6) 820-101

Flag

  • three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star;
  • the seven points on the star represent the seven fundamental laws of the Koran

Economy

25 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$3,000
(1993 est.)
Real growth rate
5%
(1993 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 3% (1993 est.); accounts for 20% of GDP
Unemployment rate
20%
(1993 est.)

Overview

Jordan benefited from increased Arab aid during the oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its annual real GNP growth averaged more than 10%. In the remainder of the 1980s, however, reductions in both Arab aid and worker remittances slowed real economic growth to an average of roughly 2% per year.

Imports - mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and food - outstripped exports, with the difference covered by aid, remittances, and borrowing. In mid-1989, the Jordanian Government began debt-rescheduling negotiations and agreed to implement an IMF-supported program designed to gradually reduce the budget deficit and implement badly needed structural reforms.

The Persian Gulf crisis that began in August 1990, however, aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the government to shelve the IMF program, stop most debt payments, and suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker remittances and trade contracted, and refugees flooded the country, producing serious balance-of-payments problems, stunting GDP growth, and straining government resources.

The economy rebounded in 1992, largely due to the influx of capital repatriated by workers returning from the Gulf, but the recovery has been losing steam since mid-1993. The government is implementing the reform program adopted in 1992 and continues to secure rescheduling of its heavy foreign debt.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $11.5 billion (1993 est.)

revenues

$1.7 billion

expenditures

$1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $420 million (1993)

Exports

$1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

commodities

phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures

partners

India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EC, Indonesia, UAE

Imports

$3.2 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)

commodities

crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods

partners

EC, US, Iraq, Japan, Turkey

External debt

$6.8 billion (December 1993 est.)

capacity

1,030,000 kW

production

3.814 billion kWh

consumption per capita

1,070 kWh (1992)

Industries

phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing

Agriculture

  • accounts for about 10% of GDP;
  • principal products are wheat, barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives;
  • livestock - sheep, goats, poultry;
  • large net importer of food

recipient

  • US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.7 billion;
  • Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.5 billion;
  • OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.5 billion;
  • Communist countries (1970-89), $44 million

Currency

1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates

Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.7019 (February 1994), 0.6928 (1993), 0.6797 (1992), 0.6808 (1991), 0.6636 (1990), 0.5704 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

14 fields

Railroads

789 km 1.050-meter gauge, single track

total

7,500 km

paved

asphalt 5,500 km

unpaved

gravel, crushed stone 2,000 km

Pipelines

crude oil 209 km

Ports

Al 'Aqabah

Merchant marine

3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,566 GRT/129,351 DWT, bulk 1, cargo 1, oil tanker 1

total

16

usable

14

with permanent-surface runways

13

with runways over 3,659 m

1

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

12

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

0

Telecommunications

  • adequate telephone system of microwave, cable, and radio links;
  • 81,500 telephones;
  • broadcast stations - 5 AM, 7 FM, 8 TV;
  • satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT, 1 domestic TV receive-only;
  • coaxial cable and microwave to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria;
  • microwave link to Lebanon is inactive;
  • participant in MEDARABTEL, a microwave radio relay network linking Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco

Defense Forces

4 fields

Branches

  • Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) includes
    • Royal Jordanian Land Force,
    • Royal Jordanian Air Force,
    • Royal Naval Force
    ;
  • Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Force (falls under JAF only in wartime or crisis situations)

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 966,420;
  • fit for military service 685,112;
  • reach military age (18) annually 42,776 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $435 million, 7.9% of GDP (1993)

Affiliation

(possession of France)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Jordan.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/jordan/1994.

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