Jordan

Hashemite Kingdom of JordanAl Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah

constitutional monarchy

Jordan as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 79 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalAmman

Area89,213 sq km

LocationMiddle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia

Populationas each edition published it

4.1 million July 1995 est. · 3.06m in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.69% 1995 est. · 3.57% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 21.8 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

72.27 years 1995 est. · 71.61 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

5.25 children per woman 1995 est. · 6.2 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

32.3 deaths per 1,000 live births 1995 est. · 55 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$4,280 1994 est. · $1,100 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

5.5% 1994 est. · 3% in 1993

Geography

Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia

13 fields

Land useshare of 89,213 sq km

arable land 4%permanent crops 0.5%meadows and pastures 1%forest and woodland 0.5%other 94%irrigated 570 sq km (1989 est.)

Area

89,213sq km

land area: 88,884 sq kmcomparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

Coastline

26km

territorial sea: 3 nm

Land boundaries

1,619km

total · Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km

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

Environment

current issues:: limited natural fresh 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

15 fields

Population

4,100,709

(July 1995 est.)growth rate: 2.69% (1995 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1995 est.)

Birth

37.32Death

4.02Net migration

-6.4

Male · female(1995 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years72.27

70.43 · 74.21

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy83%

91% · 75%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1991)

Ethnic divisions

Arab 98%Circassian 1%Armenian 1%

Labor force

600,000

(1992)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)

Age structure

0-14 years:: 44% (female 884,462; male 930,266)
15-64 years:: 53% (female 1,058,060; male 1,119,347)
65 years and over:: 3% (female 53,709; male 54,865) (July 1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate

32.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Jordanian(s)
adjective:: Jordanian

Languages

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

Government

Constitutional monarchy; King HUSSEIN Bin Talal Al Hashimi (since 11 August 1952); Prime Minister Zayd BIN SHAKIR (since 8 January 1995)

21 fields

Legislature, 80 seatsone dot, one seat

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

Names

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

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)

Legal system

based on Islamic law and French codes;
judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Executive branch

chief of state:: King HUSSEIN Bin Talal Al Hashimi (since 11 August 1952)
head of government:: Prime Minister Zayd BIN SHAKIR (since 8 January 1995)
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

Al-'Ahd (Pledge) Party, Sec. Gen. 'Abd al-Hadi al-MAJALI; Al-Ahrar (Liberals) Party, Sec. Gen. Ahmad al-ZU'BI; Al-Hurriyah (Freedom) Party, Sec. Gen. Fawwaz al-ZUBI; Al-Watan (Homeland) Party, leader 'Akif al-FAYIZ; Al-Yaqazah (Awakening) Party, Sec. Gen. 'Abd al-Ra'uf al-RAWABIDAH;

Constitutional Jordanian Arab Front Party, leader Milhim al-TALL; Democratic Arab Islamic Movement Party-Du'a', Sec. Gen. Yusuf Abu BAKR; Democratic Arab Unionist Party-Wad, Sec. Gen. Anis al-MU'ASHIR; Islamic Action Front (IAF), Sec. Gen. Ishaq al-FARHAN; Jordanian Arab Democratic Party, Sec.

Gen. Mu'nis al-RAZZAZ; Jordanian Arab Masses Party, Sec. Gen. 'Abd al-Khaliq SHATAT; Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'th Party, Command First Secretary Taysir al-HIMSI; Jordanian Communist Party (JCP), Sec. Gen. Ya'qub ZAYADIN; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party, Sec. Gen. 'Azmi al-KHAWAJA;

Jordanian Democratic Progressive Party, Sec. Gen. 'Ali 'AMIR; Jordanian National Alliance Party, Sec. Gen. Mijhim al-KHURAYSHAH; Jordanian People's Democratic Party-Hashd, Sec. Gen. Taysir al-ZIBRI; Jordanian Socialist Democratic Party, Sec. Gen. 'Isa MADANAT; Pan-Arab Action Front Party, Sec.

Gen. Muhammad al-ZU'BI; Popular Unity Party-the Unionists, Sec. Gen. Talal al-RAMAHI; Progress and Justice Party, Sec. Gen. 'Ali al-SA'D; Progressive Arab Ba'th Party, Command Secretary Mahmud al-MA'AYITAH; Al-Mustaqbal (Future) Party, Sec. Gen. Sulayman 'ARAR

Member of

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

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Fayiz A. TARAWNEH
chancery:: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:: [1] (202) 966-2664

FAX

[1] (202) 966-3110

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:: Ambassador Wesley E. EGAN, Jr.
embassy:: Jabel Amman, Amman
mailing address:: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200
telephone:: [962] (6) 820101

FAX

[962] (6) 820159

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

18 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$4,280

(1994 est.)

Real growth rate

5.5%

(1994 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 3% (1993 est.); accounts for 20% of GDP

Inflation, consumer prices

(1994 est.)

Unemployment rate

16%

(1994 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$2 billionExpenditures

$2.4 billion (1995 est.)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $630 million

Installed generating capacity, 1,050,000 kW

Electricity production

4.2 billionElectricity consumption per capita

1,072 (1993)

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 was uneven throughout 1994.

The government is implementing the reform program adopted in 1992 and continues to secure rescheduling and write-offs of its heavy foreign debt. Debt, poverty, and unemployment remain Jordan's biggest on-going problems.

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $17 billion (1994 est.)

Exports

$1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

commodities:: phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures
partners:: India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE

Imports

$3.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994)

commodities:: crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods
partners:: EU, US, Iraq, Japan, Turkey

External debt

$6 billion (March 1995 est.)

Industries

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

Agriculture

accounts for about 8% of GDP;
wheat, barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives;
sheep, goats, poultry;
large net importer of food

Economic aid

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 - 0.6994 (January 1995), 0.5987 (1994), 0.6928 (1993), 0.6797 (1992), 0.6808 (1991), 0.6636 (1990)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Transportation

6 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 17 in all

over 3,047 m

2,438 to 3,047 m

914 to 1,523 m

under 914 m

PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways

7,500Railroads

789

Highways: paved: asphalt 5,500 km · unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 2,000 km · Railroads: narrow gauge: 789 km 1.050-m gauge

Railroads

total:: 789 km
narrow gauge:: 789 km 1.050-m gauge

Highways

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

total:: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 61,678 GRT/113,080 DWT
ships by type:: bulk 1, oil tanker 1

Communications

3 fields

Telephone system

81,500 telephones; adequate telephone system

local:: NA microwave, cable, and radio links
intercity:: NA
international:: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 ARABSAT earth station;
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

Radio

broadcast stations:: AM 5, FM 7, shortwave 0
radios:: NA

Television

broadcast stations:: 8 and 1 TV receive-only satellite link
televisions:: NA

Defense Forces

3 fields

Branches

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

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 981,004;
males fit for military service 699,891;
males reach military age (18) annually 45,494 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $564.2 million, 9.1% of GDP (1995 est.) JUAN DE NOVA ISLAND (possession of France)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Jordan.” The World Factbook 1995. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/jordan/1995.

How to cite ← 1994 edition 1996 edition →

Geography

People

Government

Economy

Transportation

Communications

Defense Forces

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