Jordan

Hashemite Kingdom of JordanAl Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah

constitutional monarchy

Jordan as the 1996 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 85 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

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CapitalAmman
Position31 00 N, 36 00 E
Area89,213 sq km
LocationMiddle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia
1996

Every edition of Jordan

Populationas each edition published it
4.21 million July 1996 est. · 3.06m in 1990
Population growth% a year
2.65% 1996 est. · 3.57% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 21.8 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
72.48 years 1996 est. · 71.61 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
5.1 children per woman 1996 est. · 6.2 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
31.5 deaths per 1,000 live births 1996 est. · 55 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$4,700 1995 est. · $1,100 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
6.5% 1995 est. · 3% in 1993

Geography

Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia

14 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
border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km

Location

Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates

31 00 N, 36 00 E

Map references

Middle East

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

lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m
highest point:
Jabal Ram 1,754 m

Natural resources

phosphates, potash, shale oil

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;
  • signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea

People

15 fields
Population
4,212,152
(July 1996 est.)growth rate: 2.65% (1996 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1996 est.)

Birth
36.67Death
3.95Net migration
-6.23

Male · female(1996 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years72.48
70.62 · 74.45
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy86.6%
93.4% · 79.4%
MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Arab 98%Circassian 1%Armenian 1%

Age structure

0-14 years:
44% (male 949,822; female 903,043)
15-64 years:
53% (male 1,153,360; female 1,091,416)
65 years and over:
3% (male 57,783; female 56,728) (July 1996 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
1.02 male(s)/female
all ages:
1.05 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate

31.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate

5.1 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Jordanian(s)
adjective:
Jordanian

Religions

Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%

Languages

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

Government

Constitutional monarchy; King HUSSEIN Bin Talal Al Hashimi (since 2 May 1953) is a constitutional monarch; Prime Minister Abd al-Karim al-KABARITI (since 4 February 1996) was appointed by the king

21 fields

Legislature, 80 seatsone dot, one seat

IAF 16Jordanian National Alliance Party 4Al-Yaqazah Party 2Al-Watan Party 2Al-'Ahd Party 2Jordanian Arab Democratic Party 2Al-Mustaqbal Party 1Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 1Jordanian Democratic Progressive Party 1Jordanian People's Democratic Party-Hashd 1Jordanian Socialist Democratic Party 1independents 47

Name of country

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 of government

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

Executive branch

chief of state:
King HUSSEIN Bin Talal Al Hashimi (since 2 May 1953) is a constitutional monarch
head of government:
Prime Minister Abd al-Karim al-KABARITI (since 4 February 1996) was appointed by the king
cabinet:
Cabinet was appointed by the king

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) IAF 16, Jordanian National Alliance Party 4, Al-Yaqazah Party 2, Al-Watan Party 2, Al-'Ahd Party 2, Jordanian Arab Democratic Party 2, Al-Mustaqbal Party 1, Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 1, Jordanian Democratic Progressive Party 1, Jordanian People's Democratic Party-Hashd 1, Jordanian Socialist Democratic Party 1, independents 47

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

Judicial branch

Court of Cassation

Political parties and leaders

  • Al-'Ahd (Pledge) Party, 'Abd al-Hadi al-MAJALI, secretary general;
  • Al-Ahrar (Liberals) Party, Ahmad al-ZU'BI, secretary general;
  • Al-Taqaddumi (Progressive) Party, Fawwaz al-ZUBI, secretary general;
  • Al-Watan (Homeland) Party, 'Akif al-FAYIZ;
  • Al-Yaqazah (Awakening) Party, 'Abd al-Ra'uf al-RAWABIDAH, secretary general;
  • Constitutional Jordanian Arab Front Party, Milhim al-TALL;
  • Democratic Arab Islamic Movement Party-Du'a', Yusuf Abu BAKR, secretary general;
  • Democratic Arab Unionist Party-Wad, Anis al-MU'ASHIR, secretary general;
  • Islamic Action Front (IAF), Ishaq al-FARHAN, secretary general;
  • Jordanian Arab Masses Party, 'Abd al-Khaliq SHATAT, secretary general;
  • Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'th Party, Taysir al-HIMSI, command first secretary;
  • Jordanian Communist Party (JCP), Ya'qub ZAYADIN, secretary general;
  • Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party, 'Azmi al-KHAWAJA, secretary general;
  • Jordanian National Alliance Party, Mijhim al-KHURAYSHAH, secretary general;
  • Jordanian People's Democratic Party-Hashd, Salim al-NAHHAS, secretary general;
  • Jordanian Unionist Democratic Party, 'Isa MADANAT (secretary general), Ali AMIR (secretary general), Munis al-RAZZAZ (secretary general);
  • Pan-Arab Action Front Party, Muhammad al-ZU'BI, secretary general;
  • Popular Unity Party-the Unionists, Mustafa AL-'ISAWI, secretary general;
  • Progress and Justice Party, 'Ali al-SA'D, secretary general;
  • Progressive Arab Ba'th Party, Mahmud al-MA'AYITAH, command secretary;
  • Al-Mustaqbal (Future) Party, Sulayman 'ARAR, secretary general;
  • Jordanian Arab Partisans Party, Muhammad al-MAJALI, leader, Muhammad SHURAYDAH, secretary general

note: in 1995, the Jordanian Arab Democratic Party, the Jordanian Democratic Progressive Party, and the Jordanian Socialist Democratic Party merged to form the Jordanian Unionist Democratic Party

International organization participation

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, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIH, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNOMIL, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

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 W. 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

20 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$4,700
(1995 est.)
Real growth rate
6.5%
(1995 est.)industrial production growth: 5.6% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate
16%
(1994 est.)

GDP composition by sector(1994)

agriculture 11%industry 25%services 64% (1994)

Budget

Revenues
$2.5 billionExpenditures
$2.5 billion (1996 est.)
expenditures including capital expenditures of $640 million

Installed generating capacity, 1,050,000 kW

Electricity production
4.2 billionElectricity consumption per capita
1,072 (1993)

Economic overview

Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil and coal. 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 and 1995.

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.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $19.3 billion (1995 est.)

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)

Industries

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

Agriculture

wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry

Exports

$1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

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

Imports

$3.8 billion (c.i.f., 1994)

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

External debt

$6.9 billion (1995 est.)

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $238 million (1993)

Currency

1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates

Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.7090 (January 1996), 0.7005 (1995), 0.6987 (1994), 0.6928 (1993), 0.6797 (1992), 0.6808 (1991)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Transportation

6 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 14 in all

10
over 3 047 m
3
2 438 to 3 047 m
1
under 914 m
PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways
5,680Railways
676
Highways: paved: 5,680 km (including 1,712 km of expressways) · unpaved: 0 km (1991 est.) · Railways: narrow gauge: 676 km 1.050-m gauge; note - an additional 110 km stretch of the old Hedjaz railroad is out of use

Railways

total:
676 km
narrow gauge:
676 km 1.050-m gauge; note - an additional 110 km stretch of the old Hedjaz railroad is out of use

Highways

total:
5,680 km
paved:
5,680 km (including 1,712 km of expressways)
unpaved:
0 km (1991 est.)

Pipelines

crude oil 209 km

Ports

Al'Aqabah

Merchant marine

total: 3 bulk ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 41,960 GRT/67,515 DWT (1995 est.)

Communications

9 fields
Fixed lines
81,500
(1987 est.)

Telephone system

adequate telephone system

domestic:
microwave radio relay, cable, and radiotelephone links
international:
  • satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat;
  • coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria;
  • microwave radio relay to Lebanon is inactive;
  • participant in Medarabtel

Radio broadcast stations

AM 5, FM 7, shortwave 0

Radios

1.1 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations

8 and 1 TV receive-only satellite link

Televisions

350,000 (1992 est.) Defense

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:
1,011,588
males fit for military service:
721,460
males reach military age (18) annually:
45,406 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $589 million, 8.2% of GDP (1996)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Jordan.” The World Factbook 1996. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/jordan/1996.

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