Jordan
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan conventional short form: Jordan local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah local short form: Al Urdun former: Transjordan
constitutional monarchy
Jordan as the 2001 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 116 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
For most of its history since independence from British administration in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King HUSSEIN (1953-1999). A pragmatic ruler, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, through several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he resumed parliamentary elections and gradually permitted political liberalization; in 1994 a formal peace treaty was signed with Israel.
King ABDALLAH II - the eldest son of King HUSSEIN and Princess MUNA - assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and established his domestic priorities.
Geography
Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia
17 fieldsLand boundaries
total: 1,619 km border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km
Terrain
mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River
Land use
arable land: 4% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 1% other: 85% (1993 est.)
Environment - current issues
- limited natural fresh water resources;
- deforestation;
- overgrazing;
- soil erosion;
- desertification
Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
People
18 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2001 est.)
Religions(2000 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years: 37.23% (male 980,345; female 938,081) 15-64 years: 59.44% (male 1,633,579; female 1,429,631) 65 years and over: 3.33% (male 84,815; female 86,927) (2001 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 77.53 years male: 75.1 years female: 80.12 years (2001 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.6% male: 93.4% female: 79.4% (1995 est.)
Government
Constitutional monarchy; King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999)
20 fieldsCountry name
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
- 12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah);
- Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba
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 ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999);
- Crown Prince HAMZAH (half brother of the monarch, born 29 March 1980) head of government: Prime Minister Ali Abul RAGHEB (since 19 June 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch elections: none;
- the monarch is hereditary;
- prime minister appointed by the monarch
Legislative branch
- bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate (a 40-member body appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (80 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 4 November 1997 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%;
- seats by party - National Constitutional Party 2, Arab Land Party 1, independents 75, other 2 note: the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the monarch several times since 1974;
- in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held
Political parties and leaders
- Al-Umma (Nation) Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH, secretary general];
- Arab Land Party [Dr. Muhammad al-'ORAN, secretary general];
- Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'eed THIYAB, secretary general];
- National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general]
Political pressure groups and leaders
- Council of Professional Association Presidents [Ahmad al-QADIRI, chairman];
- Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF, president];
- Muslim Brotherhood [Abd-al-Majid DHUNAYBAT, secretary general]
International organization participation
ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Marwan Jamil MUASHER chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador William J. BURNS embassy: Abdoum, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 5920101
Flag description
- three equal horizontal bands of black (top, the Abbassid Caliphate of Islam), white (the Ummayyad Caliphate of Islam), and green (the Fatimid Caliphate of Islam) with a red isosceles triangle (representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916) based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran;
- the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations
Economy
Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil.
32 fieldsElectricity
Economy - overview
Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. The Persian Gulf crisis, which began in August 1990, aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the government to stop most debt payments and suspend rescheduling negotiations.
Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker remittances, and trade revenues contracted. 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.
After averaging 9% in 1992-95, GDP growth averaged only 1.5% during 1996-99. In an attempt to spur growth, King ABDALLAH has undertaken limited economic reform, including partial privatization of some state-owned enterprises and Jordan's entry in January 2000 into the World Trade Organization (WTrO). Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental ongoing economic problems.
Labor force - by occupation
industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52% (1992)
Budget
revenues: $2.8 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Imports - commodities
crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods
Exchange rates
Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.7090 (1996-present ) note: since May 1989, the Jordanian dinar has been pegged to a group of currencies
Communications
10 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- service has improved recently with the increased use of digital switching equipment, but better access to the telephone system is needed in the rural areas and easier access to pay telephones is needed by the urban public domestic: microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines;
- considerable use is made of mobile cellular systems;
- Internet service is available international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals;
- fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria;
- connection to international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe);
- participant in MEDARABTEL;
- international links total about 4,000
Transportation
10 fieldsMerchant marine
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 40,919 GRT/57,777 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, container 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways
total: 15 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Military
7 fieldsMilitary branches
- Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF; includes ;
- Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Force (falls under JAF only in wartime or crisis situations)
Transnational Issues
1 fieldCite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Jordan.” The World Factbook 2001. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/jordan/2001.