Jordan
Hashemite Kingdom of JordanAl Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah
constitutional monarchy
Jordan as the 2003 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 125 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 (1953-99). 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, including an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in January 2000, and signed free trade agreements with the United States in 2000, and with the European Free Trade Association in 2001.
Geography
Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia
18 fieldsLand useshare of 92,300 sq km
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
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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
Geography - note
strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank
People
19 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2003 est.)
Male · female
Religions(2001 est.)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 35.9% (male 1,001,174; female 959,157)
- 15-64 years:
- 60.5% (male 1,764,061; female 1,541,453)
- 65 years and over:
- 3.6% (male 95,566; female 98,854) (2003 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.06 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 1.14 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.97 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 1.1 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Government
Constitutional monarchy; King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Prime Minister Faisal al-FAYEZ (since 25 October 2003)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
House of Representatives, 110 seats, elected 17 June 2003, next to be held NA 2007one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
Country name
- conventional long form:
- Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
- conventional short form:
- Jordan
- local short form:
- Al Urdun
- local long form:
- Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah
- 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 Faisal al-FAYEZ (since 25 October 2003)
- 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, also called the House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayan) (40 seats; members appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives, also called the House of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab) (110 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms; note - six seats are reserved for women and are allocated by a special electoral panel if no women are elected)
- elections:
- House of Representatives - last held 17 June 2003, next to be held NA 2007
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 were not legalized until 1992; King Abdallah delayed the 2001 elections until 2003
- election results:
- House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - independents and others 89.6%, Islamic Action Front 10.4%;
- seats by party - independents and others 92, Islamic Action Front 18 (note - one of the six quota seats was given to a female IAF candidate)
Political parties and leaders
- Al-Umma (Nation) Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH, secretary general];
- Arab Land Party [Dr. Muhammad al-'ORAN, secretary general];
- Communist Party [Munir HAMARINAH, secretary general];
- Constitutional Front [Mahdi al-TALL, secretary general];
- Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id DHIYAB, secretary general];
- Jordanian Progressive Party [Fawwaz al-ZUBI, secretary general];
- Jordanian People's Democratic (Hashd) Party [Salim al-NAHHAS, secretary general];
- Islamic Action Front [Hazma MANSOUR, secretary general];
- National Action (Haqq) Party [Muhammad al-ZUBI, secretary general];
- National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general];
- (Arab) Socialist Ba'th Party [Taysif al-HIMSI, secretary general];
- Pan-Arab (Democratic) Movement [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI, secretary general]
Political pressure groups and leaders
- Anti-Normalization Committee [Ali Abu SUKKAR, president vice chairman];
- Jordanian Bar Association [Saleh ARMOUTI, president];
- Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF, president];
- Muslim Brotherhood [Abd-al-Majid DHUNAYBAT, secretary general]
International organization participation
ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Karim Tawfiq KAWAR
- chancery:
- 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 966-3110
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 966-2664
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Edward William GNEHM, Jr.
- embassy:
- Abdoun, Amman
- mailing address:
- P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; Unit 70200, Box 5, APO AE 09892-0200
- telephone:
- [962] (6) 5920101
- FAX:
- [962] (6) 5920121
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.
43 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2001 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental problems, but King ABDALLAH since assuming the throne in 1999 has undertaken some broad economic reforms in a long-term effort to improve living standards.
Amman in the past three years has worked closely with the IMF, practiced careful monetary policy, and made significant headway with privatization. The government also has liberalized the trade regime sufficiently to secure Jordan's membership in the WTrO (2000), a free trade accord with US (2000), and an association agreement with the EU (2001). These measures have helped improve productivity and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map.
The US-led war in Iraq in 2003 dealt an economic blow to Jordan, which was dependent on Iraq for discounted oil. It remains unclear how Jordan will finance energy imports in the absence of such a deal. Other ongoing challenges include fiscal adjustment to reduce the budget deficit and broader investment incentives to promote job-creating ventures.
Industries
phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, tourism
Exports - commodities
phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures, pharmaceuticals
Imports - commodities
crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods
Exchange rates
Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.71 (2002), 0.71 (2001), 0.71 (2000), 0.71 (1999), 0.71 (1998)
Communications
8 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 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, 9 ships by typeone square, one ship · ships (1,000 GRT or over) 63,522 GRT/79,776 DWT
Airports by runway lengthpaved only
Airports by runway lengthunpaved only
Networkskm
Military
7 fieldsMilitary branches
- Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) (Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Naval Force, Royal Jordanian Air Force, and Special Operations Command or SOCOM);
- note - Public Security Directorate normally falls under Ministry of Interior but comes under JAF in wartime or crisis situations
Transnational Issues
1 fieldCite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Jordan.” The World Factbook 2003. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/jordan/2003.