Jordan

Hashemite Kingdom of JordanAl Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah

constitutional monarchy

Jordan as the 2005 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 127 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.

Capital'Amman
Position31 00 N, 36 00 E
Area92,300 sq km
LocationMiddle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia
2005

Every edition of Jordan

Populationas each edition published it
5.76 million July 2005 est. · 3.06m in 1990
Population growth% a year
2.56% 2005 est. · 3.57% in 1993
Median ageyears
22.62 years 2005 est. · 21.8 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
78.24 years 2005 est. · 71.61 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
2.71 children per woman 2005 est. · 6.2 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
17.35 deaths per 1,000 live births 2005 est. · 55 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$4,500 2004 est. · $1,100 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
5.1% 2004 est. · 3% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

Background

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, despite several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he reinstituted parliamentary elections and gradual political liberalization; in 1994 he signed a formal peace treaty 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 undertaken an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2000, and began to participate in the European Free Trade Association in 2001. After a two-year delay, parliamentary and municipal elections took place in the summer of 2003. The Prime Minister and government appointed in April 2005 declared they would build upon the previous government's achievements to respect political and human rights and improve living standards.

Geography

Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia

18 fields

Land useshare of 92,300 sq km

arable land 2.67%permanent crops 1.83%other 95.5% (2001)irrigated 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Area
92,300sq km
land: 91,971 sq kmwater: 329 sq kmslightly smaller than Indiana
Coastline
26km
territorial sea: 3 nm
Highest point
1,734m
Jabal Ramlowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
Land boundaries
1,635km
border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 744 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

Natural resources

phosphates, potash, shale oil

Natural hazards

droughts; periodic earthquakes

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, 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 fields

Age structuremale left, female right · (2005 est.)

106,168
65 and over3.8%
111,047
1,897,643
15-6461.7%
1,656,570
1,015,084
0-1434.5%
973,220
MaleFemale
Population
5,759,732
(July 2005 est.)growth rate: 2.56% (2005 est.)

Per 1,000 population(2005 est.)

Birth
21.76Death
2.63Net migration
6.42

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (2005 est.)78.24
75.75 · 80.88Infant mortality deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)17.35
20.75 · 13.75
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (2003 est.)91.3%
95.9% · 86.3%Median age years (2005 est.)22.62
23.25 · 21.94
MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Ethnic groups

Arab 98%Circassian 1%Armenian 1%

Religions(2001 est.)

Sunni Muslim 92%Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations)other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2001 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.15 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.96 male(s)/female
total population:
1.1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.71 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

less than 500 (2003 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Jordanian(s)
adjective:
Jordanian

Languages

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

Government

Constitutional monarchy; King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Prime Minister Adnan BADRAN (since 7 April 2005)

18 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

89.6%
independents and others 89.6%Islamic Action Front (IAF) 10.4%House of Representatives - last held 17 June 2003 (next to be held NA 2007)

House of Representatives, 110 seats, elected 17 June 2003one dot, one seat

independents and others 92Islamic Action Front 18

Percent of vote

independents and others 89.6%Islamic Action Front (IAF) 10.4%

Country 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

Government type

constitutional monarchy

Capital

'Amman

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

Independence

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 25 May (1946)

Constitution

1 January 1952; amended 1974, 1976, 1984

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state:
King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Prince HUSSEIN (born 1994), son of King ABDALLAH, is first in line to inherit the throne
head of government:
Prime Minister Adnan BADRAN (since 7 April 2005); Deputy Prime Ministers Marwan al-MUASHER and Hisham al-TEL (since 3 July 2005)
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) (55 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)
election results:
  • House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - independents and others 89.6%, Islamic Action Front (IAF) 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

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

Judicial branch

Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal)

Political parties and leaders

  • Al-Ajyal [Muhammad KHALAYLEH, secretary general];
  • Al-Umma (Nation) Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH, secretary general];
  • Arab Land Party [Dr. Ayishah Salih HIJAZAYN, secretary general];
  • Ba'th Arab Progressive Party [Fu'ad DABBUR, secretary general];
  • Communist Party [Munir HAMARINAH, secretary general];
  • Constitutional National Party [Ahmad al-SHUNNAQ, secretary general; Democratic Arab Islamic Movement [Yusuf ABU BAKR, president]; Green Party [Muhammad BATAYNEH, secretary general]; Islamic Action Front [Hazma MANSOUR, secretary general]; Islamic al-Walsat Party [Marwan al-FAURI], secretary general; Jordanian Democratic Left Party [Musa MA'AYTEH, secretary general]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id Dhiyab Ali MUSTAFA, secretary general]; Jordanian People's Democratic (Hashd) Party [Ahmad YUSUF, secretary general]; Jordanian Progressive Party [Fawwaz al-ZUBI, secretary general]; Labor Party [Dr. Mazin Sulayman Jiryis HANNA, secretary general]; Muslim Centrist Party [leader NA]; National Action (Haqq) Party [Tariq al-KAYYALI, secretary general]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general]; National Movement for Direct Democracy [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI, secretary general]; Pan-Arab (Democratic) Movement [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI, secretary general]; (Arab) Socialist Ba'th Party [Taysir al-HIMSI, 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, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Karim Tawfiq KAWAR
chancery:
3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 966-2664
FAX:
[1] (202) 966-3110

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires David M. HALE
embassy:
Abdoun, Amman
mailing address:
P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; Unit 70200, Box 5, APO AE 09892-0200
telephone:
[962] (6) 592-0101
FAX:
[962] (6) 592-4102

Flag description

  • three equal horizontal bands of black (top), representing the Abbassid Caliphate, white, representing the Ummayyad Caliphate, and green, representing the Fatimid Caliphate;
  • a red isosceles triangle on the hoist side, representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, and 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;
  • design is based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I

Economy

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

45 fields
GDP, purchasing power parity
$25.5billion
(2004 est.)
Real growth rate
5.1%
(2004 est.)industrial production growth: 5% (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate
15%official rate
unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector(2004 est.)

agriculture 2.4%industry 26%services 71.5% (2004 est.)

Trading partnersexports left, imports right

28.9%
US
6.8%
5.6%
Saudi Arabia
19.8%
17.6%
Iraq
China
8.4%
7.1%
India
Germany
6.8%
Exports $3.2 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)Imports $7.6 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)(2004)

Budget

Revenues
$3.483 billionExpenditures
$3.616 billion (2004 est.)
expenditures including capital expenditures of $782 million

Electricity

Electricity production
7.307 billion (2002)Electricity consumption
7.094 billion (2002)Electricity exports
2 million (2002)Electricity imports
300 million (2002)

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 substantial headway with privatization. The government also has liberalized the trade regime sufficiently to secure Jordan's membership in the WTO (2000), a free trade accord with the US (2001), and an association agreement with the EU (2001). These measures have helped improve productivity and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map.

Jordan imported most of its oil from Iraq, but the US-led war in Iraq in 2003 made Jordan more dependent on oil from other Gulf nations forcing the Jordanian government to raise retail petroleum product prices and the sales tax base. Jordan's export market, which is heavily dependent on exports to Iraq, was also affected by the war but recovered quickly while contributing to the Iraq recovery effort.

The main challenges facing Jordan are reducing dependence on foreign grants, reducing the budget deficit, and creating investment incentives to promote job creation.

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2004 est.)

Labor force

1.41 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 5%, industry 12.5%, services 82.5% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%:
3.3%
highest 10%:
29.8% (1997)

Investment (gross fixed)

11.6% of GDP (2004 est.)

Public debt

85.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products

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

Industries

phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism

Oil - production

40 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption

103,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - imports

100,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

445,000 bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production

290 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

290 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

3.256 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance

$203.2 million (2004 est.)

Exports

$3.2 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities

clothing, phosphates, fertilizers, potash, vegetables, manufactures, pharmaceuticals

Imports

$7.6 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities

crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$5.457 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external

$7.32 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

ODA, $500 million (2004 est.)

Currency (code)

Jordanian dinar (JOD)

Exchange rates

Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.709 (2004), 0.709 (2003), 0.709 (2002), 0.709 (2001), 0.709 (2000)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields
Mobile cellular
1,325,300
(2003)
Internet users
3,160
(2004)
Fixed lines
622,600
(2003) · country code .jo

Telephone system

general assessment:
service has improved recently with 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:
  • country code - 962;
  • 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

Radio broadcast stations

AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999)

Television broadcast stations

20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995)

Internet users

457,000 (2003)

Transportation

9 fields

Merchant marine, 20 ships by typeone square, one ship · ships (1,000 GRT or over) 78,814 GRT/92,695 DWT

bulk carrier 2cargo 7container 2passenger/cargo 5roll on/roll off 4foreign-owned: 12 (Greece 3, UAE 9) · registered in other countries: 14 (2005)

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

over 3,047 m
72,438 to 3,047 m
6914 to 1,523 m
1under 914 m
1

Airports by runway lengthunpaved only

under 914 m
2

Networkskm

Highways
7,301Railways
505
Highways: paved: 7,301 km · unpaved: 0 km (2002) · Railways: narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2004)

Railways

total:
505 km
narrow gauge:
505 km 1.050-m gauge (2004)

Highways

total:
7,301 km
paved:
7,301 km
unpaved:
0 km (2002)

Pipelines

gas 10 km; oil 743 km (2004)

Airports

17 (2004 est.)

Heliports

1 (2004 est.)

Military

7 fields

Military branches

Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF):
  • Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Jordanian Navy, Royal Jordanian Air Force, and Special Operations Command (SOCOM);
  • note - Public Security Directorate normally falls under Ministry of Interior but comes under JAF in wartime or crisis situations

Military service age and obligation

17 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription at age 18 was suspended in 1999, although all males under age 37 are required to register (2004)

Manpower available for military service

males age 17-49: 1,573,995 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 17-49: 1,348,076 (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

Disputes - international

2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin):
1,740,170 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA))
IDPs:
800,000 (1967 Arab-Israeli War) (2004)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Jordan.” The World Factbook 2005. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/jordan/2005.

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