Jordan

• population heavily concentrated in the west, and particularly the northwest, in and around the capital of Amman;
• a sizeable, but smaller population is located in the southwest along the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba

• droughts;
• periodic earthquakes;
• flash floods

• limited natural freshwater resources;
• declining water table;
• salinity;
• deforestation;
• overgrazing;
• soil erosion;
• desertification;
• biodiversity and ecosystem damage/loss

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

• 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;
• the Dead Sea, the lowest point in Asia and the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lac Assal in Djibouti), lies on Jordan's western border with Israel and the West Bank;
• Jordan is almost landlocked but does have a 26 km southwestern coastline with a single port, Al 'Aqabah (Aqaba)

noun:

Jordanian(s)

adjective:

Jordanian

0-14 years:

34.14% (male 1,835,094 /female 1,735,773)

15-24 years:

19.98% (male 1,114,783 /female 975,086)

25-54 years:

37.72% (male 2,137,424 /female 1,807,573)

55-64 years:

4.64% (male 253,029 /female 232,652)

65 years and over:

3.51% (male 180,652 /female 186,347) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

66.1 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

59.8 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

6.2 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

16 (2015 est.)

total:

22.8 years (2018 est.)

male:

23.2 years

female:

22.3 years

• population heavily concentrated in the west, and particularly the northwest, in and around the capital of Amman;
• a sizeable, but smaller population is located in the southwest along the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.14 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.18 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.09 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.97 male(s)/female

total population:

1.12 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

13.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

14.5 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

12.9 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

75 years (2018 est.)

male:

73.6 years

female:

76.6 years

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

etymology:

named for the Jordan River, which makes up part of Jordan's northwest border

name:

Amman

geographic coordinates:

31 57 N, 35 56 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Friday in March; ends last Friday in October

etymology:

• in the 13th century B.C., the Ammonites named their main city "Rabbath Ammon";
• "rabbath" designated "capital" so the name meant "The Capital of [the] Ammon[ites]";
• over time, the "Rabbath" came to be dropped and the city became known simply as "Ammon" and then "Amman"

• 12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah);
• 'Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Al ‘Asimah (Amman), At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba

history:

previous 1928 (preindependence); latest initially adopted 28 November 1947, revised and ratified 1 January 1952

amendments:

• constitutional amendments require at least a two-thirds majority vote of both the Senate and the House and ratification by the king;
• no amendment of the constitution affecting the rights of the king and the succession to the throne is permitted during the regency period;
• amended several times, last in 2016 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the father must be a citizen of Jordan

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

15 years

chief of state:

King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Crown Prince HUSSEIN (born 28 June 1994), eldest son of King ABDALLAH II

head of government:

Prime Minister Omar al-RAZZAZ (since 4 June 2018)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch

elections/appointments:

the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch

highest courts:

Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (consists of 15 members, including the chief justice); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the king;
• other judges nominated by the Judicial Council, an 11-member judicial policymaking body consisting of high-level judicial officials and judges, and approved by the king;
• judge tenure generally not limited;
• Constitutional Court members appointed by the king for 6-year non-renewable terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 2 years

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal;
• Great Felonies Court;
• religious courts;
• military courts;
• juvenile courts;
• Land Settlement Courts;
• Income Tax Court;
• Higher Administrative Court;
• Customs Court;
• special courts including the State Security Court

• Ahrar al-Urdun (Free People of Jordan) Party [Samir al-ZU'BI]
• Al-Awn al-Watani (National Aid) Party [Faysal al-AWAR]
• Al-Balad al-Amin Party [Khalil al-SAYED]
• Al-Itijah al-Watani (National Trend Party) [Ahmad al-KAYED]
• Al-Mustaqbal (Future) Party [Salah al-QUDAH]
• Al-Nida’ Party [Abd-al-Majid ABU-KHALID]
• Al-Rayah Party (Flag Party) [Bilal DHEISAT]
• Al-Shahama Party [Mashhour ZREIQAT]
• Al-Shura Party [Firas al-ABBADI]
• Arab Socialist Ba’th Party [Zyad AL-HOMSI]
• Conservatives Party [Hasan RASHID]
• Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa’eed DHIYAB]
• Democratic Sha’b Party (HASHD) [Abla ABU-OLBEH]
• Freedom and Equality Party [Hamad Abu ZEID]
• Islamic Action Front [Murad AL-ADAYLAH]
• Islamic Centrist Party [Madallah AL-TARAWNEH]
• Jordanian Al-Ansar Party [Awni al-RJOUB]
• Jordanian Al-Hayah Party [Abd-al-Fattah al-KILANI]
• Jordanian Communist Party [Faraj ITMIZYEH]
• Jordanian Democratic Socialist Party [Jamil al-NIMRI]
• Jordanian Democratic Tabiy’ah (Nature) Party [Ali ASFOUR]
• Jordanian Equality Party [Zuhair al-SHURAFA]
• Jordanian Fursan (Cavaliers Party) [Ali al-DHWEIB]
• Jordanian Justice and Development Party [Ali al-SHURAFA]
• Jordanian National Action Party [Abd-al-Hadi al-MAHARMAH]
• Jordanian National Constitutional Party [Ahmad al-SHUNNAQ]
• Jordanian National Democratic Grouping Party [Shakir al-ABBADI]
• Jordanian National Party [Muna ABU-BAKR]
• Jordanian National Union Party [Zeid ABU-ZEID]
• Jordanian Progressive Ba’th Party [Fu’ad DABBOUR]
• Jordanian Promise Party [Mahmoud al-KHALILI]
• Jordanian Reform Party [Eid DHAYYAT]
• Jordanian Social Justice Party [Abd-al-Fattah al-NSOUR]
• Jordanian Wafa’ (Loyalty) Party [Mazin al-QADI]
• Justice and Reform Party [Sa’eed Nathir ARABIYAT]
• Modernity and Change Party [Nayef al-HAMAYDEH]
• National Congress Party [Irhayil GHARAYBEH] (formerly the Zamzam party)
• National Renaissance Front Party [Isma’il KHATATBEH]
• National Unity Party [Muhammad al-ZBOUN]
• Pan Arab Movement Party [Dayfallah FARRAJ]
• Partnership and Salvation Party [Muhammad al-HAMMOURI]
• Reform and Renewal Party [Mazin RYAL]
• Risalah Party [Hazim QASHOU’]
• Stronger Jordan Party [Rula al-HROUB]
• Unified Jordanian Front Party [Farouq AL-ABBADI]

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Karen SASAHARA (since March 2019)

telephone:

[962] (6) 590-6000

embassy:

Abdoun, Al-Umawyeen St., Amman

mailing address:

P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; Unit 70200, Box 5, DPO AE 09892-0200

FAX:

[962] (6) 592-0163

• 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

name:

"As-salam al-malaki al-urdoni" (Long Live the King of Jordan)

lyrics/music:

Abdul-Mone'm al-RIFAI'/Abdul-Qader al-TANEER

note: adopted 1946; the shortened version of the anthem is used most commonly, while the full version is reserved for special occasions

agriculture:

2%

industry:

20%

services:

78% (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.4%

highest 10%:

28.7% (2010 est.)

general assessment:

• microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines;
• growing mobile-cellular usage in both urban and rural areas is reducing use of fixed-line services;
• recent influx of refugees putting burden on country's econmy, infrastructure and society;
• mobile broadband area of growth with 4G services (2018)

domestic:

• 1995 telecommunications law opened all non-fixed-line services to private competition;
• in 2005, monopoly over fixed-line services terminated and the entire telecommunications sector was opened to competition;
• currently multiple mobile-cellular providers with subscribership up to 96 per 100 persons;
• fixed-line 4 per 100 persons (2018)

international:

• country code - 962;
• landing point for the FEA and Taba-Aqaba submarine cable networks providing connectivity to Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Asia;
• satellite earth stations - 33 (3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals (2019)

• radio and TV dominated by the government-owned Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTV) that operates a main network, a sports network, a film network, and a satellite channel;
• first independent TV broadcaster aired in 2007;
• international satellite TV and Israeli and Syrian TV broadcasts are available;
• roughly 30 radio stations with JRTV operating the main government-owned station;
• transmissions of multiple international radio broadcasters are available

• 17 years of age for voluntary male military service;
• initial service term 2 years, with option to reenlist for 18 years;
• conscription at age 18 suspended in 1999;
• women are not conscripted, but can volunteer to serve in noncombat military positions in the Royal Jordanian Arab Army Women's Corps and RJAF (2013)

number of registered air carriers:

7 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 40 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

3,065,145 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

169.105 million mt-km (2015)

total:

509 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

509 km 1.050-m gauge (2014)

total:

7,203 km (2011)

paved:

7,203 km (2011)