Map of Jordan | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain demarcated a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s. The area gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country's long-time ruler King HUSSEIN (1953-99) successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US USSR and UK) various Arab states Israel and a large internal Palestinian population. Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. King HUSSEIN in 1988 permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank; in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II King HUSSEIN's eldest son assumed the throne following his father's death in 1999. He has implemented modest political and economic reforms including the passage of a new electoral law in early 2016 ahead of legislative elections held in September. The Islamic Action Front which is the political arm of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood returned to parliament with 15 seats after boycotting the previous two elections in 2010 and 2013.


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Location: Middle East northwest of Saudi Arabia between Israel (to the west) and Iraq

Geographic coordinates: 31 00 N 36 00 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 89,342 km²
Land: 88,802 km²
Water: 540 km²
Rank: 113
Comparative: about three-quarters the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries
Total: 1744 km
Border countries: (5) Iraq 179 km; Israel 307 km; Saudi Arabia 731 km; Syria 379 km; West Bank 148 km

Coastline: 26 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 3 nm

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 eastern and western banks of the Jordan River

Elevation
Mean elevation: 812 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Dead Sea -431 m: highest point: Jabal Umm ad Dami 1854 m

Natural resources: phosphates potash shale oil

Land use
Agricultural land: 11.4%
Forest: 1.1%
Other: 87.5%

Irrigated land: 964 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: droughts; periodic earthquakes; flash floods

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


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Population
Distribution: 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: 10,248,069
Note: increased estimate reflects revised assumptions about the net migration rate due to the increased flow of Syrian refugees
Rank: 89
Growth rate: 2.05% (2017 est.)
Growth rate rank: 41
Below poverty line: 14.2% (2002 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Jordanian
Adjective: Jordanian

Ethnic groups: Arab 98% Circassian 1% Armenian 1%

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

Religions: Muslim 97.2% (official; predominantly Sunni) Christian 2.2% (majority Greek Orthodox but some Greek and Roman Catholics Syrian Orthodox Coptic Orthodox Armenian Orthodox and Protestant denominations) Buddhist 0.4% Hindu 0.1% Jewish 0.1 folk religionist 0.1 unaffiliated 0.1 other 0.1 (2010 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 34.68%
15-24 years: 20.07%
25-54 years: 37.36%
55-64 years: 4.44%
65 years and over: 3.45% (2017 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 66.1
Youth dependency ratio: 59.8
Elderly dependency ratio: 6.2
Potential support ratio: 16

Median age
Total: 22.5 years
Male: 22.9 years
Female: 22 years
Rank: 177

Population growth rate: 2.05% (2017 est.)
Rank: 41

Birth rate: 23.9 births/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 58

Death rate: 3.4 deaths/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 218

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 86

Population distribution: 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

Urbanization
Urban population: 84.1% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.26% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: AMMAN (capital) 1.155 million (2015)

Environment
Current issues: limited natural freshwater resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male/female
25-54 years: 1 male/female
55-64 years: 0.95 male/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male/female
Total population: 1.02 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth: 24.7 years
Note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 14.2 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 15 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 13.3 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 104

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.8 years
Male: 73.4 years
Female: 76.3 years
Rank: 119

Total fertility rate: 3.19 children born/woman (2017 est.)
Rank: 49

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 61.2% (2012)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 2.65 physicians/1000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density: 1.8 beds/1000 population (2012)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: .1% (2016 est.)
People living with hivaids: 500 (2016 est.)
Deaths: 100 (2016 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 35.5% (2016)
Rank: 13

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 3% (2012)
Rank: 114

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 95.4%
Male: 97.7%
Female: 92.9%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 13 years
Male: 12 years
Female: 13 years

Youth unemployment


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

Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital
Name: Amman
Geographic coordinates: 31 57 N 35 56 E
Time difference: UTC+2
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Friday in March; ends last Friday in October

Administrative divisions: 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

Dependent areas

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

National holiday: Independence Day 25 May (1946)

Constitution
History: previous 1928 ; latest initially adopted 28 November 1947 revised and ratified 1 January 1952
Amendments: proposed by 10 or more members of the Senate or by the House of Representatives followed by referral to the relevant House committee for its review and opinion; if accepted the proposal is referred to the government for restatement as a draft; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of both the Senate and the House and ratification by the king; amended several times last in 2016

Legal system: mixed system developed from codes instituted by the Ottoman Empire (based on French law) British common law and Islamic law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King ABDALLAH II ; Crown Prince HUSSEIN (born 28 June 1994) eldest son of King ABDALLAH II
Head of government: Prime Minister Hani MULKI
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate or the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan and the Chamber of Deputies or House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (130 seats; 115 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by open-list proportional representation vote and 15 seats for women; 12 of the 115 seats reserved for Christian Chechen and Circassian candidates; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections: Chamber of Deputies - last held on 20 September 2016
Election results: Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA

Judicial branch
Highest court: Court of Cassation or Supreme Court ; Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members including the court chairman)
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 policy-making body consisting of high-level judicial officials and judges and approved by the king; judge tenure NA; 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; Major Felonies Court; Courts of First Instance; Magistrate Courts; religious courts; state security courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ABEDA AFESD AMF CAEU CD CICA EBRD FAO G-11 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICCt ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) LAS MIGA MINUSTAH MINUSMA MONUSCO NAM OIC OPCW OSCE (partner) PCA UN UN Security Council (temporary) UNAMID UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMIL UNMISS UNOCI UNRWA UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Dina Khalil Tawiq KAWAR
In the us chancery: 3,504 International Drive NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] 966-2,664
In the us FAX: [1] 966-3,110
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires Henry T. WOOSTER (since 24 March 2017)
From the us embassy: Abdoun Al-Umawyeen St. Amman
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 354 Amman 11,118 Jordan; Unit 70,200 Box 5 DPO AE 9,892-0200
From the us telephone: [962] 590-6,000
From the us FAX: [962] 592-0163

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

National symbols: eagle; national colors: black white green red

National anthem
Name: 'As-salam al-malaki al-urdoni'
Lyrics and 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

National heritage


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Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 89

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 130

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 123

Gross national saving:
Rank: 130

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 79.4%
Government consumption: 19.5%
Investment in fixed capital: 22.2%
Investment in inventories: 1.9%
Exports of goods and services: 33.6%
Imports of goods and services: -56.7%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4.3%
Industry: 28.9%
Services: 66.8%

Agriculture products: citrus tomatoes cucumbers olives strawberries stone fruits; sheep poultry dairy

Industries: tourism information technology clothing fertilizer potash phosphate mining pharmaceuticals petroleum refining cement inorganic chemicals light manufacturing

Industrial production growth rate: 1% (2016 est.)
Rank: 141

Labor force: 2.205 million (2016 est.)
Rank: 120
By occupation agriculture: 2%
By occupation industry: 20%
By occupation services: 78%

Unemployment rate:
Note: official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30%
Rank: 173

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 14.2% (2002 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.4%
Highest 10: 28.7%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 64

Budget
Revenues: $8.78 billion
Expenditures: $11.19 billion
Surplus or deficit: -6.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 173

Taxes and other revenues: 22.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
Rank: 131

Public debt:
Note: data cover central government debt and include debt instruments issued by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds such as for retirement medical care and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
Rank: 27

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 18

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 99

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 109

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 71

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 67

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 69

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 63

Current account balance:
Rank: 164

Exports:
Rank: 97
Commodities: textiles fertilizers potash phosphates vegetables pharmaceuticals
Partners: US 25.2% Saudi Arabia 14.2% India 8.4% Iraq 6.8% UAE 5.6% Kuwait 5.1% (2016)

Imports:
Rank: 79
Commodities: crude oil refined petroleum products machinery transport equipment iron cereals
Partners: China 14% Saudi Arabia 11.8% US 7.4% Germany 4.8% Italy 4.7% UAE 4.4% (2016)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 65

Debt external:
Rank: 84

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 67

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 90

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 40,926
Access electrification total population: 99.5%
Access electrification urban areas: 99%
Access electrification rural areas: 99.4%
Production: 17.76 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Production rank: 80
Consumption: 16.13 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 74
Exports: 50 million kWh (2015 est.)
Exports rank: 87
Imports: 604 million kWh (2015 est.)
Imports rank: 78
Installed generating capacity: 4.382 million kW (2015 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 83
Generation sources fossil fuels: 96.3% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 47
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 117
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 152
Generation sources other renewable sources: 9.5% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 71

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 22 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 100
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 144
Crude oil imports: 63,220 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 51
Crude oil proven reserves: 1 million bbl (1 January 2017 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 99

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 65,150 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products production rank: 76
Products consumption: 160,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption rank: 64
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products exports rank: 166
Products imports: 93,860 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products imports rank: 60

Natural gas
Production: 151 million m³ (2015 est.)
Production rank: 79
Consumption: 3.509 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 73
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 127
Imports: 2.746 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Imports rank: 47
Proven reserves: 6.031 billion m³ (1 January 2017 es)
Proven reserves rank: 92

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 19 million Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 84

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 355,821
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4
Fixed lines rank: 107
Mobile cellular total: 15.352 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 188
Mobile cellular rank: 81

Telephone system
General assessment: service has improved recently with increased use of digital switching equipment; 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
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 185 per 100 persons
International: country code - 962; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe FEA and FLAG Falcon submarine cable networks; satellite earth stations - 33 (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; participant in Medarabtel (2016)

Broadcast media: 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 (2007)

Internet
Country code: .jo
Users total: 5,099,674
Users percent of population: 62.3%
Users rank: 82

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 7

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 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)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 7
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 40
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 3,065,145
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 169.105 million mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: JY (2016)

Airports: 18 (2013)
Rank: 140
With paved runways total: 16
With paved runways over 3047 m: 8
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways total: 2
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 2

Heliports: 1 (2012)

Pipelines: gas 473 km; oil 49 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 509 km
Narrow gauge: 509 km 1.050-m gauge
Rank: 114

Roadways
Total: 7,203 km
Paved: 7,203 km
Rank: 144

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 12
By type: cargo 4 passenger/cargo 6 petroleum tanker 1 roll on/roll off 1
Foreign owned: 2
Registered in other countries: 16 (2010)
Rank: 106

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Al 'Aqabah


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Disputes international
Rank: li>a href='../rankorder/rankorderguide.html'>Guide to Country Comparisons: 2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 2,175,491 (Palestinian refugees) (2017); 655,056 (Syria); 64,860 (Iraq) (2017)

Illicit drugs