Background: For most of its history since independence from British administration in 1946 Jordan was ruled by King HUSSEIN (1953-1995). 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.

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total area total: 89,213 km²
Land: 88,884 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries: total 1,619 km, Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 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 East and West Banks of the Jordan River

Natural resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil

Land use
Arable land: 4%
Permanent crops: 0.5%
Meadows and pastures: 1%
Forest and woodland: 0.5%
Other: 94%

Irrigated land: 570 km² (1989 est.)

Population: 4,100,709 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 2.69% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Jordanian(s)
Adjective: Jordanian

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

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

Religions: Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%

Age structure
0-14 years: 44% (female 884,462; male 930,266)
15-64 years: 53% (female 1,058,060; male 1,119,347)
65 years and over: 3% (female 53,709; male 54,865) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.69% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 37.32 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 4.02 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.4 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Environment
Current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Current issues natural hazards: NA
Current issues international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

Infant mortality rate: 32.3 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 72.27 years
Male: 70.43 years
Female: 74.21 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.25 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991)
Total population: 83%
Male: 91%
Female: 75%

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: 8 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah; Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Ma'an

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

National holiday: Independence Day, 25 May (1946)

Constitution: 8 January 1952

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

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King HUSSEIN Bin Talal Al Hashimi (since 11 August 1952)
Head of government: Prime Minister Zayd BIN SHAKIR (since 8 January 1995)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-'Umma)
House of Notables Majlis alA'ayan: consists of a 40-member body appointed by the king from designated categories of public figures
House of Representatives: elections last held 8 November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (80 total) Muslim Brotherhood (fundamentalist) 16, Independent Islamic bloc (generally traditionalist) 6, Radical leftist 3, pro-government 55
Note: the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the King several times since 1974 and in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIL, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Fayiz A. TARAWNEH
In the us chancery: 3,504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 966-2,664
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 966-3,110
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Wesley E. EGAN, Jr.
From the us embassy: Jabel Amman, Amman
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11,118 Jordan; APO AE 9,892-0200
From the us telephone: [962] (6) 820,101
From the us FAX: [962] (6) 820,159

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star represent the seven fundamental laws of the Koran

Economy overview: Jordan benefited from increased Arab aid during the oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its annual real GNP growth averaged more than 10%. In the remainder of the 1980s, however, reductions in both Arab aid and worker remittances slowed real economic growth to an average of roughly 2% per year. Imports - mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and food - outstripped exports, with the difference covered by aid, remittances, and borrowing. In mid-1989, the Jordanian Government began debt-rescheduling negotiations and agreed to implement an IMF-supported program designed to gradually reduce the budget deficit and implement badly needed structural reforms. The Persian Gulf crisis that began in August 1990, however, aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the government to shelve the IMF program, stop most debt payments, and suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker remittances, and trade contracted; and 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, but the recovery was uneven throughout 1994. The government is implementing the reform program adopted in 1992 and continues to secure rescheduling and write-offs of its heavy foreign debt. Debt, poverty, and unemployment remain Jordan's biggest on-going problems.

Real gdp growth rate: 5.5% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $4,280 (1994 est.)

Agriculture products: accounts for about 8% of GDP; wheat, barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry; large net importer of food

Industries: phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing

Industrial production growth rate: 3% (1993 est.), accounts for 20% of GDP

Labor force: 600,000 (1992)
By occupation industry: 11.4%
By occupation commerce restaurants and hotels: 10.5%
By occupation construction: 10.0%
By occupation transport and communications: 8.7%
By occupation agriculture: 7.4%
By occupation other services: 52.0% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 16% (1994 est.)

Budget
Revenues: $2 billion
Expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $630 million (1995 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
Commodoties: phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures
Partners: India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE

Imports: $3.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
Commodoties: crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods
Partners: EU, US, Iraq, Japan, Turkey

Debt external: $6 billion (March 1995 est.)

Exchange rates: Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.6994 (January 1995), 0.5987 (1994), 0.6928 (1993), 0.6797 (1992), 0.6808 (1991), 0.6636 (1990)

Electricity
Capacity: 1,050,000 kW
Production: 4.2 billion kWh
Production consumption per capita: 1,072 kWh (1993)

Telephone system: 81,500 telephones; adequate telephone system
Local: NA microwave, cable, and radio links
Intercity: NA
International: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 ARABSAT earth station; coaxial cable and microwave to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria; microwave link to Lebanon is inactive; participant in MEDARABTEL, a microwave radio relay network linking Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $564.2 million, 9.1% of GDP (1995 est.)

Airports: 17
With paved runways over 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1

Pipelines: crude oil 209 km

Merchant marine
Total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 61,678 GRT/113,080 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 1, oil tanker 1

Disputes international: none