Background: After 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. In 1921, Britain demarcated from Palestine a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan and recognized ABDALLAH I from the Hashemite family as the country's first leader. The Hashemites also controlled the Hijaz, or the western coastal area of modern-day Saudi Arabia, until 1925, when IBN SAUD and Wahhabi tribes pushed them out. The country gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country has had four kings. Long-time ruler King HUSSEIN (r. 1953-99) successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, UK, and Soviet Union), various Arab states, Israel, and Palestinian militants, the latter of which led to a brief civil war in 1970 that is known as 'Black September' and ended in King HUSSEIN ousting the militants. Jordan's borders have changed since it gained independence. In 1948, Jordan took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the first Arab-Israeli War, eventually annexing those territories in 1950 and granting its new Palestinian residents Jordanian citizenship. In 1967, Jordan lost the West Bank and East Jerusalem to Israel in the Six-Day War but retained administrative claims to the West Bank until 1988, when King HUSSEIN permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank in favor of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). King HUSSEIN signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, after Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Accords in 1993. Jordanian kings continue to claim custodianship of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem by virtue of their Hashemite heritage as descendants of the Prophet Mohammad and agreements with Israel and Jerusalem-based religious and Palestinian leaders. After Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 War, it authorized the Jordanian-controlled Islamic Trust, or Waqf, to continue administering the Al Haram ash Sharif/Temple Mount holy compound, and the Jordan-Israel peace treaty reaffirmed Jordan's 'special role' in administering the Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem. Jordanian kings claim custodianship of the Christian sites in Jerusalem on the basis of the 7th-century Pact of Omar, when the Muslim leader, after conquering Jerusalem, agreed to permit Christian worship. King HUSSEIN died in 1999 and was succeeded by his eldest son and current King ABDALLAH II. In 2009, ABDALLAH II designated his son HUSSEIN as the Crown Prince. During his reign, ABDALLAH II has contended with a series of challenges, including the Arab Spring influx of refugees from neighboring states, the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of the war in Ukraine, a perennially weak economy, and the Israel-HAMAS conflict that began in October 2023.

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

Land boundaries
Total: 1,744 km
Border countries (5): (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 arid desert plateau; a great north-south geological rift along the west of the country is the dominant topographical feature and includes the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Jordanian Highlands

Elevation
Highest point: Jabal Umm ad Dami 1,854 m
Lowest point: Dead Sea -431 m
Mean elevation: 812 m

Land use
Agricultural land: 11.5% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 2.3% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 0.9% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 8.4% (2023 est.)
Forest: 0.8% (2023 est.)
Other: 87.7% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 875 km² (2022)

Natural hazards: droughts; periodic earthquakes; flash floods

Geography
Note: strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba; the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the 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)

Population
Total: 11,174,024 (2024 est.)
Male: 5,844,979
Female: 5,329,045
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
Growth rate: 0.78% (2024 est.)

Languages: Arabic (official), English (widely understood among upper and middle classes)
Major-language sample(s): ; كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Muslim 97.1% (official; predominantly Sunni), Christian 2.1% (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 <0.1%, other <0.1%, unaffiliated <0.1% (2020 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 30.9% (male 1,771,840/female 1,678,178)
15-64 years: 64.9% (male 3,844,575/female 3,409,164)
65 years and over: 4.2% (2024 est.) (male 228,564/female 241,703)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 54 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 47.6 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 6.5 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 15.4 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 25 years (2024 est.)
Male: 25.5 years
Female: 24.4 years

Population growth rate: 0.78% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 22.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

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: 92% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.98% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 2.232 million AMMAN (capital) (2023)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 31 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 13.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 12.1 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.5 years (2024 est.)
Male: 75 years
Female: 78.1 years

Total fertility rate: 2.87 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Drinking water source
Urban: 0.9% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 3% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 1% of population (2022 est.)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 1.1% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 2.1% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 1.2% of population (2022 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 2.5% (2023 est.)

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 18% (2024 est.); 18% (2023 est.); 18.2% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Capital
Name: Amman
Geographic coordinates: 31 57 N, 35 56 E
Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: in the 13th century B.C., the Ammonites named their primary city Rabbath Ammon; rabbath meant 'capital,' so the name translated as 'The Capital of [the] Ammon[ites];' over time, the name was shortened to Ammon, and then to Amman

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

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

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

Executive branch
Chief of state: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999)
Head of government: Prime Minister Jafar HASSAN (since 15 September 2024)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch in consultation with the prime minister
Election/appointment process: prime minister appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch
Legislature name: National Assembly (Majlis Al-Umma)
Legislative structure: bicameral

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green; a red isosceles triangle is on the left side, with a small white seven-pointed star in the center

National anthem
Title: 'As-salam al-malaki al-urdoni' (Long Live the King of Jordan)
Lyrics/music: Abdul-Mone'm al-RIFAI'/Abdul-Qader al-TANEER
History: adopted 1946; the shortened version of the anthem is most commonly used; the full version is reserved for special occasions

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 7 (6 cultural, 1 mixed)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:

Real gdp growth rate: 2.5% (2024 est.); 2.9% (2023 est.); 2.6% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: 2.5% (2024 est.); 2.9% (2023 est.); 2.6% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 78.9% (2021 est.)
Government consumption: 15.8% (2021 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 22.2% (2021 est.)
Investment in inventories: 3% (2021 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 30% (2021 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -50.4% (2021 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5.1% (2024 est.)
Industry: 25.1% (2024 est.)
Services: 60.4% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

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

Industrial production growth rate: 3.7% (2024 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 3.08 million (2024 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 18% (2024 est.); 18% (2023 est.); 18.2% (2022 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 18% (2024 est.); 18% (2023 est.); 18.2% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Budget
Revenues: $13.779 billion (2023 est.)
Expenditures: $17.159 billion (2023 est.)
Note: central government revenues and expenditures (excluding grants and social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

Taxes and other revenues: 17% (of GDP) (2023 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

Exports: $22.186 billion (2023 est.); $20.743 billion (2022 est.); $13.87 billion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: fertilizers, garments, phosphates, jewelry, phosphoric acid (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $28.922 billion (2023 est.); $30.019 billion (2022 est.); $23.321 billion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: cars, refined petroleum, gold, crude petroleum, jewelry (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 6.891 million kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 20.31 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Exports: 162.93 million kWh (2023 est.)
Imports: 383.073 million kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 2.472 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Access electrification - total population: 100% (2022 est.)
Access electrification - urban areas: 100%
Access electrification - rural areas: 98.9%
Generation sources fossil fuels: 76.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 15.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources wind: 7.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Coal
Consumption: 269,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
Imports: 110,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 20 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 97,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 1 million barrels (2021 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 200.004 million cubic meters (2023 est.)
Consumption: 5.441 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Exports: 375.998 million cubic meters (2018 est.)
Imports: 4.865 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 6.031 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 22.434 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 627,000 metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 13.264 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 8.544 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 32.909 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 451,000 (2023 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 7.73 million (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 68 (2022 est.)

Internet
Users percent of population: 93% (2023 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 805,000 (2023 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 7 (2023 est.)

Military expenditures: 4.5% of GDP (2024 est.); 4.5% of GDP (2023 est.); 4.8% of GDP (2022 est.); 5% of GDP (2021 est.); 5% of GDP (2020 est.)

Airports: 18 (2025)

Heliports: 6 (2025)

Railways
Total: 509 km (2020)
Narrow gauge: 509 km (2014) 1.050-m gauge

Merchant marine
Total: 34 (2023)
By type: general cargo 5, other 29