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GENERAL INFORMATION on JORDAN

GEOGRAPHY
PEOPLE
ECONOMY
GOVERNMENT
OTHER INFORMATION

Location:
Middle East, between Israel and Saudi Arabia
Map references:
Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
89,213 km2
Jordan in Middle East
land area:
88,884 km2
Land boundaries:
total 1,619 km
Coastline:
26 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
International disputes:
differences with Israel over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line that separates the two countries; water-sharing issues with Israel
Climate:
mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
Terrain:
Natural resources:
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.)
Environment:



Population:
3,823,636 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.57% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
39.48 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
4.32 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
33.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
71.61 years
male:
69.83 years
female:
73.51 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.79 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Jordanian man
Nationality:
noun:
Jordanian(s)
adjective:
Jordanian
Ethnic divisions:
Religions:
Languages:
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population:
80%
male:
89%
female:
70%
Labor force:
572,000 (1988)
by occupation:
  • agriculture 20%
  • manufacturing and mining 20% (1987 est.)


Names:
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
Digraph:
JO
Type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
Amman
King Hussein
Administrative divisions:
8 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah);
Independence:
25 May 1946 from League of Nations mandate under British administration
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
National holiday:
Independence Day, 25 May (1946)
Political parties and leaders:
approximately 24 parties have been formed since the National Charter, but the number fluctuates; after the 1989 parliamentary elections, King Hussein promised to allow the formation of political parties; a national charter that sets forth the ground rules for democracy in Jordan - including the creation of political parties - was approved in principle by the special National Conference on 9 June 1991.
Suffrage:
20 years of age; universal
Elections:
House of Representatives:
last held November 1993
Executive branch:
Legislative branch:
Bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-'Umma) consists of an upper house or House of Notables (Majlis al-A'ayan) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwaab).
Judicial branch:
Court of Cassation
Chief of State:
King HUSSEIN Ibn Talal Al Hashemi (since 11 August 1952)
Head of Government:
Flag:
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


Overview:
Jordan benefited from increased Arab aid during the oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its annual GNP growth averaged more than 10%. In the remainder of the 1980s, however, reductions in both Arab aid and worker remittances slowed economic growth to an average of roughly 2% per year. Imports - mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and food - have been outstripping 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 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 and worker remittances have plunged, and refugees have flooded the country, straining government resources. Economic recovery is unlikely without substantial foreign aid, debt relief, and economic reform.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $3.6 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
3% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
$1,100 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
40% (1991 est.)
Budget:
Exports:
$1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
partners:
India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, UAE, China
Imports:
$2.3 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
commodities:
crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods
partners:
EC countries, US, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey
External debt:
$6.8 billion
Industrial production:
growth rate 1% (1991 est.); accounts for 20% of GDP
Electricity:
1,030,000 kW capacity; 3,814 million kWh produced, 1,070 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
Agriculture:
Currency:
1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Railroads:
789 km 1.050-meter gauge, single track
Highways:
7,500 km; 5,500 km asphalt, 2,000 km gravel and crushed stone
Pipelines:
crude oil 209 km
Ports:
Al 'Aqabah
Merchant marine:
2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 60,378 GRT/113,557 DWT; includes 1 cargo and 1 oil tanker
Airports:
total:
19
usable:
15
with permanent-surface runways:
14
with runways over 3,659 m:
1
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
13
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
0
Telecommunications:

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