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CIA World Factbook 1981 (Internet Archive)

Jordan

1981 Edition · 81 data fields

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Geography

Area

96,089 km2 (including about 5,439 km2 occupied by Israel); 11% agricultural, 88% desert, waste, or urban, 1% forested
181,300 km2; 16% cultivated, 74% forested, 10% built-on area, wasteland, and other

Coastline

26 km
about 443 km

Land boundaries

1,770 km (1967, 1,668 km excluding occupied areas)
2,438 km

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

3 nm
12 nm (economic including fishing 200 nm)

NOTE

The war between Israel and the Arab states in June 1967 ended with Israel in control of West Jordan. Although approximately 930,000 persons resided in this area before the start of the war, fewer than 750,000 of them remain there under the Israeli occupation, the remainder having fled to East Jordan. Over 14,000 of those who fled were repatriated in August 1967, but their return has been more than offset by other Arabs who have crossed and are continuing to cross from West to East Jordan. These and certain other effects of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war are not included in the data below.

People and Society

Ethnic divisions

98% Arab, 1% Circassian, 1% Armenian
90% Khmer (Kampuchean), 5% Chinese, 5% other minorities

Labor force

638,000; less than 2% unemployed

Language

Arabic official; English widely understood among upper and middle classes
Cambodian

Literacy

about 50%-55% in East Jordan; somewhat less than 60% in West Jordan

Nationality

noun — Jordanian(s); adjective — Jordanian
noun — Kampuchean(s); adjective — Kampuchean

Organized labor

9.8% of labor force

Population

3,246,000— East and West Banks, including East Jerusalem (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.2%; East Bank, 2,415,000, average annual growth rate 3.9%; West Bank, including East Jerusalem, 831,000, average annual growth rate 1.2%
5,882,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.9%

Religion

90%-92% Sunni Muslim, 8%-10% Christian
95% Theravada Buddhism, 5% various other

Government

Branches

King holds balance of power; Prime Minister exercises executive authority in name of King; Cabinet appointed by King and responsible to parliament; bicameral parliament with House of Representatives last chosen by national elections in April 1967, and dissolved by King in February 1976; a National Consultative Council appointed by the King in March 1978 as temporary substitute for House of Representatives; Senate last appointed by King in January 1979; present parliament subservient to executive; secular court system based on differing legal systems of the former Transjordan and Palestine; law Western in concept and structure; Sharia (religious) courts for Muslims, and religious community council courts for non-Muslim communities; desert police carry out quasi-judicial functions in desert areas
Cabinet, State Presidium, and some form of People's Representative Assembly in Democratic Kampuchea; Peoples Revolutionary Council, various ministries, and a "National Congress" held in early 1979 and a second time in September 1979 in PRK KAMPUCHEA (Continued)

Capital

'Amman
Phnom Penh

Communists

party actively repressed, membership estimated at less than 500

Government leader

King HUSSEIN I

Government leaders

Presidium Chairman and Prime Minister KHIEU SAMPHAN; Deputy Prime Ministers IENG SARY and SON SEN; Assembly Standing Committee Chairman NUON CHEA in Democratic Kampuchea; Chairman, Council of State, HENG SAMRIN; Chairman, Council of Ministers, CHAN SI; Minister of National Defense BOU THANG; and Foreign Minister HUN SEN in PRK

Legal system

based on Islamic law and French codes; constitution adopted 1952; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Judicial Committee chosen by People's Representative Assembly in Democratic Kampuchea; no information for PRK

Member of

Arab League, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ISCON, ITU, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ITU, Mekong Committee (inactive), NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO for Democratic Kampuchea; none for PRK

National holiday

Independence Day, 25 May
17 April for both regimes

Official name

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Democratic Kampuchea (supported by resistance forces deployed principally near the western border); People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK; proVietnamese, in Phnom Penh)

Political subdivisions

eight governorates (three Israeli occupied) under centrally appointed officials
19 provinces

Suffrage

all citizens over age 20 Political parties and leaders: political party activity illegal since 1957; Palestine Liberation Organization and various smaller fedayeen groups clandestinely active on West Bank; Muslim Brotherhood
universal over age 18 Political parties and leaders: Democratic Kampuchea Khmer Communist Party disbanded December 1981 though chief political figure still former party chairman Pol Pot; in PRK Kampuchean United Front for National Construction and Defense (KUFNCD) and separate Kampuchean Peoples Revolutionary Party

Type

constitutional monarchy
both are Communist states

Economy

Agriculture

main crops — vegetables, fruits, olive oil, wheat; not self-sufficient in many foodstuffs
mainly subsistence except for rubber plantations; main crops — rice, rubber, corn; food shortages — rice, meat, vegetables, dairy products, sugar, flour

Aid

economic— OPEC (ODA; 1973-76), $1,143.1 million; US, including Ex-Im, (1970-80), $1.2 billion; Western (nonUS) countries, ODA and OOF (1970-79), $391 million; military— US (1970-76), $906.8 million
economic commitments— US (FY70-80), $690 million; other Western, (1970-79) $135 million; military (FY7080) — US, $1,260 million; Communist not available

Budget

(1980)— $1,291 million public revenue, $971 million current expenditures, $520 million capital expenditures
no budget data available since Communists took over government Monetary conversion rate (1978): no currency in use

Electric power

299,000 kW capacity (1980); 917 million kWh produced (1980), 290 kWh per capita, East Bank only
120,000 kW capacity (1981); 100 million kWh produced (1981), 18 kWh per capita

Exports

$553 million (f.o.b., 1980); fruits and vegetables, phosphate rock; Communist share 13% of total (1980) KAMPUCHEA JORDAN (Continued)
$553 million (f.o.b., 1980); fruits and vegetables, phosphate rock; Communist share 13% of total (1980)
probably less than $1 million est. (1978); natural rubber, rice, pepper, wood

Fiscal year

calendar year
calendar year

GNP

$3.4 billion (East Bank only, 1980), $1,250 per capita; real growth rate (1980), 9%
less than $500 million (1971)

Imports

$2,414 million (c.i.f., 1980); petroleum products, textiles, capital goods, motor vehicles, foodstuffs; Communist share 7% of total (1980)
probably less than $20 million (1978); food, fuel, machinery

Major industries

phosphate mining, petroleum refining, and cement production, light manufacturing
rice milling, fishing, wood and wood products

Monetary conversion rate

1 Jordanian dinar= US$3.35, freely convertible (1980 average); 1 Jordanian dinar= US$2.99 (October 1981)

Shortages

fossil fuels

Trade partners

(1978) exports — China; imports — China, North Korea; (1981) Vietnam and USSR

Communications

Airfields

27 total, 18 usable; 16 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m, 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
52 total, 23 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 8 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

17 major transport aircraft, including 2 leased in

Highways

6,332 total; 4,837 paved, 1,495 gravel and crushed stone
13,351 km total; 2,622 km bituminous, 7,105 km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth; and 3,624 km unimproved earth; some roads in disrepair

Inland waterways

3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 meters; 282 km navigable to craft drawing 1.8 meters

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1981, $874 million; 44% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 722,000; 511,000 fit for military service; 36,000 reach military age (18) annually

Pipelines

crude oil, 209 km

Ports

1 major (Aqaba)
2 major, 5 minor

Railroads

817 km 1.050-meter gauge, single track
612 km meter gauge (1.00 m); government owned

Telecommunications

adequate system of radio-relay, wire, and radio; 53,000 telephones (1.6 per 100 popl.); 5 AM, no FM, and 1 1 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station, 1 Indian Ocean station DEFENSE FORCES
service barely adequate for government requirements and virtually nonexistent for general public; international service limited to Vietnam and other adjacent countries; radiobroadcasts limited to 1 station

Military and Security

Military manpower

males 15-49, 1,571,000; 843,000 fit for military service; 99,000 reach military age (18) annually

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