1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
Coastline
26 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than Indiana
Disputes
differences with Israel over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line which separates the two countries
Environment
lack of natural water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Land boundaries
1,586 km total; Iraq 134 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 742 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km
Land use
arable land 4%; permanent crops 0.5%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 0.5%; other 94%; includes irrigated 0.5%
Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 3 nm
Natural resources
phosphates, potash, shale oil
Terrain
mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River
Total area
91,880 km2; land area: 91,540 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
46 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
Infant mortality rate
38 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
572,000 (1988); agriculture 20%, manufacturing and mining 20% (1987 est.)
Language
Arabic (official); English widely understood among upper and middle classes
Life expectancy at birth
70 years male, 73 years female (1991)
Literacy
80% (male 89%, female 70%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Nationality
noun--Jordanian(s); adjective--Jordanian
Net migration rate
1 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Note
1.5-1.7 million Palestinians live on the East Bank (55-60% of the population), most are Jordanian citizens
Organized labor
about 10% of labor force
Population
3,412,553 (July 1991), growth rate 4.2% (1991)
Religion
Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%
Total fertility rate
7.1 children born/woman (1991)
Government
Administrative divisions
8 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Al Balqa, Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa, Irbid, Maan
Capital
Amman
Communists
party actively repressed, membership less than 500 (est.)
Constitution
8 January 1952
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Hussein A. HAMMAMI; Chancery at 3504 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 966-2664; US--Ambassador Roger Gram HARRISON; Embassy on Jebel Amman, Amman (mailing address is P. O. Box 354, Amman, or APO New York 09892); telephone [962] (6) 644-371
Elections
House of Representatives--last held 8 November 1989 (next to be held November 1993); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(80 total) Muslim Brotherhood 22, Independent Islamic bloc 10, Democratic bloc (mostly leftist) 15, Liberal bloc (traditionalist) 7, Nationalist bloc (traditionalist) 14, independent 12
Executive branch
monarch, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
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
Independence
25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration; formerly Trans-Jordan)
Judicial branch
Court of Cassation
Leaders
Chief of State--King HUSSEIN Ibn Talal I (since 11 August 1952); Head of Government--Prime Minister Tahir al-MASRI (since 17 June 1991)
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
Legislative branch
bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma) consists of an upper house or House of Notables (Majlis al-Aayan) and a lower house or House of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab); note--the House of Deputies was dissolved by King Hussein on 30 July 1988 as part of Jordanian disengagement from the West Bank and in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held, with no seats going to Palestinians on the West Bank
Long-form name
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Member of
ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 25 May (1946)
Political parties and leaders
none; 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--has been completed but not yet approved
Suffrage
universal at age 20
Type
constitutional monarchy
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for only 5% of GDP; principal products are wheat, barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives; livestock--sheep, goats, poultry; large net importer of food
Budget
revenues $1.05 billion; expenditures $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)
Currency
Jordanian dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.7 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.5 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $44 million
Electricity
981,000 kW capacity; 3,500 million kWh produced, 1,180 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1--0.6670 (January 1991), 0.6636 (1990), 0.5704 (1989), 0.3709 (1988), 0.3387 (1987), 0.3499 (1986), 0.3940 (1985)
Exports
$0.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--fruits and vegetables, phosphates, fertilizers; partners--Iraq, Saudi Arabia, India, Kuwait, Japan, China, Yugoslavia, Indonesia
External debt
$8 billion (December 1990 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$4.6 billion, per capita $1,400; real growth rate - 15% (1990 est.)
Imports
$2.1 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.); commodities--crude oil, textiles, capital goods, motor vehicles, foodstuffs; partners--EC, US, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey, Romania, China, Taiwan
Industrial production
growth rate - 15% (1990 est.); accounts for 20% of GDP
Industries
phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
15% (1990 est.)
Overview
Jordan was a secondary beneficiary of the oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its annual GNP growth averaged 10-12%. Recent years, however, have witnessed a sharp reduction in grant aid from Arab oil-producing countries and a dropoff in worker remittances, with national growth averaging 1-2%. Imports--mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and foodstuffs--have been outstripping exports by roughly $2 billion annually, the difference being made up by aid, remittances, and borrowing. In mid-1989, the Jordanian Government agreed to implement an IMF austerity program designed to tackle the country's serious economic problems. The program sought to gradually reduce the government's budget deficit over the next several years and implement badly needed structural reforms in the economy. In return for agreeing to the IMF program, Jordan was granted IMF standby loans of over $100 million. Recognizing that it would be unable to cover its debt obligations, the government also began debt rescheduling negotiations with creditors in mid-1989. The onset of the Gulf crisis in August 1990 forced the government to shelve the IMF program and suspend most debt payments and rescheduling negotiations. Economic prospects for 1991 are especially gloomy, given the unsettled conditions in the Middle East.
Unemployment rate
30% (January 1991 est.)
Communications
Airports
19 total, 16 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
19 major transport aircraft
Highways
7,500 km; 5,500 km asphalt, 2,000 km gravel and crushed stone
Merchant marine
2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,870 GRT/38,187 DWT; includes 1 bulk, 1 cargo
Pipelines
crude oil, 209 km
Ports
Al Aqabah
Railroads
619 km 1.050-meter gauge, single track
Telecommunications
adequate system of radio relay, cable, and radio; 81,500 telephones; stations--4 AM, 3 FM, 24 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT, 1 domestic TV receive-only; coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria; radio relay to Lebanon is inactive; a microwave network linking Syria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Jordan
Military and Security
Branches
Jordan Arab Army, Royal Jordanian Air Force, Royal Jordanian Coast Guard, Public Security Force
Defense expenditures
$377 million, 12.4% of GNP (1990) _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 778,353; 555,144 fit for military service; 39,879 reach military age (18) annually