1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Administrative divisions
8 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Ma'an
Affiliation
(also see separate West Bank entry)
Agriculture
accounts for about 10% of GDP; principal products are wheat, barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives; livestock - sheep, goats, poultry; large net importer of food
Airports
total: 16 usable: 14 with permanent-surface runways: 13 with runways over 3,659 m: 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
Area
total area: 89,213 sq km land area: 88,884 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana
Birth rate
38.77 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Branches
Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) includes Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Jordanian Air Force, Royal Naval Force; Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Force (falls under JAF only in wartime or crisis situations)
Budget
revenues: $1.7 billion expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $420 million (1993)
Capital
Amman
Climate
mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
Coastline
26 km
Constitution
8 January 1952
Currency
1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
Death rate
4.22 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $435 million, 7.9% of GDP (1993)
Digraph
JO
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Fayiz A. TARAWNAH chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 966-2664
Economic aid
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.7 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.5 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $44 million
Electricity
capacity: 1,030,000 kW production: 3.814 billion kWh consumption per capita: 1,070 kWh (1992)
Environment
current issues: lack of adequate natural water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
Ethnic divisions
Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
Exchange rates
Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.7019 (February 1994), 0.6928 (1993), 0.6797 (1992), 0.6808 (1991), 0.6636 (1990), 0.5704 (1989)
Executive branch
chief of state: King HUSSEIN Bin Talal Al Hashimi (since 11 August 1952) head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Salam al-MAJALI (since May 1993) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch
Exports
$1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures partners: India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EC, Indonesia, UAE
External debt
$6.8 billion (December 1993 est.)
FAX
(202) 966-3110
Fiscal year
calendar year
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
Highways
total: 7,500 km paved: asphalt 5,500 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 2,000 km
House of Notables (Majlis al-A'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
Imports
$3.2 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods partners: EC, US, Iraq, Japan, Turkey
Independence
25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Industrial production
growth rate 3% (1993 est.); accounts for 20% of GDP
Industries
phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing
Infant mortality rate
32.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
5% (1993 est.)
International disputes
differences with Israel over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line that separates the two countries; water-sharing issues with Israel
Irrigated land
570 sq km (1989 est.)
Judicial branch
Court of Cassation
Labor force
600,000 (1992) by occupation: industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10.0%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52.0% (1992)
Land boundaries
total 1,619 km, Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 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%
Languages
Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes
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)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 71.85 years male: 70.04 years female: 73.77 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 80% male: 89% female: 70%
Location
Middle East, between Israel and Saudi Arabia
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 966,420; fit for military service 685,112; reach military age (18) annually 42,776 (1994 est.)
Map references
Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 3 nm
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, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOSOM, UNRWA, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Merchant marine
3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 71,566 GRT/129,351 DWT, bulk 1, cargo 1, oil tanker 1
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
National holiday
Independence Day, 25 May (1946)
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $11.5 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$3,000 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
5% (1993 est.)
Nationality
noun: Jordanian(s) adjective: Jordanian
Natural resources
phosphates, potash, shale oil
Net migration rate
0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
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 has been losing steam since mid-1993. The government is implementing the reform program adopted in 1992 and continues to secure rescheduling of its heavy foreign debt.
Pipelines
crude oil 209 km
Political parties and leaders
NA; note - political parties were legalized in December 1992
Population
3,961,194 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
3.5% (1994 est.)
Ports
Al 'Aqabah
Railroads
789 km 1.050-meter gauge, single track
Religions
Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%
Suffrage
20 years of age; universal
Telecommunications
adequate telephone system of microwave, cable, and radio links; 81,500 telephones; broadcast stations - 5 AM, 7 FM, 8 TV; satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT, 1 domestic TV receive-only; 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
Terrain
mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River
Total fertility rate
5.64 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
constitutional monarchy
Unemployment rate
20% (1993 est.)
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Wesley EGAN, Jr. embassy: Jabel Amman, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman, or APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 820-101