1995 Edition

Area

total area: 89,213 sq km land area: 88,884 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

Climate

mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)

Coastline

26 km

Environment

current issues: limited natural fresh 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

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

570 sq km (1989 est.)

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%

Location

Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia

Map references

Middle East

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 44% (female 884,462; male 930,266) 15-64 years: 53% (female 1,058,060; male 1,119,347) 65 years and over: 3% (female 53,709; male 54,865) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate

37.32 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

4.02 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%

Infant mortality rate

32.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

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)

Languages

Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.27 years male: 70.43 years female: 74.21 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1991) total population: 83% male: 91% female: 75%

Nationality

noun: Jordanian(s) adjective: Jordanian

Net migration rate

-6.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

4,100,709 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

2.69% (1995 est.)

Religions

Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%

Total fertility rate

5.25 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Administrative divisions

8 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Ma'an

Capital

Amman

Constitution

8 January 1952

Digraph

JO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Fayiz A. TARAWNEH chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664

Executive branch

chief of state: King HUSSEIN Bin Talal Al Hashimi (since 11 August 1952) head of government: Prime Minister Zayd BIN SHAKIR (since 8 January 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch

FAX

[1] (202) 966-3110

[962] (6) 820159

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

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

Independence

25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

Judicial branch

Court of Cassation

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)

Member of

ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIL, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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)

Political parties and leaders

Al-'Ahd (Pledge) Party, Sec. Gen. 'Abd al-Hadi al-MAJALI; Al-Ahrar (Liberals) Party, Sec. Gen. Ahmad al-ZU'BI; Al-Hurriyah (Freedom) Party, Sec. Gen. Fawwaz al-ZUBI; Al-Watan (Homeland) Party, leader 'Akif al-FAYIZ; Al-Yaqazah (Awakening) Party, Sec. Gen. 'Abd al-Ra'uf al-RAWABIDAH; Constitutional Jordanian Arab Front Party, leader Milhim al-TALL; Democratic Arab Islamic Movement Party-Du'a', Sec. Gen. Yusuf Abu BAKR; Democratic Arab Unionist Party-Wad, Sec. Gen. Anis al-MU'ASHIR; Islamic Action Front (IAF), Sec. Gen. Ishaq al-FARHAN; Jordanian Arab Democratic Party, Sec. Gen. Mu'nis al-RAZZAZ; Jordanian Arab Masses Party, Sec. Gen. 'Abd al-Khaliq SHATAT; Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'th Party, Command First Secretary Taysir al-HIMSI; Jordanian Communist Party (JCP), Sec. Gen. Ya'qub ZAYADIN; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party, Sec. Gen. 'Azmi al-KHAWAJA; Jordanian Democratic Progressive Party, Sec. Gen. 'Ali 'AMIR; Jordanian National Alliance Party, Sec. Gen. Mijhim al-KHURAYSHAH; Jordanian People's Democratic Party-Hashd, Sec. Gen. Taysir al-ZIBRI; Jordanian Socialist Democratic Party, Sec. Gen. 'Isa MADANAT; Pan-Arab Action Front Party, Sec. Gen. Muhammad al-ZU'BI; Popular Unity Party-the Unionists, Sec. Gen. Talal al-RAMAHI; Progress and Justice Party, Sec. Gen. 'Ali al-SA'D; Progressive Arab Ba'th Party, Command Secretary Mahmud al-MA'AYITAH; Al-Mustaqbal (Future) Party, Sec. Gen. Sulayman 'ARAR

Suffrage

20 years of age; universal

Type

constitutional monarchy

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Wesley E. EGAN, Jr. embassy: Jabel Amman, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 820101

Agriculture

accounts for about 8% of GDP; wheat, barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry; large net importer of food

Budget

revenues: $2 billion expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $630 million (1995 est.)

Currency

1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils

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: 1,050,000 kW production: 4.2 billion kWh consumption per capita: 1,072 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.6994 (January 1995), 0.5987 (1994), 0.6928 (1993), 0.6797 (1992), 0.6808 (1991), 0.6636 (1990)

Exports

$1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures partners: India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE

External debt

$6 billion (March 1995 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Imports

$3.5 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods partners: EU, US, Iraq, Japan, Turkey

Industrial production

growth rate 3% (1993 est.); accounts for 20% of GDP

Industries

phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6% (1994 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $17 billion (1994 est.)

National product per capita

$4,280 (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate

5.5% (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 was uneven throughout 1994. The government is implementing the reform program adopted in 1992 and continues to secure rescheduling and write-offs of its heavy foreign debt. Debt, poverty, and unemployment remain Jordan's biggest on-going problems.

Unemployment rate

16% (1994 est.)

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 7, shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telephone system

81,500 telephones; adequate telephone system local: NA microwave, cable, and radio links intercity: NA international: 2 INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 ARABSAT earth station; 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

Television

broadcast stations: 8 and 1 TV receive-only satellite link televisions: NA

Airports

total: 17 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 9 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1

Highways

total: 7,500 km paved: asphalt 5,500 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 2,000 km

Merchant marine

total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 61,678 GRT/113,080 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, oil tanker 1

Pipelines

crude oil 209 km

Ports

Al'Aqabah

Railroads

total: 789 km narrow gauge: 789 km 1.050-m gauge

Branches

Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF; includes Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Naval Force, and Royal Jordanian Air Force); Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Force (falls under JAF only in wartime or crisis situations)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $564.2 million, 9.1% of GDP (1995 est.) ________________________________________________________________________ JUAN DE NOVA ISLAND (possession of France)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 981,004; males fit for military service 699,891; males reach military age (18) annually 45,494 (1995 est.)