1999 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1999 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
total: 89,213 sq km land: 88,884 sq km water: 329 sq km
Area--comparative
slightly smaller than Indiana
Climate
mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
Coastline
26 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Jabal Ram 1,754 m
Environment--current issues
limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Environment--international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geographic coordinates
31 00 N, 36 00 E
Irrigated land
630 sq km (1993 est.)
Land boundaries
total: 1,619 km border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km
Land use
arable land: 4% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 1% other: 85% (1993 est.)
Location
Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia
Map references
Middle East
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 3 nm
Natural hazards
NA
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
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 43% (male 1,005,211; female 954,968) 15-64 years: 54% (male 1,265,116; female 1,200,372) 65 years and over: 3% (male 67,852; female 67,628) (1999 est.)
Birth rate
34.31 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate
3.85 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Ethnic groups
Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
Infant mortality rate
32.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Languages
Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 73.06 years male: 71.15 years female: 75.08 years (1999 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.6% male: 93.4% female: 79.4% (1995 est.)
Nationality
noun: Jordanian(s) adjective: Jordanian
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Population
4,561,147 (July 1999 est.)
Population growth rate
3.05% (1999 est.)
Religions
Sunni Muslim 96%, Christian 4% (1997 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.64 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
12 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba
Capital
Amman
Constitution
8 January 1952
Country name
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
Data code
JO
Executive branch
chief of state: King ABDULLAH II (since 7 February 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Fayez TARAWNEH (since 20 August 1998) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch
Flag description
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
Government type
constitutional monarchy
Independence
25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
International organization participation
ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Marwan Jamil MUASHIR chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William BURNS embassy: Jabel Amman, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200
Judicial branch
Court of Cassation Political parties and leaders: Al-Ahrar (Freedom) Party [Dr. Ahmad ZO'BI, secretary general]; Arab Ba'th Progressive Party Ishaq al-FARHAN, secretary general]; Jordanian Arab Constitutional MAJALI, secretary general]; National Democratic Public Movement HNEIDI, secretary general]
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 or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate (a 40-member body appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (80 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: House of Representatives--last held 4 November 1997 (next to be held NA November 2001) election results: House of Representatives--percent of vote by party--NA; seats by party--National Constitutional Party 2, Arab Land Party 1, independents 75, other 2 note: the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the monarch several times since 1974; in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held
National holiday
Independence Day, 25 May (1946)
Suffrage
20 years of age; universal
Economy
Agriculture--products
wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry
Budget
revenues: $2.8 billion expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $672 million (1999 est.)
Currency
1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
Debt--external
$7.5 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid--recipient
$1.097 billion (1995); note?received $320 million from ODA in 1998 (est.)
Economy--overview
Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil and coal. 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 recovery was uneven. A preliminary agreement with the IMF in early 1999 will provide new loans over the next three years. Sluggish growth, along with debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental ongoing economic problems.
Electricity--consumption
5.52 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports
0 kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports
0 kWh (1996)
Electricity--production
5.52 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source
fossil fuel: 99.64% hydro: 0.36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Exchange rates
Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1--0.7090 (January 1999-1996), 0.7005 (1995), 0.6987 (1994), 0.6928 (1993) note: since May 1989, the dinar has been pegged to a basket of currencies
Exports
$1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)
Exports--commodities
phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures
Exports--partners
Iraq, India, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE, Syria, Ethiopia
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
purchasing power parity--$15.5 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector
agriculture: 6% industry: 30% services: 64% (1995 est.)
GDP--per capita
purchasing power parity?$3,500 (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate
2.2% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 34.7% (1991)
Imports
$3.9 billion (c.i.f., 1997 est.)
Imports--commodities
crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods
Imports--partners
EU, Iraq, US, Japan, Turkey, Malaysia, Syria, China
Industrial production growth rate
-3.4% (1996)
Industries
phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
4% (1998 est.)
Labor force
1.15 million note: in addition, there are 300,000 foreign workers (1997 est.)
Labor force--by occupation
industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52% (1992)
Population below poverty line
30% (1998 est.)
Unemployment rate
15% official rate; note--actual rate is 25%-30% (1998 est.)
Communications
Radio broadcast stations
AM 6, FM 7, shortwave 1 (1998 est.)
Radios
1.1 million (1992 est.)
Telephone system
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial and fiber-optic cable, and cellular; Jordan has two cellular telephone providers (with approximately 50,000 subscribers in 1998), ten data service providers, and four Internet service providers (with approximately 8,000 subscribers in 1998) international: satellite earth stations--3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals (1996); coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Israel; building a Red Sea Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) fiber-optic submarine cable link and planning to update links with Saudi Arabia and Israel to fiber-optic cable; 4,000 international circuits (1998 est.); participant in Medarabtel
Telephones
425,000 (1998)
Television broadcast stations
8 (in addition, there are approximately 42 repeaters and 1 TV receive-only satellite link) (1997)
Televisions
350,000 (1992 est.)
Transportation
Airports
17 (1998 est.) Airports--with paved runways: total: 14 over 3,047 m: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (1998 est.) Airports--with unpaved runways: total: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (1998 est.)
Highways
total: 8,000 km paved: 8,000 km unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.)
Merchant marine
total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 42,746 GRT/59,100 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 2, container 1, livestock carrier 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1998 est.)
Pipelines
crude oil 209 km Ports and harbors: Al 'Aqabah
Railways
total: 677 km narrow gauge: 677 km 1.050-m gauge; note--an additional 110 km stretch of the old Hejaz railroad is out of use (1998 est.)
Military and Security
Military branches
Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF; includes Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Naval Force, and Royal Jordanian Air Force); Badiya (irregular) Border Guards; Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Force (falls under JAF only in wartime or crisis situations)
Military expenditures--dollar figure
$608.9 million (FY 98)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP
7.8% (1997)
Military manpower--availability
males age 15-49: 1,113,998 (1999 est.) Military manpower--fit for military service: males age 15-49: 793,002 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--military age
18 years of age
Military manpower--reaching military age annually
males: 49,954 (1999 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international
none