Introduction
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| King Abdullah with the Late King Hussein |
For most of its history since independence from British administration in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King Hussein Bin Talal (1953-1999). A pragmatic ruler, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, through several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he resumed parliamentary elections and gradually permitted political liberalization. And in 1994, a formal peace treaty was signed with Israel.
King Abdullah II - the eldest son of King Hussein and Princess Muna - assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and undertaken an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2000, and began to participate in the European Free Trade Association in 2001. After a two-year delay, parliamentary and municipal elections took place in the summer of 2003. The prime minister and government appointed in October 2003 declared their commitment to accelerated economic and political reforms and the new cabinet includes an unprecedented three women as ministers.
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| Jordanian flag |
Location: Situated in the Middle East, in the south-western part of Asia. Except for a very short stretch of coast along the Gulf of Aqaba in the south, Jordan is landlocked. Geographic Coordinates: 31 00 N, 36 00 E
Land Boundaries:
Total: 1,635 km
Border Countries: Iraq (east; 181 km), Israel (west; 238 km), Saudi Arabia (south; 744 km), Syria (north; 375 km), West Bank (west; 97 km)
Coastline: 26 km
Area:
Total: 92,300 sq km
Water: 329 sq km
Land: 91,971 sq km
Climate: Mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
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| Wadi Rum |
Terrain: Mostly desert plateau in east (80% of Jordan’s land). In the west is the Jordan River Valley, bordered to the east by steep highlands. A great Rift Valley separates the east and west banks of the Jordan River.
Elevation Extremes:
Lowest Point: Dead Sea -408 m
Highest Point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m
Natural Resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil
Land Use:
Arable Land: 2.8%
Permanent Crops: 1.5%
Other: 95.6% (1998 est.)
Irrigated Land: 750 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural Hazards: droughts; periodic earthquakes
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| Jordanian traditional costume |
Jordan has been home to many successive civilizations. Each group introduced new elements into the country’s religion, language, and architecture. Except for the Crusader period, Jordan has remained under Arab rule from the 7th century to the beginning of the 16th century, by which time the Turkish Ottoman Empire had expanded to include many Arab Middle Eastern countries.
The population represents a mixture of traditions. To be a Bedouin, or to come from Bedouin stock, is a matter of pride for many Jordanians. Bedouins are known as hospitable people of strong character, with a deep sense of family and tribal pride.
Refugee influxes have rendered the population evenly divided between “East Bankers” and Jordanians of Palestinian origin. The vast majority of Palestinian refugees, however, were given Jordanian citizenship.
Population: 5,611,202 (July 2004 est.)
- Population Density: 56.4 per sq km.
- Population Distribution: 38% in Amman; 34% in Irbid and Zarqa; and 28% in the remainder of Jordan
- Age Structure (2004 est.):
- Median Age: 22.2 years (male 22.8 years; female 21.5) (2004 est.)
- Population Growth Rate: 2.8 (2004 est.)
- Birth Rate: 29 per 1000 population (2004 est.)
- Death Rate: 5 per 1000 population (2004 est.)
- Total Fertility Rate: 3.7 (2002)
- Infant Mortality Rate: 18.11 per 1000 births (2004 est.)
- Ethnic Groups: Arab 98%; Circassian 1%; Armenian 1%
- Religions: Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2001 est.)
- Literacy: 91.3% (male 95.9%; female 86.3%) (2003 est.)
* 0-14 years: 35.2% (male 1,009,604; female 967,645) * 15-64 years: 61.1% (male 1,829,984; female 1,598,141) * 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 100,896; female 104,932)
Arabic (official), English is widely spoken and understood throughout Jordan.
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| Merchants in downtown Amman |
Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental problems, but since assuming the throne in 1999 King Abdullah II has undertaken some broad economic reforms in a long-term effort to improve living standards.
Jordan in the past three years has worked closely with the IMF, practiced careful monetary policy, and made significant headway with privatization. The government also has liberalized the trade regime sufficiently to secure Jordan's membership in the WTO (2000), an association agreement with the EU (2001), and a free trade agreement with US (2000). These measures have helped improve productivity and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map. The U.S. led war in Iraq in 2003 negatively impacted Jordan’s economy, given Jordan’s extensive trade relations with Iraq and dependence on Iraq for discounted oil (worth $300-$600 million per year). Several Gulf nations, as well as the United States, have provided temporary aid to overcome those challenges. Other ongoing challenges include fiscal adjustment to reduce the budget deficit, broader investment incentives to promote job-creating ventures, and the encouragement of tourism.
Economic Indicators (2003):
- GDP Growth Rate: 3.3%
- Fiscal Deficit/GDP: 5.1%
- Inflation: 2.3%
- External Debt: $7.7 billion
- Trade Deficit: $2.6 billion
- Unemployment: 15%
- Poverty Rate: 11%
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| The Jordanian Parliament |
Government Type: constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature
Capital: Amman
Administrative Divisions: 12 governorates – Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba
Independence: 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
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
Executive Branch:
Chief of State: King Abdullah II (since 7 February 1999); Crown Prince Hamzah (half brother of the monarch, born 29 March 1980)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Faisal Al-Fayez (since 22 October 2003)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch
Elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch
Legislative Branch:
Bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate (Majlis al-Ayan) (55 seats; members appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwaab) (110 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms; note - six seats are reserved for women and are allocated by a special electoral panel if no women are elected)
Elections: House of Representatives - last held 17 June 2003 (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; political parties were not legalized until 1992; the 2001 elections were delayed until 2003)