Jordan (2001) | Tokelau (2006) | |
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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 | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
37.23% (male 980,345; female 938,081) 15-64 years: 59.44% (male 1,633,579; female 1,429,631) 65 years and over: 3.33% (male 84,815; female 86,927) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats; fish |
Airports | 18 (2000 est.) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
15 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
92,300 sq km land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | For most of its history since independence from British administration in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King HUSSEIN (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; in 1994 a formal peace treaty was signed with Israel. King ABDALLAH 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 established his domestic priorities. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 25.44 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues:
$2.8 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million; including capital expenditures of NA (1987 est.) |
Capital | Amman | none; each atoll has its own administrative center
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 26 km | 101 km |
Constitution | 8 January 1952 | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948; amended in 1970 |
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 |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | Jordanian dinar (JOD) | - |
Death rate | 2.62 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $8 billion (2000 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN sponsored referendum on self-governance, in February 2006, did not produce the two thirds majority vote necessary for changing the current political status |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador William J. BURNS embassy: Abdoum, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 5920101 FAX: [962] (6) 5920121 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Marwan Jamil MUASHER chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664 FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $850 million (1996 est.) | about $4 million annually from New Zealand |
Economy - overview | Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. The Persian Gulf crisis, which began in August 1990, aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the government to stop most debt payments and suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker remittances, and trade revenues contracted. 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. After averaging 9% in 1992-95, GDP growth averaged only 1.5% during 1996-99. In an attempt to spur growth, King ABDALLAH has undertaken limited economic reform, including partial privatization of some state-owned enterprises and Jordan's entry in January 2000 into the World Trade Organization (WTrO). Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental ongoing economic problems. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.594 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 4 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 407 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 6.657 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
99.79% hydro: 0.21% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.7090 (1996-present )
note: since May 1989, the Jordanian dinar has been pegged to a group of currencies |
New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Crown Prince HAMZAH (half brother of the monarch, born 29 March 1980) head of government: Prime Minister Ali Abul RAGHEB (since 19 June 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); New Zealand is represented by Administrator David PAYTON (since 17 October 2006)
head of government: Kolouei O'BRIEN (2006); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders) cabinet: the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, consisting of three Faipule (village leaders) and three Pulenuku (village mayors), functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $0 f.o.b. (2002) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE, Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Ethiopia | New Zealand (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top, the Abbassid Caliphate of Islam), white (the Ummayyad Caliphate of Islam), and green (the Fatimid Caliphate of Islam) with a red isosceles triangle (representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916) based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3% industry: 25% services: 72% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 31 00 N, 36 00 E | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | - | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
8,000 km paved: 8,000 km unpaved: 0 km (2000 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.4% highest 10%: 34.7% (1991) |
- |
Imports | $4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $969,200 c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | Iraq, Germany, US, Japan, UK, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia, Syria, China | New Zealand (2004) |
Independence | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.8% (2000 est.) | - |
Industries | phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, tourism | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | 20.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.7% (2000 est.) | NA% |
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, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | PIF (observer), SPC, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 630 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 1.15 million
note: in addition, at least 300,000 workers are employed abroad (1997 est.) |
440 |
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) | - |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
4% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 1% other: 85% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
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 | New Zealand and local statutes |
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 |
unicameral General Fono (21 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Nukunonu has 6 seats, Fakaofo has 7 seats, Atafu has 8 seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held January 2005 (next to be held January 2008) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.53 years male: 75.1 years female: 80.12 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.6% male: 93.4% female: 79.4% (1995 est.) |
NA |
Location | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 40,919 GRT/57,777 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, container 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military 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) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $608.9 million (FY98/99) | $66.72 million |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 7.8% (FY98/99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,458,571 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,034,109 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
57,131 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun:
Jordanian(s) adjective: Jordanian |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | droughts | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | phosphates, potash, shale oil | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 7.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Pipelines | crude oil 209 km; note - may not be in use | - |
Political parties and leaders | Al-Umma (Nation) Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH, secretary general]; Arab Land Party [Dr. Muhammad al-'ORAN, secretary general]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'eed THIYAB, secretary general]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Council of Professional Association Presidents [Ahmad al-QADIRI, chairman]; Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF, president]; Muslim Brotherhood [Abd-al-Majid DHUNAYBAT, secretary general] | none |
Population | 5,153,378 (July 2001 est.) | 1,392 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 30% (1998 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | -0.01% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Al 'Aqabah | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: 1 radio station provides service to all islands (2002) |
Radios | 1.66 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
677 km narrow gauge: 677 km 1.050-m gauge (2000) |
- |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2000 est.) | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
service has improved recently with the increased use of digital switching equipment, but better access to the telephone system is needed in the rural areas and easier access to pay telephones is needed by the urban public domestic: microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; considerable use is made of mobile cellular systems; Internet service is available international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals; fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria; connection to international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); participant in MEDARABTEL; international links total about 4,000 |
general assessment: modern satellite-based communications system;
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | 403,000 (1997) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 11,500 (1995) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995) | - |
Terrain | mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 3.29 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 15% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | - |