Jordan (2003) | Baker Island (2002) | |
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 | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 35.9% (male 1,001,174; female 959,157)
15-64 years: 60.5% (male 1,764,061; female 1,541,453) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 95,566; female 98,854) (2003 est.) |
- |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry | - |
Airports | 17 (2002) | 1 abandoned World War II runway of 1,665 m, completely covered with vegetation and unusable |
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 (2002) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 92,300 sq km
land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
total: 1.4 sq km
land: 1.4 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | about 2.5 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 (1953-99). 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, including an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in January 2000, and signed free trade agreements with the United States in 2000, and with the European Free Trade Association in 2001. | The US took possession of the island in 1857, and its guano deposits were mined by US and British companies during the second half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization was begun on this island - as well as on nearby Howland Island - but was disrupted by World War II and thereafter abandoned. Presently the island is a National Wildlife Refuge run by the US Department of the Interior; a day beacon is situated near the middle of the west coast. |
Birth rate | 23.68 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $2.7 billion
expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $614 million (2002 est.) |
- |
Capital | 'Amman | - |
Climate | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) | equatorial; scant rainfall, constant wind, burning sun |
Coastline | 26 km | 4.8 km |
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 |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Baker Island |
Currency | Jordanian dinar (JOD) | - |
Death rate | 2.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $8.2 billion (2002 est.) | - |
Dependency status | - | unincorporated territory of the US; administered from Washington, DC, by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the US Department of the Interior as part of the National Wildlife Refuge system |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Edward William GNEHM, Jr.
embassy: Abdoun, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; Unit 70200, Box 5, APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 5920101 FAX: [962] (6) 5920121 |
- |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Karim Tawfiq KAWAR
chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664 FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110 |
- |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $553 million (2000 est.) | - |
Economy - overview | 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 King ABDALLAH since assuming the throne in 1999 has undertaken some broad economic reforms in a long-term effort to improve living standards. Amman 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 WTrO (2000), a free trade accord with US (2000), and an association agreement with the EU (2001). These measures have helped improve productivity and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map. The US-led war in Iraq in 2003 dealt an economic blow to Jordan, which was dependent on Iraq for discounted oil. It remains unclear how Jordan will finance energy imports in the absence of such a deal. Other ongoing challenges include fiscal adjustment to reduce the budget deficit and broader investment incentives to promote job-creating ventures. | no economic activity |
Electricity - consumption | 6.86 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - exports | 2 million kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 267 million kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 7.091 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 99.4%
hydro: 0.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
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 8 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | no natural fresh water resources |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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% | - |
Exchange rates | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.71 (2002), 0.71 (2001), 0.71 (2000), 0.71 (1999), 0.71 (1998) | - |
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 Faisal al-FAYEZ (since 25 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 |
- |
Exports | NA (2001) | - |
Exports - commodities | phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures, pharmaceuticals | - |
Exports - partners | Iraq 20.1%, US 14.5%, India 8.1%, Saudi Arabia 5.4%, Israel 4.4% (2002) | - |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
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 the US is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $22.63 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.7%
industry: 26% services: 70.3% (2001 est.) |
- |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2002 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 31 00 N, 36 00 E | 0 13 N, 176 31 W |
Geography - note | strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank | treeless, sparse, and scattered vegetation consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, and low growing shrubs; primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 7,245 km
paved: 7,245 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1997) |
- |
Imports | NA (2001) | - |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods | - |
Imports - partners | Iraq 13.4%, Germany 8.8%, US 8%, China 6%, France 4.2%, UK 4.1%, Italy 4.1% (2002) | - |
Independence | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | - |
Industries | phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, tourism | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: 18.86 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
- |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2002 est.) | - |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (1998 est.) | 0 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) | - |
Labor force | 1.36 million (2002) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | services 82.5%, industry 12.5%, agriculture 5% (2001 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total: 1,635 km
border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 744 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.87%
permanent crops: 1.52% other: 95.61% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
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 | the laws of the US, where applicable, apply |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayan) (40 seats; members appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives, also called the House of Deputies (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, next to be held NA 2007 election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - independents and others 89.6%, Islamic Action Front 10.4%; seats by party - independents and others 92, Islamic Action Front 18 (note - one of the six quota seats was given to a female IAF candidate) 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; King Abdallah delayed the 2001 elections until 2003 |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.88 years
male: 75.42 years female: 80.5 years (2003 est.) |
- |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.3% male: 95.9% female: 86.3% (2003 est.) |
- |
Location | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia | Oceania, atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and Australia |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 NM | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 63,522 GRT/79,776 DWT
ships by type: cargo 3, container 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 6 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US; visited annually by the US Coast Guard |
Military branches | Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) (Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Naval Force, Royal Jordanian Air Force, and Special Operations Command or SOCOM); note - Public Security Directorate normally falls under Ministry of Interior but comes under JAF in wartime or crisis situations | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $757.5 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 8.6% (FY01) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,577,136 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,113,787 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 58,840 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) | - |
Nationality | noun: Jordanian(s)
adjective: Jordanian |
- |
Natural hazards | droughts; periodic earthquakes | the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard |
Natural resources | phosphates, potash, shale oil | guano (deposits worked until 1891), terrestrial and aquatic wildlife |
Net migration rate | 6.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Pipelines | gas 10 km; oil 743 km (2003) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Al-Umma (Nation) Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH, secretary general]; Arab Land Party [Dr. Muhammad al-'ORAN, secretary general]; Communist Party [Munir HAMARINAH, secretary general]; Constitutional Front [Mahdi al-TALL, secretary general]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id DHIYAB, secretary general]; Jordanian Progressive Party [Fawwaz al-ZUBI, secretary general]; Jordanian People's Democratic (Hashd) Party [Salim al-NAHHAS, secretary general]; Islamic Action Front [Hazma MANSOUR, secretary general]; National Action (Haqq) Party [Muhammad al-ZUBI, secretary general]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general]; (Arab) Socialist Ba'th Party [Taysif al-HIMSI, secretary general]; Pan-Arab (Democratic) Movement [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI, secretary general] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Anti-Normalization Committee [Ali Abu SUKKAR, president vice chairman]; Jordanian Bar Association [Saleh ARMOUTI, president]; Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF, president]; Muslim Brotherhood [Abd-al-Majid DHUNAYBAT, secretary general] | - |
Population | 5,460,265 (July 2003 est.) | uninhabited
note: American civilians evacuated in 1942 after Japanese air and naval attacks during World War II; occupied by US military during World War II, but abandoned after the war; public entry is by special-use permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and educators; a cemetery and remnants of structures from early settlement are located near the middle of the west coast; visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife Service (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 30% (2001 est.) | - |
Population growth rate | 2.78% (2003 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Al 'Aqabah | none; offshore anchorage only; note - there is one small boat landing area along the middle of the west coast |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) | - |
Railways | total: 505 km
narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2002) |
- |
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.) | - |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
- |
Suffrage | 18 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 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 |
- |
Telephones - main lines in use | 403,000 (1997) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 11,500 (1995) | - |
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, nearly level coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef |
Total fertility rate | 3 children born/woman (2003 est.) | - |
Transportation - note | - | there is a day beacon near the middle of the west coast |
Unemployment rate | 16% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (2001 est.) | - |
Waterways | none | none |