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Compare Jordan (2005) - British Virgin Islands (2005)
Compare Jordan (2005) z British Virgin Islands (2005)
| Jordan (2005) | British Virgin Islands (2005) | |
 |  | |
| 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 (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 34.5% (male 1,015,084/female 973,220)
15-64 years: 61.7% (male 1,897,643/female 1,656,570) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 106,168/female 111,047) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 21% (male 2,400/female 2,358)
15-64 years: 73.9% (male 8,607/female 8,115) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 614/female 549) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
| Airports | 17 (2004 est.) | 3 (2004 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 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 92,300 sq km
land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | about 0.9 times the size of 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, despite several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he reinstituted parliamentary elections and gradual political liberalization; in 1994 he signed a formal peace treaty 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 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 April 2005 declared they would build upon the previous government's achievements to respect political and human rights and improve living standards. | First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
| Birth rate | 21.76 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.96 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $3.483 billion
expenditures: $3.616 billion, including capital expenditures of $782 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1997) |
| Capital | 'Amman | Road Town |
| Climate | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
| Coastline | 26 km | 80 km |
| Constitution | 1 January 1952; amended 1974, 1976, 1984 | 1 June 1977 |
| 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: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
| Death rate | 2.63 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $7.32 billion (2004 est.) | $36.1 million (1997) |
| Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires David M. HALE
embassy: Abdoun, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; Unit 70200, Box 5, APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 592-0101 FAX: [962] (6) 592-4102 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| 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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Disputes - international | 2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $500 million (2004 est.) | NA |
| 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 substantial headway with privatization. The government also has liberalized the trade regime sufficiently to secure Jordan's membership in the WTO (2000), a free trade accord with the US (2001), and an association agreement with the EU (2001). These measures have helped improve productivity and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map. Jordan imported most of its oil from Iraq, but the US-led war in Iraq in 2003 made Jordan more dependent on oil from other Gulf nations forcing the Jordanian government to raise retail petroleum product prices and the sales tax base. Jordan's export market, which is heavily dependent on exports to Iraq, was also affected by the war but recovered quickly while contributing to the Iraq recovery effort. The main challenges facing Jordan are reducing dependence on foreign grants, reducing the budget deficit, and creating investment incentives to promote job creation. | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959. |
| Electricity - consumption | 7.094 billion kWh (2002) | 33.74 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 2 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 7.307 billion kWh (2002) | 36.28 million kWh (2002) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
| Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
| Ethnic groups | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed |
| Exchange rates | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.709 (2004), 0.709 (2003), 0.709 (2002), 0.709 (2001), 0.709 (2000) | the US dollar is used |
| Executive branch | chief of state: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Prince HUSSEIN (born 1994), son of King ABDALLAH, is first in line to inherit the throne
head of government: Prime Minister Adnan BADRAN (since 7 April 2005); Deputy Prime Ministers Marwan al-MUASHER and Hisham al-TEL (since 3 July 2005) 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 Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
| Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA |
| Exports - commodities | clothing, phosphates, fertilizers, potash, vegetables, manufactures, pharmaceuticals | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
| Exports - partners | US 28.9%, Iraq 17.6%, India 7.1%, Saudi Arabia 5.6% (2004) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), representing the Abbassid Caliphate, white, representing the Ummayyad Caliphate, and green, representing the Fatimid Caliphate; a red isosceles triangle on the hoist side, representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, and 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; design is based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.4%
industry: 26% services: 71.5% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $38,500 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.1% (2004 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 31 00 N, 36 00 E | 18 30 N, 64 30 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 | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
| Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
| Highways | total: 7,301 km
paved: 7,301 km unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
total: 177 km
paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
| Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering |
| Imports | 100,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA |
| Imports - commodities | crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
| Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 19.8%, China 8.4%, Germany 6.8%, US 6.8% (2004) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
| Independence | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2004 est.) | NA% |
| Industries | phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 17.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 18.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (2004 est.) | 2.5% (2003) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU |
| Irrigated land | 750 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
| Judicial branch | Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
| Labor force | 1.41 million (2004 est.) | 12,770 (2004) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 12.5%, services 82.5% (2001 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
| 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: 2.67%
permanent crops: 1.83% other: 95.5% (2001) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2001) |
| Languages | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes | English (official) |
| 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 | English law |
| Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables (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, 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 (IAF) 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 |
unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.24 years
male: 75.75 years female: 80.88 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 76.49 years
male: 75.41 years female: 77.62 years (2005 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.3% male: 95.9% female: 86.3% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
| Map references | Middle East | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | total: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 78,814 GRT/92,695 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 7, container 2, passenger/cargo 5, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 12 (Greece 3, UAE 9) registered in other countries: 14 (2005) |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,825 GRT/155,909 DWT
by type: cargo 1 registered in other countries: 7 (2005) |
| Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
| Military branches | Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF): Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Jordanian Navy, Royal Jordanian Air Force, and Special Operations Command (SOCOM); note - Public Security Directorate normally falls under Ministry of Interior but comes under JAF in wartime or crisis situations | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.46 billion (2004) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 14.6% (2004) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) | Territory Day, 1 July |
| Nationality | noun: Jordanian(s)
adjective: Jordanian |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
| Natural hazards | droughts; periodic earthquakes | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
| Natural resources | phosphates, potash, shale oil | NEGL |
| Net migration rate | 6.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | gas 10 km; oil 743 km (2004) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Al-Ajyal [Muhammad KHALAYLEH, secretary general]; Al-Umma (Nation) Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH, secretary general]; Arab Land Party [Dr. Ayishah Salih HIJAZAYN, secretary general]; Ba'th Arab Progressive Party [Fu'ad DABBUR, secretary general]; Communist Party [Munir HAMARINAH, secretary general]; Constitutional National Party [Ahmad al-SHUNNAQ, secretary general; Democratic Arab Islamic Movement [Yusuf ABU BAKR, president]; Green Party [Muhammad BATAYNEH, secretary general]; Islamic Action Front [Hazma MANSOUR, secretary general]; Islamic al-Walsat Party [Marwan al-FAURI], secretary general; Jordanian Democratic Left Party [Musa MA'AYTEH, secretary general]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id Dhiyab Ali MUSTAFA, secretary general]; Jordanian People's Democratic (Hashd) Party [Ahmad YUSUF, secretary general]; Jordanian Progressive Party [Fawwaz al-ZUBI, secretary general]; Labor Party [Dr. Mazin Sulayman Jiryis HANNA, secretary general]; Muslim Centrist Party [leader NA]; National Action (Haqq) Party [Tariq al-KAYYALI, secretary general]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general]; National Movement for Direct Democracy [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI, secretary general]; Pan-Arab (Democratic) Movement [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI, secretary general]; (Arab) Socialist Ba'th Party [Taysir al-HIMSI, secretary general] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
| 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] | NA |
| Population | 5,759,732 (July 2005 est.) | 22,643 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 30% (2001 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | 2.56% (2005 est.) | 2.06% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Al 'Aqabah | Road Town |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Railways | total: 505 km
narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2004) |
- |
| 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.) | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.15 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: service has improved recently with 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: country code - 962; 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: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 622,600 (2003) | 11,700 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,325,300 (2003) | 8,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
| Total fertility rate | 2.71 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 15% official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2004 est.) | 3% (1995) |
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