Jordan (2006) | Saint Helena (2005) | |
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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 | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.8% (male 1,018,070/female 976,442)
15-64 years: 62.4% (male 1,966,794/female 1,716,255) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 111,636/female 117,563) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.8% (male 715/female 691)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 2,745/female 2,575) 65 years and over: 9.8% (male 330/female 404) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) |
Airports | 17 (2006) | 1 (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 (2006) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
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Area | total: 92,300 sq km
land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
total: 410 sq km
land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Saint Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the UK received a mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain separated out a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s, and the area gained its independence in 1946; it adopted the name of Jordan in 1950. The country's long-time ruler was King HUSSEIN (1953-99). A pragmatic leader, 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 peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, the son of King HUSSEIN, 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 appointed in November 2005 stated the government would focus on political reforms, improving conditions for the poor, and fighting corruption. | Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station. |
Birth rate | 21.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 12.33 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $4.688 billion; including capital expenditures of $1.092 billion (2005 est.) |
revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY92/93) |
Capital | name: Amman
geographic coordinates: 31 57 N, 35 56 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Thursday in March; ends last Friday in September |
Jamestown |
Climate | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) | Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) |
Coastline | 26 km | 60 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1952; amended 1954, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1984 | 1 January 1989 |
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: Saint Helena |
Death rate | 2.65 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.528 billion (2005 est.) | NA (1996) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador 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) 590-6000 FAX: [962] (6) 592-0121 |
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.) | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) |
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 depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, raising livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.959 billion kWh (2003) | 4.65 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 4 million kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 972 million kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 7.517 billion kWh (2003) | 5 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | NA |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
Exchange rates | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.709 (2005), 0.709 (2004), 0.709 (2003), 0.709 (2002), 0.709 (2001) | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001), 0.6609 (2000)
note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound |
Executive branch | chief of state: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Prince HUSSEIN (born 1994), eldest son of King ABDALLAH, is first in line to inherit the throne
head of government: Prime Minister Marouf al-BAKHIT (since 24 November 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Ziad FARIZ (since 24 November 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)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Michael CLANCY (since 15 October 2004) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | clothing, phosphates, fertilizers, potash, vegetables, manufactures, pharmaceuticals | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 29.4%, Iraq 15.6%, India 8.8%, Saudi Arabia 5.9% (2005) | Tanzania 30.3%, US 23.8%, Japan 10.4%, UK 7.1%, Spain 6.3% (2004) |
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 Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.3%
industry: 28.7% services: 68% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.8% (2005 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 31 00 N, 36 00 E | 15 56 S, 5 42 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 | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns |
Heliports | 1 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 20 km)
paved: 168 km (Saint Helena 118km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) unpaved: 30 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | 100,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 20.9%, China 8%, Germany 7.1%, US 6.2%, South Korea 4.1% (2005) | UK 35.7%, US 17.6%, South Africa 17.5%, Tanzania 10.4%, Australia 5.5%, Spain 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (2005 est.) | NA |
Industries | textiles, phosphate mining, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 16.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 19 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2005 est.) | 3.2% (1997 est.) |
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, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ICFTU, UPU |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court |
Labor force | 1.46 million (2005 est.) | 3,500
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 5%
industry: 12.5% services: 82.5% (2001 est.) |
agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 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: 3.32%
permanent crops: 1.18% other: 95.5% (2005) |
arable land: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes | 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 | NA |
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 in 2007) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - independents and other 89.6%, IAF 10.4%; seats by party - independents and other 92, IAF 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 (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 June 2001 (next to be held June 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.4 years
male: 75.9 years female: 81.05 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 77.76 years
male: 74.86 years female: 80.81 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 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
Location | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 25 ships (1000 GRT or over) 346,698 GRT/501,060 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 9, container 2, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 11 (UAE 11) registered in other countries: 15 (Bahamas 2, Panama 13) (2006) |
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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 (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Malakiya al-Urduniya), Special Operations Command (Socom); Public Security Directorate (normally falls under Ministry of Interior, but comes under JAF in wartime or crisis situations) (2006) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.4 billion (2005 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 11.4% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun: Jordanian(s)
adjective: Jordanian |
noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian |
Natural hazards | droughts; periodic earthquakes | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha |
Natural resources | phosphates, potash, shale oil | fish |
Net migration rate | 6.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 426 km; oil 49 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | al-Ahd Party; Arab Islamic Democratic Movement [Yusuf ABU BAKR, president]; Arab Land Party [Dr. Ayishah Salih HIJAZAYN, secretary general]; Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Taysir al-HIMSI, secretary general]; Ba'th Arab Progressive Party [Fu'ad DABBUR, secretary general]; Freedom Party; Future Party; Islamic Action Front or IAF [Zaki Sa'ed BANI IRSHEID, secretary general]; Islamic Center Party [Marwan al-FAURI, secretary general]; Jordanian Arab Ansar Party; Jordanian Arab New Dawn Party; Jordanian Arab Party; Jordanian Citizens' Rights Movement; Jordanian Communist Party [Munir HAMARINAH, secretary general]; Jordanian Communist Workers Party; Jordanian Democratic Left Party [Musa MA'AYTEH, secretary general]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id Dhiyab Ali MUSTAFA, secretary general]; Jordanian Generations Party [Muhammad KHALAYLEH, secretary general]; Jordanian Green Party [Muhammad BATAYNEH, secretary general]; Jordanian Labor Party [Dr. Mazin Sulayman Jiryis HANNA, secretary general]; Jordanian Peace Party; Jordanian People's Committees Movement; Jordanian People's Democratic Party (Hashd) [Ahmad YUSUF, secretary general]; Jordanian Rafah Party; Jordanian Renaissance Party; Mission Party; Nation Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH, secretary general]; National Action Party (Haqq) [Tariq al-KAYYALI, secretary general]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general]; National Popular Democratic Movement [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI, secretary general]; Progressive Party [Fawwaz al-ZUBI, secretary general] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Anti-Normalization Committee [Ali Abu SUKKAR, president vice chairman]; Jordan Bar Association [Hussein Mujalli, chairman]; Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF, president]; Muslim Brotherhood [Salem AL-FALAHAT, secretary general] | none |
Population | 5,906,760 (July 2006 est.) | 7,460 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 30% (2001 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.49% (2006 est.) | 0.59% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 505 km
narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2005) |
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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.) | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic |
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: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age |
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: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic network international: country code - 290; HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascension Island, which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 617,300 (2004) | 2,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,594,500 (2004) | 0 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995) | 0
note: television programs are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by cable (2002) |
Terrain | mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 2.63 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.54 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 12.5% official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2004 est.) | 14% (1998 est.) |