Jordan (2007) | Yemen (2001) | |
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 | 17 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Ataq, Dhamar, Hadhramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Ta'izz
note: there may be three more governorates: Al Daleh, Shabwah, and the capital city of Sana'a |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33% (male 1,018,934/female 977,645)
15-64 years: 63% (male 2,037,550/female 1,777,361) 65 years and over: 4% (male 117,279/female 124,424) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
47.21% (male 4,340,436; female 4,195,076) 15-64 years: 49.79% (male 4,598,301; female 4,402,402) 65 years and over: 3% (male 274,202; female 267,618) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives; sheep, poultry, stone fruits, strawberries, dairy | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 17 (2007) | 50 (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 (2007) |
total:
13 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total:
37 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 92,300 sq km
land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
total:
527,970 sq km land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
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. | North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. |
Birth rate | 20.69 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 43.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.463 billion
expenditures: $5.491 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$3 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
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 |
Sanaa |
Climate | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 26 km | 1,906 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1952; amended many times | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
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:
Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
Currency | - | Yemeni rial (YER) |
Death rate | 2.68 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.628 billion (2006 est.) | $4.4 billion (2000) |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Barbara K. BODINE embassy: Dhahar Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 303-161 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador ZEID Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein, Prince
chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664 FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
Disputes - international | approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan; 2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation | a June 2000 treaty delimited the boundary with Saudi Arabia, but final demarcation requires adjustments based on tribal considerations |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $752 million (2005 est.) | $176.1 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Jordan is a small Arab country with insufficient supplies of water, oil, and other natural resources. Poverty, unemployment, and inflation 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. Since Jordan's graduation from its most recent IMF program in 2002, Amman has continued to follow IMF guidelines, practicing careful monetary policy, and making substantial headway with privatization. In 2006, Jordan reduced its debt to GDP ratio significantly. 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, and has forced 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 attracting investment to promote job creation. | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but was harmed by low oil prices in 1998. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to foreign debt relief and restructuring. Aided by higher oil prices in 1999-2000, Yemen worked to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. A high population growth rate of nearly 3.4% and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.49 billion kWh (2005) | 2.232 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 4 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 741 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 9.074 billion kWh (2005) | 2.4 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m |
lowest point:
Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
Exchange rates | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.709 (2006), 0.709 (2005), 0.709 (2004), 0.709 (2003), 0.709 (2002) | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 164.590 (October 2000), 160.683 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997), 94.157 (1996) |
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 Nadir al-DAHABI (since 22 November 2007); 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:
President Field Marshall Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term (a new constitution amendment extends the term by two years to a seven-year term); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote: Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najeeb Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7% |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | clothing, pharmaceuticals, potash, phosphates, fertilizers, vegetables, manufactures | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | US 25.2%, Iraq 16.9%, India 8%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, Syria 4.7% (2006) | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Japan 3% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $14.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.9%
industry: 10.3% services: 85.8% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
20% industry: 42% services: 38% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $820 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.4% (2006 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 31 00 N, 36 00 E | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
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 | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total:
69,263 km paved: 9,963 km unpaved: 59,300 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 30.6% (2003) |
lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 30.8% (1992) |
Imports | 106,400 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods | food and live animals, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 23.2%, Germany 8.2%, China 8%, US 5.3% (2006) | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, US 7%, France 7%, Italy 6% (1999) |
Independence | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | 22 May 1990, Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]; previously North Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.6% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Industries | clothing, phosphate mining, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 16.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
68.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.2% (2006 est.) | 10% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (2003) | 5,674 sq km (1999) |
Judicial branch | Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 1.512 million (2006 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 5%
industry: 12.5% services: 82.5% (2001 est.) |
most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force |
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 |
total:
1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.32%
permanent crops: 1.18% other: 95.5% (2005) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 33.5% forests and woodland: 4% other: 46.5% (1999) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes | Arabic |
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 | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (55 seats; members appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies, also called the House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (110 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms; note - 6 seats are reserved for women and are allocated by a special electoral panel if no women are elected)
elections: Chamber of Deputies - last held 20 November 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independents 104, IAF 6 |
a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held 27 April 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GPC 189, Islah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1; latest seats by party: GPC 223, Islah 64, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, YSP 2, independents 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.55 years
male: 76.04 years female: 81.22 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
60.21 years male: 58.45 years female: 62.05 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.9% male: 95.1% female: 84.7% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.) |
Location | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 30 ships (1000 GRT or over) 410,472 GRT/564,643 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 11, container 3, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 15 (UAE 15) registered in other countries: 15 (Bahamas 2, Panama 11, Syria 2) (2007) |
total:
4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,075 GRT/23,562 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 (2000 est.) |
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) | Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Presidential Guards, paramilitary (includes Police) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $414 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 8.6% (2006) | 7.6% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
4,103,093 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,303,257 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 14 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
238,690 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Jordanian(s)
adjective: Jordanian |
noun:
Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | droughts; periodic earthquakes | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | phosphates, potash, shale oil | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | 6.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 426 km; oil 49 km (2006) | crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km |
Political parties and leaders | al-Ahd Party; Arab Islamic Democratic Movement [Yusuf ABU BAKR]; Arab Land Party [Dr. Ayishah Salih HIJAZAYN]; Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Taysir al-HIMSI]; Ba'th Arab Progressive Party [Fu'ad DABBUR]; Freedom Party; Future Party; Islamic Action Front or IAF [Zaki Sa'ed BANI IRSHEID]; Islamic Center Party [Marwan al-FAURI]; Jordanian Arab Ansar Party; Jordanian Arab New Dawn Party; Jordanian Arab Party; Jordanian Citizens' Rights Movement; Jordanian Communist Party [Munir HAMARINAH]; Jordanian Communist Workers Party; Jordanian Democratic Left Party [Musa MA'AYTEH]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id Dhiyab Ali MUSTAFA]; Jordanian Generations Party [Muhammad KHALAYLEH]; Jordanian Green Party [Muhammad BATAYNEH]; Jordanian Labor Party [Dr. Mazin Sulayman Jiryis HANNA]; Jordanian Peace Party; Jordanian People's Committees Movement; Jordanian People's Democratic Party (Hashd) [Ahmad YUSUF]; Jordanian Rafah Party; Jordanian Renaissance Party; Mission Party; Nation Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH]; National Action Party (Haqq) [Tariq al-KAYYALI]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI]; National Popular Democratic Movement [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI]; Progressive Party [Fawwaz al-ZUBI] | there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab Socialist Baath Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]
note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election, but announced that it would participate in Yemen's first local elections to be held in February 2001; these local elections aim to decentralize political power and are a key element of the government's political reform program |
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, controller general] | NA |
Population | 6,053,193 (July 2007 est.) | 18,078,035 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 14.2% (2002) | 19% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.412% (2007 est.) | 3.38% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Mocha, Nishtun |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.05 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 505 km
narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2006) |
0 km |
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.) | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.146 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.943 male(s)/female total population: 1.102 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 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; microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; better access to the fixed-line telephone system is needed in the rural areas and easier access to pay telephones is needed by the urban public
domestic: 1995 telecommunications law opened all non-fixed-line services to private competition; in 2005, monopoly over fixed-line services terminated and the entire telecommunications sector was opened to competition; mobile-cellular usage is increasing rapidly and teledensity is approaching 75 per 100 persons international: country code - 962; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe; 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; participant in Medarabtel |
general assessment:
since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
Telephones - main lines in use | 614,000 (2006) | 291,359 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.343 million (2006) | 32,042 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995) | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula |
Total fertility rate | 2.55 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.97 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15.4% official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2006 est.) | 30% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |