Norfolk Island (2005) | Jordan (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 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: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.2% (male 1,009,604; female 967,645)
15-64 years: 61.1% (male 1,829,984; female 1,598,141) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 100,896; female 104,932) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 17 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 92,300 sq km
land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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 October 2004 declared their commitment to accelerated economic and political reforms and the new cabinet includes an unprecedented four women as ministers. |
Birth rate | NA | 22.73 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $2.397 billion
expenditures: $3.587 billion, including capital expenditures of $582 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | 'Amman |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) |
Coastline | 32 km | 26 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | 8 January 1952 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
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 |
Currency | - | Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Death rate | NA | 2.62 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $7.683 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 | border dispute settled with Syria in 2004 |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | ODA, $553 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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 WTrO (2000), a free trade accord with the 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 (worth $300-$600 million a year). Several Gulf nations have provided temporary aid to compensate for the loss of this oil; when this foreign aid expires, the Jordanian government has pledged to raise retail petroleum product prices and the sales tax base. Other ongoing challenges include fiscal adjustment to reduce the budget deficit, broader investment incentives to promote job-creating ventures, and the encouragement of tourism. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 6.86 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 267 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 7.091 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; 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 |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.709 (2003), 0.709 (2002), 0.709 (2001), 0.709 (2000), 0.709 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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 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 | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | clothing, phosphates, fertilizers, potash, vegetables, manufactures, pharmaceuticals |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | US 21.5%, Iraq 17.6%, Switzerland 6.5%, India 6.5%, Saudi Arabia 5.3% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $23.64 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 29% services: 67.4% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 3.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 31 00 N, 36 00 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | 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 |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total: 7,245 km
paved: 7,245 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1997) |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | NA | crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Saudi Arabia 11.3%, China 7.9%, Germany 7.9%, US 6.8%, Iraq 6.5% (2003) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 3.5% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 18.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 2.4% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA | 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) |
Labor force | 1,345 | 1.36 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture 5%, industry 12.5%, services 82.5% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,635 km
border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 744 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 2.67%
permanent crops: 1.83% other: 95.5% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
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 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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 78.06 years
male: 75.59 years female: 80.69 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.3% male: 95.9% female: 86.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Oceania | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 3 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 78,814 GRT/92,695 DWT
by type: cargo 2, container 1, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea/passenger 1 foreign-owned: Greece 6 registered in other countries: 11 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
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 | - | $2,043.2 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 20.2% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,636,537 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,153,385 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 59,471 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Jordanian(s)
adjective: Jordanian |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | droughts; periodic earthquakes |
Natural resources | fish | phosphates, potash, shale oil |
Net migration rate | NA | 6.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 10 km; oil 743 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Al-Ahed Party [Khaldoun al-NASSER, secretary general]; Al-Ajyal [Muhammad KHALAYLEH, secretary general]; Ba'th Arab Progressive Party [Mahmood MA'AYTEH, secretary general]; 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]; Democratic Arab Islamic Movement [Yusuf ABU BAKR, president]; Green Party [Muhammad BATAYNEH, secretary general]; Jordanian Democratic Left Party [Musa MA'AYTEH, secretary] general; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id Dhiyab Ali MUSTAFA, 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]; Muslim Centrist Party [NA leader]; National Action (Haqq) Party [Muhammad al-ZUBI, secretary general]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI, secretary general]; (Arab) Socialist Ba'th Party [Taysir al-HIMSI, secretary general]; Pan-Arab (Democratic) Movement [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI, secretary general] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | 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 | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 5,611,202 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 30% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 2.67% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Al 'Aqabah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Railways | - | total: 505 km
narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | 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 | NA | 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 (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 622,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 1,325,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River |
Total fertility rate | NA | 2.86 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 16% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (2001 est.) |