Compare West Bank (2005) - Jordan (2008)

Compare West Bank (2005) z Jordan (2008)

	West Bank (2005)	Jordan (2008)

Administrative divisions	-	12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba
Age structure	0-14 years: 43.4% (male 530,197/female 504,794) 15-64 years: 53.2% (male 649,610/female 619,335) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 34,803/female 46,876) (2005 est.)	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.)
Agriculture - products	olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products	citrus, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives; sheep, poultry, stone fruits, strawberries, dairy
Airports	3 (2004 est.)	17 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 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 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Area	total: 5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967	total: 92,300 sq km land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Delaware	slightly smaller than Indiana
Background	The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank that began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. Following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT in November 2004, the election of his successor Mahmud ABBAS in January 2005 could bring a turning point in the conflict.	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. Municipal elections were held in July 2007 under a system in which 20% of seats in all municipal councils were reserved by quota for women. Parliamentary elections were held in November 2007 and saw independent pro-government candidates win the vast majority of seats. In November 2007, King Abdallah instructed his new prime minister to focus on socioeconomic reform, developing a healthcare and housing network for civilians and military personnel, and improving the educational system.
Birth rate	32.37 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	20.69 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $676.6 million expenditures: $1.155 billion, including capital expenditures of NA; note - these budget data include Gaza Strip (2003)	revenues: $4.999 billion expenditures: $6.449 billion (2007 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
Climate	temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters	mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	26 km
Constitution	-	1 January 1952; amended many times
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank	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
Death rate	3.99 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	2.68 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.)	$7.483 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	-	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Alan MISENHEIMER embassy: Abdun, 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
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
Disputes - international	West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel announced its intention to pull out settlers and withdraw from four settlements in the northern West Bank in 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region	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
Economic aid - recipient	$2 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (2004 est.)	ODA, $752 million (2005 est.)
Economy - overview	The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestine Authority - has experienced a general decline in economic growth and a degradation in economic conditions made worse since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of the Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestine Authority areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones, have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 billion to the West Bank and Gaza strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. Meanwhile, unemployment has continued at more than half the labor force. ARAFAT's death in 2004 leaves open more political options that could affect the economy.	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 II, 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, making substantial headway with privatization, and opening the trade regime. Jordan's exports have significantly increased under the free trade accord with the US and Jordanian Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ), which allow Jordan to export goods duty free to the US. In 2006, Jordan reduced its debt-to-GDP ratio significantly. These measures have helped improve productivity and have made Jordan more attractive for foreign investment. Before the US-led war in Iraq, Jordan imported most of its oil from Iraq. Since 2003, however, Jordan has been more dependent on oil from other Gulf nations. The government ended subsidies for petroleum and other consumer goods in 2008 in an effort to control the budget. The main challenges facing Jordan are reducing dependence on foreign grants, reducing the budget deficit, attracting investments, and creating jobs.
Electricity - consumption	NA kWh	8.49 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	-	4 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	NA kWh	741 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants	9.074 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m	lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m
Environment - current issues	adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment	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	Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%	Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
Exchange rates	new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000)	Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.709 (2007), 0.709 (2006), 0.709 (2005), 0.709 (2004), 0.709 (2003)
Executive branch	-	chief of state: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Prince HUSSEIN (born 1994), eldest son of King ABDALLAH II, is considered to be first in line to inherit the throne head of government: Prime Minister Nader al-DAHABI (since 25 November 2007) 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	$205 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip (2002)	0 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone	clothing, pharmaceuticals, potash, phosphates, fertilizers, vegetables, manufactures
Exports - partners	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)	US 25.2%, Iraq 16.9%, India 8%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, Syria 4.7% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year (since 1 January 1992)	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
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (2002 est.)	agriculture: 3.7% industry: 10.5% services: 85.8% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	6% (2003 est.)	5.7% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	32 00 N, 35 15 E	31 00 N, 36 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 244 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2003 est.)	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 (2007)
Highways	total: 4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements (1997 est.)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA	lowest 10%: 2.7% highest 10%: 30.6% (2003)
Imports	$1.5 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip (2002)	106,400 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities	food, consumer goods, construction materials	crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods
Imports - partners	Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000)	Saudi Arabia 23.2%, Germany 8.3%, China 8%, US 5.3% (2006)
Independence	-	25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Industrial production growth rate	NA	7.7% (2007 est.)
Industries	generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers	clothing, phosphate mining, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism
Infant mortality rate	total: 19.62 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	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.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.)	5.4% (2007 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, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA sq km	750 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	-	Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal)
Labor force	364,000 (2004)	1.563 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 15%, industry 25%, services 60% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 5% industry: 12.5% services: 82.5% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 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: 16.9% permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001)	arable land: 3.32% permanent crops: 1.18% other: 95.5% (2005)
Languages	Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)	Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes
Legal system	-	based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 - six 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 - IAF 5.5 %, independents and other 94.5%; seats by party - IAF 6, independents and other 104; note - seven women will serve in the next Assembly - six of whom filled women's quota seats and one was directly elected
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 73.08 years male: 71.33 years female: 74.95 years (2005 est.)	total population: 78.55 years male: 76.04 years female: 81.22 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.9% male: 96.3% female: 87.4% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 89.9% male: 95.1% female: 84.7% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, west of Jordan	Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia
Map references	Middle East	Middle East
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 3 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)
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	NA	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	NA	8.6% (2006)
National holiday	-	Independence Day, 25 May (1946)
Nationality	noun: NA adjective: NA	noun: Jordanian(s) adjective: Jordanian
Natural hazards	droughts	droughts; periodic earthquakes
Natural resources	arable land	phosphates, potash, shale oil
Net migration rate	2.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	6.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 426 km; oil 49 km (2007)
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]
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]
Population	2,385,615 note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.)	6,053,193 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	59% (2004 est.)	14.2% (2002)
Population growth rate	3.13% (2005 est.)	2.412% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000)	FM 31 (2007)
Railways	-	total: 505 km narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%	Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2001 est.)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.)	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.)
Suffrage	-	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank	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; growing mobile-cellular usage in both urban and rural areas is reducing use of fixed-line services; internet penetration remains modest and slow-growing 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
Telephones - main lines in use	301,600 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2002)	614,000 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	480,000 (cellular subscribers in both West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2003)	4.343 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	NA	22 (2007)
Terrain	mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east	mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River
Total fertility rate	4.4 children born/woman (2005 est.)	2.55 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	27.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2004 est.)	13.5% official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2007 est.)

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