Western Sahara (2008) | Jordan (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 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: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421)
15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 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 | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry |
Airports | 9 (2007) | 17 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007) |
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: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 92,300 sq km
land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. In April 2007, Morocco presented an autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN in 2007. Since August 2007, representatives from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front have met three times to negotiate the status of Western Sahara, with a fourth round of negotiations planned for March 2008. | 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 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 22.73 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $2.397 billion
expenditures: $3.587 billion, including capital expenditures of $582 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
'Amman |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 26 km |
Constitution | - | 8 January 1952 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
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.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | 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 | 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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria | border dispute settled with Syria in 2004 |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | ODA, $553 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006 the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara. | 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 | 79.05 million kWh (2005) | 6.86 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 267 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 85 million kWh (2005) | 7.091 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Berber | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003) | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.709 (2003), 0.709 (2002), 0.709 (2001), 0.709 (2000), 0.709 (1999) |
Executive branch | none | 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 | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | clothing, phosphates, fertilizers, potash, vegetables, manufactures, pharmaceuticals |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) | US 21.5%, Iraq 17.6%, Switzerland 6.5%, India 6.5%, Saudi Arabia 5.3% (2003) |
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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $23.64 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% |
agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 29% services: 67.4% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $4,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 3.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 31 00 N, 36 00 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | 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: 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 | 1,698 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) | Saudi Arabia 11.3%, China 7.9%, Germany 7.9%, US 6.8%, Iraq 6.5% (2003) |
Independence | - | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.5% (2003 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | 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 | none | 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 | - | Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) |
Labor force | 12,000 | 1.36 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 50% |
agriculture 5%, industry 12.5%, services 82.5% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 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: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005) |
arable land: 2.67%
permanent crops: 1.83% other: 95.5% (2001) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | 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 (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 | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | 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 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 | - | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Jordanian(s)
adjective: Jordanian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | droughts; periodic earthquakes |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | phosphates, potash, shale oil |
Net migration rate | - | 6.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 10 km; oil 743 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | - | 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 | 382,617
note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.) |
5,611,202 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 30% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | NA | 2.67% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Al 'Aqabah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Railways | - | total: 505 km
narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Muslim | 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 | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
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 | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 622,600 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 1,325,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | 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 | NA% | 16% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (2001 est.) |