The population of Jordan in 2015 was estimated to be around 9.5 million people, making it the 99th most populous country in the world. The majority of Jordanians identify as Sunni Muslim, with sizeable minorities of other religious people also present. The Jordanian economy is heavily reliant on exports, with the sector accounting for roughly one-third of the country’s GDP. Other exports include phosphates and potash. Jordan has strong trade ties with its Middle Eastern neighbours, particularly Syria and Iraq, as well as other countries worldwide. In terms of politics, Jordan is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a multi-party system. In 2015 Abdullah II was the King after winning reelection in 1999. In foreign relations, Jordan is a member of both the United Nations and Arab League and is actively involved in international affairs such as peacekeeping operations. Relations with its Middle Eastern neighbours have been mostly positive but tensions remain between Jordan and some countries over maritime disputes. See ehealthfacts for Jordan in the year of 2005.
Yearbook 2015
Jordan. In February, the world was shaken by the brutal murder of a Jordanian fighter pilot that was shot down in December during an airstrike against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization in Syria. A video recording showed how the pilot, the first captured in connection with the US-led attacks against IS, was burned alive in a cage. Jordan immediately executed two prisoners with ties to jihadists in Syria, one of them a woman who IS tried to exchange with the pilot. Both had previously been sentenced to death for a terror attack against a hotel in Amman in 2005. The authorities then struck hard against all expressions of sympathy for IS. According to COUNTRYAAH, Amman is the capital of Jordan which is located in Western Asia. The Air Force also began to bomb IS targets in Iraq, alongside Syria.
- Also see AbbreviationFinder.org for Jordan country abbreviations, including geography, history, economy and politics.
From March, Lebanon participated in the air strikes against Shiite Muslim right-wing rebels in Yemen, initiated by Saudi Arabia, in support of the country’s deposed President Abd al-Rahman Mansur al-Hadi.
In July, the United Nations Food Program announced that a large part of the more than 600,000 registered Syrian refugees in the country would cut food aid in half due to reduced inflow of aid donors. In addition to the registered refugees, according to Jordanian authorities, there were at least as many Syrians in the country as well as around 100,000 refugees from Iraq. Many were reported to have an increasing difficulty in sustaining themselves.
Country data
Area: 89,318 km2 (world rank: 110)
Population: 9,702,000
Population density: 109 per km2 (as of 2017, world rank: 92)
Capital: `Amman (Amman)
Official languages: Arabic
Gross domestic product: 40.1 billion US $; Real growth: 2.0%
Gross national product (GNP, per resident and year): 3980 US$
Currency: 1 Jordan dinar (JD) = 1000 Fils
Embassy
Heerstr. 201, 13595 Berlin
Telephone 030 3699600,
Fax 030 36996011
www.jordanembassy.de
Government
Head of State: Abdullah II, Head of Government: Omar Ahman Munif ar-Razzaz, Outside: Ayman Safadi
National Day: 25.5. (Independence Day)
Administrative structure
12 districts
State and form of government
Constitution of 1952
Constitutional monarchy
State religion: Islam
Parliament (Majlis al-Umma): Assembly of MPs (Majlis an-Nuwaab) with 130 members (15 seats for women, 9 for Christians, 3 for minorities reserved), choice every 4 years; Senate (Majlis al-Aajan) with 75 members appointed by the king for 4 years.
Suffrage from 18 years.
Population: Jordanians, last census 2015 (preliminary): 9,531,712 residents
approx. 98% Arabs; Minorities of Circassians, Chechens, Dagestans, Kurds, Armenians and so-called Turkmen
Cities (with population): (As of 2015) ‘Amman (Amman) 1,812,059 pop., Az-Zarqa’ (Sarka) 635,160, Irbid 502,714, Ar-Rusayfah 472,604
Religions: 97% Sunnis, 2% Christians; Shiite, Baha’i and Druze minorities (as of 2006)
Languages: Arabic; Languages of the minority
Workers by economic sector: Agriculture. 4%, industry 27%, business 69% (2017)
Unemployment (in% of all labor force): 2017: 14.9%
Inflation rate (in%): 2017: 3.3%
Foreign trade: Import: 20.4 billion US $ (2017); Export: US $ 7.5 billion (2017)
Economic conditions
The Jordanian economy has suffered, and still suffers, from the difficult political situation in the Near East. In particular, a real collapse occurred in the early nineties due to the Gulf War and the embargo decreed by the United Nations against Iraq, following the invasion of Kuwait, which indirectly penalized the Jordanian economy with strong repercussions. on the transit trade, a fundamental resource of the country, and with the burden of tens of thousands of refugees forced to leave the region. On the international scene, a positive note is represented by the signing of the peace treaty with Israel (26 October 1994), which has opened up new opportunities for both tourism and the banking and financial sector.
In the most recent economic development plans a prominent place is occupied by primary activities, so much so that a large part of the available resources has been directed to the enhancement of agricultural productivity (which in fact, between 1985 and 1995, saw significant increases), with the aim of reducing food imports. The main products grown are wheat and barley and, in part, also sorghum and corn; followed by lentils, tomatoes, citrus fruits, grapevines, olives, bananas and dates. Sheep farming is widespread, offering a valuable contribution to the food balance of the population.
From a mining point of view, Jordan is a country relatively endowed with phosphates (4,983,000 tons extracted in 1995) and potash salts (1,780,000 tons), which together, in 1996, accounted for 24.3 % of exports. (but it was 37 % in 1991). The presence of oil, copper, manganese, iron ores, however not yet exploited, is reported. The lack of energy sources represents one of the major limits for the industrial development of the country, and to produce thermal energy destined for internal consumption, Jordan uses part of the crude oil which, from Saudi Arabia, is conveyed to the Mediterranean coast through an oil pipeline. Currently the manufacturing sector, which participates with just under 16 % in the formation of the national income, is based on small chemical plants, for the production of cement and the processing of agricultural products, as well as on some textile enterprises of an artisanal nature.
The income from tourism has begun to take on a certain consistency: annually the Jordan is visited by over 3 million foreigners, attracted above all by the ancient historical cities of Petra and Gerasa and by the seaside possibilities of the coast on the Red Sea.
The communication routes are relatively scarce, the route of which largely follows the ancient caravan routes, mainly using the central depression headed by al-‘Aqaba. Overall, the road network counts 6976 km (1995), of which 2820 km of main roads, while the operation of the railway network, which is represented by a single line that crosses the country longitudinally, connecting it to Syria, is reduced to a minimum. The only port is al-‘Aqaba, whose activity has been developed in conjunction with the outbreak of the conflict between Iran and Iraq until in 1989 the 20 millions of tons of goods arriving and departing, to then go down again and currently amount to around 11 ÷ 12 million tons of goods handled.
The trade balance shows a significant deficit, due to the massive imports of raw materials and manufactured goods, as well as the balance of payments; in addition, aid from Arab states and remittances from migrant workers to neighboring oil countries, which previously filled much of the deficit, fell considerably after the mid-1980s.
Climate
With the exception of the northwest (Mediterranean climate), 79.1% of the country’s area has less than 100mm of precipitation per year. The January temperatures in Amman are 8 ° C, the July temperatures averaging 25 ° C.