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Communications

Airports [time series]

19 total, 16 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

19 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

7,500 km; 5,500 km asphalt, 2,000 km gravel and crushed stone

Merchant marine [time series]

2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,870 GRT/38,187 DWT; includes 1 bulk, 1 cargo

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil, 209 km

Ports [time series]

Al Aqabah

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

619 km 1.050-meter gauge, single track

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

adequate system of radio relay, cable, and radio; 81,500 telephones; stations--4 AM, 3 FM, 24 TV; satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT, 1 domestic TV receive-only; coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria; radio relay to Lebanon is inactive; a microwave network linking Syria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Jordan

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Jordan Arab Army, Royal Jordanian Air Force, Royal Jordanian Coast Guard, Public Security Force

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$377 million, 12.4% of GNP (1990)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 778,353; 555,144 fit for military service; 39,879 reach military age (18) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for only 5% of GDP; principal products are wheat, barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives; livestock--sheep, goats, poultry; large net importer of food

Budget [time series]

revenues $1.05 billion; expenditures $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Jordanian dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.7 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.5 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $44 million

Electricity [time series]

981,000 kW capacity; 3,500 million kWh produced, 1,180 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1--0.6670 (January 1991), 0.6636 (1990), 0.5704 (1989), 0.3709 (1988), 0.3387 (1987), 0.3499 (1986), 0.3940 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$0.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--fruits and vegetables, phosphates, fertilizers; partners--Iraq, Saudi Arabia, India, Kuwait, Japan, China, Yugoslavia, Indonesia

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$8 billion (December 1990 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

GNP [time series]

$4.6 billion, per capita $1,400; real growth rate - 15% (1990 est.)

Imports [time series]

$2.1 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.); commodities--crude oil, textiles, capital goods, motor vehicles, foodstuffs; partners--EC, US, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey, Romania, China, Taiwan

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate - 15% (1990 est.); accounts for 20% of GDP

Industries [time series]

phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

15% (1990 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Jordan was a secondary beneficiary of the oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its annual GNP growth averaged 10-12%. Recent years, however, have witnessed a sharp reduction in grant aid from Arab oil-producing countries and a dropoff in worker remittances, with national growth averaging 1-2%. Imports--mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and foodstuffs--have been outstripping exports by roughly $2 billion annually, the difference being made up by aid, remittances, and borrowing. In mid-1989, the Jordanian Government agreed to implement an IMF austerity program designed to tackle the country's serious economic problems. The program sought to gradually reduce the government's budget deficit over the next several years and implement badly needed structural reforms in the economy. In return for agreeing to the IMF program, Jordan was granted IMF standby loans of over $100 million. Recognizing that it would be unable to cover its debt obligations, the government also began debt rescheduling negotiations with creditors in mid-1989. The onset of the Gulf crisis in August 1990 forced the government to shelve the IMF program and suspend most debt payments and rescheduling negotiations. Economic prospects for 1991 are especially gloomy, given the unsettled conditions in the Middle East.

Unemployment rate [time series]

30% (January 1991 est.)

Geography

Climate [time series]

mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)

Coastline [time series]

26 km Territorial sea: 3 nm

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly smaller than Indiana

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

differences with Israel over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line which separates the two countries

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

lack of natural water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Land boundaries [time series]

1,586 km total; Iraq 134 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 742 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km

Land use [time series]

arable land 4%; permanent crops 0.5%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 0.5%; other 94%; includes irrigated 0.5%

Natural resources [time series]

phosphates, potash, shale oil

Terrain [time series]

mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River

Area (Total area) [time series]

91,880 km2; land area: 91,540 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

8 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Al Balqa, Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa, Irbid, Maan

Capital [time series]

Amman

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

party actively repressed, membership less than 500 (est.)

Constitution [time series]

8 January 1952

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Hussein A. HAMMAMI; Chancery at 3504 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 966-2664; US--Ambassador Roger Gram HARRISON; Embassy on Jebel Amman, Amman (mailing address is P. O. Box 354, Amman, or APO New York 09892); telephone [962] (6) 644-371

Executive branch [time series]

monarch, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star represent the seven fundamental laws of the Koran

Independence [time series]

25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration; formerly Trans-Jordan)

Judicial branch [time series]

Court of Cassation Chief of State--King HUSSEIN Ibn Talal I (since 11 August 1952); Head of Government--Prime Minister Tahir al-MASRI (since 17 June 1991)

Legal system [time series]

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 [time series]

bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma) consists of an upper house or House of Notables (Majlis al-Aayan) and a lower house or House of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab); note--the House of Deputies was dissolved by King Hussein on 30 July 1988 as part of Jordanian disengagement from the West Bank and in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held, with no seats going to Palestinians on the West Bank

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 25 May (1946)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

none; after the 1989 parliamentary elections, King Hussein promised to allow the formation of political parties; a national charter that sets forth the ground rules for democracy in Jordan--including the creation of political parties--has been completed but not yet approved

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 20 House of Representatives--last held 8 November 1989 (next to be held November 1993); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(80 total) Muslim Brotherhood 22, Independent Islamic bloc 10, Democratic bloc (mostly leftist) 15, Liberal bloc (traditionalist) 7, Nationalist bloc (traditionalist) 14, independent 12

Government type (Type) [time series]

constitutional monarchy

People

Birth rate [time series]

46 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

38 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

572,000 (1988); agriculture 20%, manufacturing and mining 20% (1987 est.)

Languages (Language) [time series]

Arabic (official); English widely understood among upper and middle classes

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

70 years male, 73 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

80% (male 89%, female 70%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun--Jordanian(s); adjective--Jordanian

Net migration rate [time series]

1 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Note [time series]

1.5-1.7 million Palestinians live on the East Bank (55-60% of the population), most are Jordanian citizens

Organized labor [time series]

about 10% of labor force

Population [time series]

3,412,553 (July 1991), growth rate 4.2% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%

Total fertility rate [time series]

7.1 children born/woman (1991)