Jordan-
conventional long form: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan-
Capital:
Type of Government: -
Administrative Divisions: -
Age Structure: -
Agriculture:
Airports: 17 (2004 est.)
With Paved Runways: total: 15-
With Unpaved Runways:
Area: total: 92,300 sq km.
slightly smaller than Indiana
Background: For most of its history since independence from British administration in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King HUSSEIN (1953-99). A pragmatic ruler, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, despite several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he reinstituted parliamentary elections and gradual political liberalization; in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, the son of King HUSSEIN, assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and undertaken an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2000, and began to participate in the European Free Trade Association in 2001. After a two-year delay, parliamentary and municipal elections took place in the summer of 2003. The prime minister appointed in December 2005 said the government would focus on political reforms, improving conditions for the poor, and fighting corruption.-
Birth rate: -
Budget: -
Coastline: 26 km-
Climate: mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
Communications: -
Constitution:
Currency: -
Current account balance: -
Death rate: -
Debt - external: -
Dependency status: -
Dependent areas: -
Diplomatic representation from the US: -
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Disputes - international: 2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation-
Distribution of family income: -
Economic aid - donor: -
Economic aid - recipient:
Economy - overview: Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental problems, but King ABDALLAH, since assuming the throne in 1999, has undertaken some broad economic reforms in a long-term effort to improve living standards. Amman in the past three years has worked closely with the IMF, practiced careful monetary policy, and made substantial headway with privatization. The government also has liberalized the trade regime sufficiently to secure Jordan's membership in the WTO (2000), a free trade accord with the US (2001), and an association agreement with the EU (2001). These measures have helped improve productivity and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map. Jordan imported most of its oil from Iraq, but the US-led war in Iraq in 2003 made Jordan more dependent on oil from other Gulf nations forcing the Jordanian government to raise retail petroleum product prices and the sales tax base. Jordan's export market, which is heavily dependent on exports to Iraq, was also affected by the war but recovered quickly while contributing to the Iraq recovery effort. The main challenges facing Jordan are reducing dependence on foreign grants, reducing the budget deficit, and creating investment incentives to promote job creation.
Electricity - consumption:
Electricity - exports:
Electricity - imports:
Electricity - production:
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
Environment - current issues: limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification-
Environment - International Agreements: -
Ethnic groups: -
Exchange rates: -
Executive branch: -
Exports: -
Exports - partners: -
Fiscal year:
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), representing the Abbassid Caliphate, white, representing the Ummayyad Caliphate, and green, representing the Fatimid Caliphate; a red isosceles triangle on the hoist side, representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, and bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations; design is based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I-
GDP (official exchange rate): -
GDP (purchasing power parity): -
GDP - composition by sector: -
GDP - per capita: -
GDP - real growth rate:
Geographic coordinates: 31 00 N, 36 00 E
Geography - note: strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank-
Government - note: -
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: -
HIV/AIDS - deaths: -
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Heliports: 1 (2005 est.)-
Household income or consumption by percentage share: -
Illicit drugs: -
Imports: -
Imports - partners: -
Independence: -
Industrial production growth rate: -
Industries: -
Infant mortality rate: -
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO-
Internet country code:
Internet hosts: 3,160 (2004)-
Internet users:
Investment (gross fixed): 20.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
Irrigated land: 750 sq km (1998 est.)-
Judicial branch: -
Labor force:
Labor force - by occupation:
Land boundaries: total: 1,635 km
Land use: arable land: 2.67%-
Languages:
Legal system: based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction-
Legislative branch:
Life expectancy at birth: -
Literacy:
Location: Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia-
Major infectious diseases: -
Manpower available for military service: -
Manpower fit for military service:
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males: 60,625 (2005 est.)
Map references: Middle East
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 3 nm-
Median age:
Merchant marine: total: 20 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 78,814 GRT/92,695 DWT-
Military - note: -
Military branches: -
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 14.6% (2004)
Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription at age 18 was suspended in 1999, although all males under age 37 are required to register (2004)-
National holiday: -
Nationality: -
Natural gas - consumption: -
Natural gas - exports: -
Natural gas - imports:
Natural gas - production: -
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Natural hazards: droughts; periodic earthquakes
Natural resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil-
Net migration rate: -
Oil - consumption: -
Oil - exports: -
Oil - imports: -
Oil - production: -
Oil - proved reserves: -
People - note:
Political parties and leaders: -
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Population: 5,759,732 (July 2005 est.)-
Population below poverty line: -
Population growth rate:
Ports and terminals: Al 'Aqabah
Public debt: 77.7% of GDP (2005 est.)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999)
Railways: total: 505 km-
Refugees and internally displaced persons: -
Religions: -
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Roadways: total: 7,364 km-
Sex ratio:
Suffrage: -
Telephone system: -
Telephones - main lines in use: -
Telephones - mobile cellular: -
Television broadcast stations:
Terrain: mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River-
Total fertility rate: -
Transportation - note: -
Unemployment rate: -
Waterways: