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Jordan

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Background :

Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the UK received a mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain separated out a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s, and the area gained its independence in 1946; it adopted the name of Jordan in 1950. The country's long-time ruler was King HUSSEIN (1953-99). A pragmatic leader, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population. Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 war and barely managed to defeat Palestinian rebels who threatened to overthrow the monarchy in 1970. King HUSSEIN in 1988 permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank. In 1989, he reinstituted parliamentary elections and initiated a gradual political liberalization; political parties were legalized in 1992. 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. In 2003, Jordan staunchly supported the Coalition ouster of Saddam in Iraq and following the outbreak of insurgent violence in Iraq, absorbed thousands of displaced Iraqis. Municipal elections were held in July 2007 under a system in which 20% of seats in all municipal councils were reserved by quota for women. Parliamentary elections were held in November 2007 and saw independent pro-government candidates win the vast majority of seats. In November 2007, King ABDALLAH instructed his new prime minister to focus on socioeconomic reform, developing a healthcare and housing network for civilians and military personnel, and improving the educational system. 

Location :

Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

31 00 N, 36 00 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 34.96
North 33.37
East 39.30
South 29.19

Map references :

Middle East 

Area :

total 89 342 square km
land 88 802 square km
water 540 square km

Land boundaries :

total 1 635 km
Iraq (iq) 181 km
Israel (il) 238 km
Saudi Arabia (sa) 744 km
Syria (sy) 375 km
West Bank 97 km

Coastline :

26.00 km

Climate :

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

Terrain :

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

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 408 metres
highest point 1 854 metres

Natural resources :

phosphates potash
shale oil

Land use :

arable land 3.32 %
permanent crops 1.18 %
other 95.50 %

Irrigated land :

750 square km

Natural hazards :

droughts periodic earthquakes

current issues :

limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification 

international agreements :

Biodiversity Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification
Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes
Law of the Sea Marine Dumping
Ozone Layer Protection Wetlands

Population :

6 269 285 

Indicators :

Growth rate 2.19 %
Birth rate 27.38 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 3.46 children born/woman
Death rate 2.61 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate -2.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 36.00 %
15-64 years 59.40 %
65 years and over 4.60 %

Median age :

total 24.30 years
male 25.00 years
female 23.60 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.15 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.93 male(s)/female
total population 1.10 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 17.38 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 79.85 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 78.60 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 81.18 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 0.10 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 600
HIV-AIDS deaths 500

Religions :

Sunni Muslim 92.00 %
Christian 6.00 %
other 2.00 %

Languages :

Arabic  
English widely understood among upper  

Literacy :

total population 89.90 %
male 95.10 %
female 84.70 %

Country name :

conventional long form Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
conventional short form Jordan
local long form Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah
local short form Al Urdun
former Transjordan

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 JO
ISO Numeric 400
ISO3 JOR
FIPS JO
ccTLD jo
English Jordan

Administrative divisions :

12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba 

Capital :

name Amman
geographic coordinates 31 57 N, 35 56 E
time difference 2.00
daylight saving time 1

International organization participation :

ABEDA AFESD
AMF CAEU
CICA FAO
G-77 IAEA
IBRD ICAO
ICC ICCt
ICRM IDA
IDB IFAD
IFC IFRCS
ILO IMF
IMO IOC
IOM IPU
ISO ITSO
ITU ITUC
Interpol LAS
MIGA MINURSO
MINUSTAH MONUC
NAM OIC
OPCW OSCE (partner)
PCA UN
UNAMID UNCTAD
UNESCO UNHCR
UNIDO UNMIL
UNMIS UNOCI
UNRWA UNWTO
UPU WCO
WFTU WHO
WIPO WMO
WTO

Independence :

1946-05-25 

National holiday :

Independence Day

1946-05-25

Executive branch :

King ABDALLAH II Prime Minister Samir al-RIFAI

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 33 060 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 22 560 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate 3.10 %
PPP - per capita 5 300 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 3.70 %
industry 29.90 %
services 66.50 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 2.70 %
industry 20.00 %
services 77.40 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 1 667 000 people
Unemployment rate 13.50 %
Population below poverty line 14.20 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 39.70
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1.70 %
Investment (gross fixed) 31.20 % of GDP
Current account balance - 1 401 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 10 290 000 000 $
Debt external 6 715 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home 17 810 000 000 $
Market value of publicly traded shares 35 850 000 000 $
Military expenditures 8.60 % of GDP
Public debt 69.90 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 3.00 %
highest 10% 30.70 %

Budget :

revenues 5 545 000 000 $
expenditures 8 223 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

citrus cucumbers
dairy olives
poultry sheep
stone fruits strawberries
tomatoes

Industries :

cement clothing
fertilizer inorganic chemicals
light manufacturing petroleum refining
pharmaceuticals phosphate mining
potash tourism

Energy :

Electricity Production 12 210 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 10 400 000 000 kWh
Electricity Exports 176 000 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 200 000 000 kWh
Oil Consumption 108 000 bbl/day
Oil Imports 108 200 bbl/day
Oil Proved reserves 1 000 000 bbl
Natural gas Production 250 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Consumption 2 970 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Imports 2 720 000 000 cubic metres
Electricity Exports 6 031 000 000 cubic metres

Value :

6 989 000 000 $

Partners :

India (in) 16.20 %
Iraq (iq) 16.10 %
United States (us) 13.10 %
Saudi Arabia (sa) 6.90 %
UAE 4.60 %

Commodities :

clothing fertilizers
pharmaceuticals phosphates
potash vegetables

Value :

12 310 000 000 $

Commodities :

cereals iron
machinery petroleum
transportation equipment

Currency-name :

Jordanian dinar 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 519 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 5 314 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 31
Television broadcast stations 22
Internet Country code (ccTLD) jo
Internet Hosts 28 896
Internet Users 1 500 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 15
Heliports 1
Pipelines - gas 439 km
Pipelines - oil 49 km
Roadways - total 8 002 km
Roadways - paved 8 002 km
Railways 507 km

Photos

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