_#_Communists: party actively repressed, membership less than 500 (est.)
_#_Member of: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN,
UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Hussein A. HAMMAMI; Chancery at 3504 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 966-2664;
US—Ambassador Roger Gram HARRISON; Embassy on Jebel Amman, Amman (mailing address is P. O. Box 354, Amman, or APO New York 09892); telephone [962] (6) 644-371
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star represent the seven fundamental laws of the Koran
_*Economy #_Overview: Jordan was a secondary beneficiary of the oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its annual GNP growth averaged 10-12%. Recent years, however, have witnessed a sharp reduction in grant aid from Arab oil-producing countries and a dropoff in worker remittances, with national growth averaging 1-2%. Imports—mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and foodstuffs—have been outstripping exports by roughly $2 billion annually, the difference being made up by aid, remittances, and borrowing. In mid-1989, the Jordanian Government agreed to implement an IMF austerity program designed to tackle the country's serious economic problems. The program sought to gradually reduce the government's budget deficit over the next several years and implement badly needed structural reforms in the economy. In return for agreeing to the IMF program, Jordan was granted IMF standby loans of over $100 million. Recognizing that it would be unable to cover its debt obligations, the government also began debt rescheduling negotiations with creditors in mid-1989. The onset of the Gulf crisis in August 1990 forced the government to shelve the IMF program and suspend most debt payments and rescheduling negotiations. Economic prospects for 1991 are especially gloomy, given the unsettled conditions in the Middle East.
_#_GNP: $4.6 billion, per capita $1,400; real growth rate - 15% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 30% (January 1991 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $1.05 billion; expenditures $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)