*Jordan, People
Population:
3,823,636 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.57% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
39.48 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
4.32 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
33.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
71.61 years
male:
69.83 years
female:
73.51 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.79 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Jordanian(s)
adjective:
Jordanian
Ethnic divisions:
Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
Religions:
Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%
Languages:
Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population:
80%
male:
89%
female:
70%
Labor force:
572,000 (1988)
by occupation:
agriculture 20%, manufacturing and mining 20% (1987 est.)
*Jordan, Government
Names:
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
Digraph:
JO
Type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
Amman
Administrative divisions:
8 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al
Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Ma'an
Independence:
25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Constitution:
8 January 1952
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
National holiday:
Independence Day, 25 May (1946)
Political parties and leaders:
approximately 24 parties have been formed since the National Charter, but
the number fluctuates; after the 1989 parliamentary elections, King Hussein
promised to allow the formation of political parties; a national charter
that sets forth the ground rules for democracy in Jordan - including the
creation of political parties - was approved in principle by the special
National Conference on 9 June 1991, but its specific provisions have yet to
be passed by National Assembly
Suffrage:
20 years of age; universal
Elections:
House of Representatives:
last held 8 November 1989 (next to be held November 1993); results - percent
of vote by party NA; seats - (80 total) Muslim Brotherhood (fundamentalist)
22, Independent Islamic bloc (generally traditionalist) 6, Democratic bloc
(mostly leftist) 9, Constitutionalist bloc (traditionalist) 17, Nationalist
bloc (traditionalist) 16, independent 10
Executive branch:
monarch, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-'Umma) consists of an upper house or
House of Notables (Majlis al-A'ayan) and a lower house or House of
Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwaab); note - the House of Representatives has
been convened and dissolved by the King several times since 1974 and in
November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held
Judicial branch:
Court of Cassation
*Jordan, Government
Leaders:
Chief of State:
King HUSSEIN Ibn Talal Al Hashemi (since 11 August 1952)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Zayd bin SHAKIR (since 21 November 1991)
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, IOM
(observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAVEM II,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOSOM, UNRWA, UNPROFOR, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Fayez A. TARAWNEH
chancery:
3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 966-2664
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Roger Gram HARRISON
embassy:
Jebel Amman, Amman
mailing address:
P. O. Box 354, Amman, or APO AE 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
*Jordan, Economy
Overview:
Jordan benefited from increased Arab aid during the oil boom of the late
1970s and early 1980s, when its annual GNP growth averaged more than 10%. In
the remainder of the 1980s, however, reductions in both Arab aid and worker
remittances slowed economic growth to an average of roughly 2% per year.
Imports - mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and food - have been
outstripping exports, with the difference covered by aid, remittances, and
borrowing. In mid-1989, the Jordanian Government began debt-rescheduling
negotiations and agreed to implement an IMF program designed to gradually
reduce the budget deficit and implement badly needed structural reforms. The
Persian Gulf crisis that began in August 1990, however, aggravated Jordan's
already serious economic problems, forcing the government to shelve the IMF
program, stop most debt payments, and suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid
from Gulf Arab states and worker remittances have plunged, and refugees have
flooded the country, straining government resources. Economic recovery is
unlikely without substantial foreign aid, debt relief, and economic reform.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $3.6 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
3% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
$1,100 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
40% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $1.3 billion; expenditures $1.9 billion, including capital
expenditures of $440 million (1992 est.)
Exports:
$1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures
partners:
India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, UAE, China
Imports:
$2.3 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
commodities:
crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured
goods
partners:
EC countries, US, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey
External debt:
$9 billion (December 1991 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 1% (1991 est.); accounts for 20% of GDP
Electricity:
1,030,000 kW capacity; 3,814 million kWh produced, 1,070 kWh per capita
(1992)
Industries:
phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing
Agriculture:
accounts for about 7% of GDP; principal products are wheat, barley, citrus
fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives; livestock - sheep, goats, poultry; large
net importer of food
*Jordan, Economy
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.7 billion; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.5 billion; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.5 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $44
million
Currency:
1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
Exchange rates:
Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1 - 0.6890 (January 1993), 0.6797 (1992),
0.6808 (1991), 0.6636 (1990), 0.5704 (1989), 0.3709 (1988)
Fiscal year:
calendar year