"text":"<p>Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain demarcated a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in 1921 and appointed ABDALLAH I from the Hashemite family as the country's first leader. The Hashemites also controlled Hijaz, or the western coastal area of modern day Saudi Arabia, until 1925 when they were pushed out by Ibn Saud and Wahhabi tribes. The country gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.</p> The country has had four kings. Jordan's long-time ruler, King HUSSEIN (1953-99), successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and Palestinian militants, which led to a brief civil war in 1970 referred to as \"Black September\" and ended in King HUSSEIN's ouster of the militants from Jordan. Jordan's borders also have changed. In 1948, Jordan took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, eventually annexing those territories in 1950 and granting its new Palestinian residents Jordanian citizenship. In 1967, Jordan lost the West Bank and East Jerusalem to Israel in the Six-Day War but retained administrative claims until 1988 when King HUSSEIN permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank. King HUSSEIN signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994 after Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Oslo Accords in 1993. <br><br>Jordanian kings continue to claim custodianship of the holy sites in Jerusalem by virtue of their Hashemite heritage as descendants of Prophet Mohammad and agreements with Israel and Jerusalem-based religious and Palestinian leaders. Israel has authorized the Jordanian Islamic Trust, or Waqf, to administer affairs in the Al Haram ash Sharif/Temple Mount holy compound, and the Jordan-Israel peace treaty reaffirmed Jordan's \"special role\" in administering the Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem.<br><br>King HUSSEIN died in 1999 and was succeeded by his eldest son, ABDALLAH II, who remains the current king. In 2009, King ABDALLAH II designated his son HUSSEIN as the Crown Prince. During his reign, ABDALLAH II has contended with a series of challenges, including the Arab Spring influx of refugees from neighboring states, and a perennially weak economy."
"text":"mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"mostly arid desert plateau; a great north-south geological rift along the west of the country is the dominant topographical feature and includes the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Jordanian Highlands"
"text":"Dead Sea (shared with Israel and West Bank) - 1,020 sq km<br>note - endorheic hypersaline lake; 9.6 times saltier than the ocean; lake shore is 431 meters below sea level"
"text":"population heavily concentrated in the west, and particularly the northwest, in and around the capital of Amman; a sizeable, but smaller population is located in the southwest along the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba"
"text":"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; the Dead Sea, the lowest point in Asia and the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lac Assal in Djibouti), lies on Jordan's western border with Israel and the West Bank; Jordan is almost landlocked but does have a 26 km southwestern coastline with a single port, Al 'Aqabah (Aqaba)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> increased estimate reflects revised assumptions about the net migration rate due to the increased flow of Syrian refugees"
"text":"<br>كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"Muslim 97.1% (official; predominantly Sunni), Christian 2.1% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), Buddhist 0.4%, Hindu 0.1%, Jewish <0.1%, folk <0.1%, other <0.1%, unaffiliated <0.1% (2020 est.)"
"text":"population heavily concentrated in the west, and particularly the northwest, in and around the capital of Amman; a sizeable, but smaller population is located in the southwest along the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba"
"text":"<strong>note:</strong> widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Jordan; as of 6 October 2021, Jordan has reported a total of 828,572 cases of COVID-19 or 8,120.76 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 105.48 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 5 October 2021, 36.52% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine"
"text":"<strong>note:</strong> widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Jordan; as of 6 October 2021, Jordan has reported a total of 828,572 cases of COVID-19 or 8,120.76 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 105.48 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 5 October 2021, 36.52% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine"
"text":"Dead Sea (shared with Israel and West Bank) - 1,020 sq km<br>note - endorheic hypersaline lake; 9.6 times saltier than the ocean; lake shore is 431 meters below sea level"
"text":"in the 13th century B.C., the Ammonites named their main city \"Rabbath Ammon\"; \"rabbath\" designated \"capital,\" so the name meant \"The Capital of [the] Ammon[ites]\"; over time, the \"Rabbath\" came to be dropped and the city became known simply as \"Ammon\" and then \"Amman\""
"text":"12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); 'Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Al ‘Asimah (Amman), At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba"
},
"Independence":{
"text":"25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"Independence Day, 25 May (1946)"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"previous 1928 (preindependence); latest initially adopted 28 November 1947, revised and ratified 1 January 1952"
"text":"constitutional amendments require at least a two-thirds majority vote of both the Senate and the House and ratification by the king; no amendment of the constitution affecting the rights of the king and the succession to the throne is permitted during the regency period; amended several times, last in 2016"
"text":"bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of:<br>Senate or the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (65 seats; members appointed by the monarch to serve 4-year terms)<br>Chamber of Deputies or House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (130 seats; 115 members directly elected in 23 multi-seat constituencies by open-list proportional representation vote and 15 seats for women; 12 of the 115 seats reserved for Christian, Chechen, and Circassian candidates; members serve 4-year terms)"
"text":"<br>Chamber of Deputies - note - tribal, centrist, and pro-government candidates dominated in the 130-seat election; the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, garnered only 10 seats, down from 15 in the previous election; women, who are guaranteed 15 seats by Jordan’s legislative quota system, only won the requisite number, down from the 20 seats won in the previous election <p></p>"
"text":"Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the king; other judges nominated by the Judicial Council, an 11-member judicial policymaking body consisting of high-level judicial officials and judges, and approved by the king; judge tenure generally not limited; Constitutional Court members appointed by the king for 6-year non-renewable terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 2 years"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Courts of Appeal; Great Felonies Court; religious courts; military courts; juvenile courts; Land Settlement Courts; Income Tax Court; Higher Administrative Court; Customs Court; special courts including the State Security Court"
"text":"Jordan has 49 registered political parties, four of which currently have seats in the elected Chamber of Deputies including the Islamic Action Front, the Islamic Centrist Party, the United Jordanian Front Party, and the National Loyalty Party"
"text":"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"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"eagle; national colors: black, white, green, red"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"As-salam al-malaki al-urdoni\" (Long Live the King of Jordan)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> adopted 1946; the shortened version of the anthem is used most commonly, while the full version is reserved for special occasions"
"text":"Petra (c), Quseir Amra (c), Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa'a) (c), Wadi Rum Protected Area (m), Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” (Al-Maghtas) (c), As-Salt - The Place of Tolerance and Urban Hospitality (c)"
"text":"<p>Jordan's economy is among the smallest in the Middle East, with insufficient supplies of water, oil, and other natural resources, underlying the government's heavy reliance on foreign assistance. Other economic challenges for the government include chronic high rates of unemployment and underemployment, budget and current account deficits, and government debt.</p><p></p><p>King ABDALLAH, during the first decade of the 2000s, implemented significant economic reforms, such as expanding foreign trade and privatizing state-owned companies that attracted foreign investment and contributed to average annual economic growth of 8% for 2004 through 2008. The global economic slowdown and regional turmoil contributed to slower growth from 2010 to 2017 - with growth averaging about 2.5% per year - and hurt export-oriented sectors, construction/real estate, and tourism. Since the onset of the civil war in Syria and resulting refugee crisis, one of Jordan’s most pressing socioeconomic challenges has been managing the influx of approximately 660,000 UN-registered refugees, more than 80% of whom live in Jordan’s urban areas. Jordan’s own official census estimated the refugee number at 1.3 million Syrians as of early 2016.</p><p></p><p>Jordan is nearly completely dependent on imported energy—mostly natural gas—and energy consistently makes up 25-30% of Jordan’s imports. To diversify its energy mix, Jordan has secured several contracts for liquefied and pipeline natural gas, developed several major renewables projects, and is currently exploring nuclear power generation and exploitation of abundant oil shale reserves. In August 2016, Jordan and the IMF agreed to a $723 million Extended Fund Facility that aims to build on the three-year, $2.1 billion IMF program that ended in August 2015 with the goal of helping Jordan correct budgetary and balance of payments imbalances.</p>"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> data cover central government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data exclude debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions"
"text":"Jordan is host to a growing number of ICT companies and has emerged as a technology start-up hub for the Middle East; recently focused on telecom solutions to pandemic issues such as e-health and education; progress in the digital financial services; economic goals rely on digital economy, developed mobile sector, and extensive LTE infrastructure; preparation for 5G and e-commerce; importer of broadcasting equipment from Vietnam and China (2020)"
"text":"1995 a telecommunications law opened all non-fixed-line services to private competition; in 2005, the monopoly over fixed-line services terminated and the entire telecommunications sector was opened to competition; currently fixed-line stands at nearly 4 per 100 persons and multiple mobile-cellular providers with subscribership over 68 per 100 persons (2020)"
"text":"country code - 962; landing point for the FEA and Taba-Aqaba submarine cable networks providing connectivity to Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Asia; satellite earth stations - 33 (3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments"
"text":"radio and TV dominated by the government-owned Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTV) that operates a main network, a sports network, a film network, and a satellite channel; first independent TV broadcaster aired in 2007; international satellite TV and Israeli and Syrian TV broadcasts are available; roughly 30 radio stations with JRTV operating the main government-owned station; transmissions of multiple international radio broadcasters are available"
"text":"Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF): Royal Jordanian Army (includes Special Operations Forces, Border Guards, Royal Guard), Royal Jordanian Air Force, Royal Jordanian Coast Guard; Ministry of Interior: Public Security Directorate (includes national police, the Gendarmerie, and the Civil Defense Directorate) (2021)"
"text":"the JAF inventory is comprised of a wide mix of imported weapons, mostly second-hand equipment from Europe, the Gulf States, and the US (2021)"
"text":"17 years of age for voluntary male military service (women can volunteer to serve in noncombat military positions in the Royal Jordanian Arab Army Women's Corps and RJAF); initial service term 2 years, with option to reenlist for 18 years; conscription abolished in 1991; however, in 2020, Jordan announced the reinstatement of compulsory military service for jobless men aged between 25 and 29 with 12 months of service, made up of 3 months of military training and 9 months of professional and technical training; in 2019, announced a voluntary 4-month National Military Service program for men and women aged between 18-25 years who have been unemployed for at least 6 months; service would include 1 month for military training with the remaining 3 months dedicated to vocational training in the sectors of construction and tourism (2021)",
"note":"note - most women serve in the medical service; outside the medical service, women comprised about 1.5% of the military as of 2019; the Jordanian Government intended to raise this to 3%"
"text":"<p>the Jordanian military traces its origins back to the Arab Legion, which was formed under the British protectorate of Transjordan in the 1920s</p> <p>due largely to its proximity to regional conflicts in Iraq and Syria, the presence of major terrorist organizations in both of those countries, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the highest priorities of Jordan’s military and security services in 2021 included securing its borders and the potential for domestic terrorist attacks; the terrorist group Hizballah and Iranian-backed militia forces were operating in southwestern Syria near Jordan’s border while fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) terrorist group continued operating in both Iraq and Syria; ISIS fighters included Jordanian nationals, some of whom have returned to Jordan; meanwhile, individuals and groups sympathetic to Palestine have planned and conducted terrorist attacks in Jordan</p> <p>Jordan has Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status with the US; MNNA is a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation; while MNNA status provides military and economic privileges, it does not entail any security commitments<br><br>Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994</p>"
"text":"<p>human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Jordan and Jordanians abroad; victims are primarily from South and Southeast Asia, East Africa, Egypt, and Syria; foreign migrants, many undocumented, working in construction, agriculture, textiles, and domestic work are the most vulnerable to trafficking because of informal work agreements and frequently changing employers; forced labor victims experience withheld or unpaid wages, confiscation of identity documents, restricted freedom of movement, unsafe living conditions, long hours without rest, isolation, and verbal and physical abuse; child labor and potential forced child labor increased; traffickers exploit Lebanese, North African, and Eastern European women who have migrated to Jordan to work in restaurants and nightclubs are subject to sex trafficking</p>"
"text":"Tier 2 Watch List —<strong> </strong>Jordan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government increased the training of law enforcement personnel and victim advocates, maintained a trafficking shelter offering a wide range of services, partnered with civil society actors to proactively identify and protect trafficking victims, and conducted anti-trafficking awareness campaigns; the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts as fewer traffickers were investigated, prosecuted, and convicted; fewer victims were identified and assisted, and victims were still arrested, detained, and deported for unlawful acts traffickers compelled them to commit; under Jordan’s anti-trafficking law, penalties for sex trafficking offenses were not commensurate with penalties for other serious crimes (2020)"
"text":"primarily a transshipment country for amphetamine tablets originating in Lebanon and Syria and destined for Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Gulf countries; the government is increasingly concerned about domestic consumption of illicit drugs"
