"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 recognized 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 in favor of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). King HUSSEIN signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, after Israel and the PLO 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 the Prophet Mohammad and agreements with Israel and Jerusalem-based religious and Palestinian leaders. After Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 War, it authorized the Jordanian-controlled Islamic Trust, or Waqf, to continue administering 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. <p></p>"
"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 9 December 2022, Jordan has reported a total of 1,746,997 cases of COVID-19 or 17,122.16 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with a total of 14,122 cumulative deaths or a rate of 138.4 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population"
"text":"<strong>note:</strong> widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Jordan; as of 9 December 2022, Jordan has reported a total of 1,746,997 cases of COVID-19 or 17,122.16 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with a total of 14,122 cumulative deaths or a rate of 138.4 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population"
"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 king's reign; 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":"Senate - last appointments on 27 Sep 2020 (next appointments in 2024)<br>Chamber of Deputies - last held on 10 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2024)"
"text":"Senate - composition men 58, women 7, percent of women 10.8%<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, won 16 seats, down from 20 seats won in the previous election; composition - men 114, women 16, percent of women 12.3%; note - total National Assembly percent of women 11.8%<br> <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 54 registered political parties, four of which currently have seats in the elected Chamber of Deputies - 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":"low growth; high unemployment, especially for youth and women; growing debt; severe COVID-19 disruptions to service and tourism; high current account balances and Five-Year Reform Matrix progress; new business programs; declining remittances"
"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’s government has focused on the use of ICT in a range of sectors, aimed at transforming the relatively small economy through the use of digital services; this policy has helped the country rise in the league tables for digital connectivity and internet readiness, and it has also attracted investment from foreign companies; during the ongoing global pandemic, the start-up sector has been further encouraged to develop solutions to combat the crisis, while other efforts have facilitated e-government services and encouraged businesses to adapt to new methods of working through their own digital transformation; these developments have been supported by the highly developed mobile sector, led by three major regional players which have near-comprehensive LTE network coverage (2022)"
"text":"a 1995 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 a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services"
"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) (2022)",
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>the armed forces report administratively to the minister of defense and have a support role for internal security; the prime minister serves as defense minister, but there is no separate ministry of defense"
"text":"the JAF inventory is comprised of a wide mix of imported equipment from Europe, some Gulf States, Russia, and the US; in recent years, the Netherlands and the US have been the leading suppliers (2022)"
"text":"17 years of age for voluntary military service for men (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 up to 18 years; conscription was abolished in 1991, but 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, Jordan 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 (2022)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> most women serve in the medical service; outside the medical service, women comprised about 1.5% of the military as of 2019"
"text":"the Jordanian military traces its origins back to the Arab Legion, which was formed under the British protectorate of Transjordan in the 1920s<br><br>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 2022 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<br><br>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 (2022)"
"text":"Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T"
"text":"<p><em>Jordan-Iraq</em>: the two countries signed a border agreement in 1984; Jordan has ratified the treaty, but it has not been confirmed that Iraq has ratified it; as of 2010, the agreement had not been registered with the UN</p> <p><em>Jordan-Israel</em>: none identified</p> <p><em>Jordan-Saudi Arabia</em>: Jordan and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to demarcate their maritime borders in 2007</p> <p><em>Jordan-Syria</em>: the two countries signed an agreement in 2005 to settle the border dispute based on a 1931 demarcation accord; the two countries began demarcation in 2006</p> <p><em>Jordan-West Bank</em>: none identified</p>"
"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"
