_#_Disputes: differences with Israel over the location of the
1949 Armistice Line which separates the two countries
_#_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
_#_Natural resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil
_#_Land use: arable land 4%; permanent crops 0.5%; meadows and
pastures 1%; forest and woodland 0.5%; other 94%; includes irrigated 0.5%
_#_Environment: lack of natural water resources; deforestation;
overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
_*_People
_#_Population: 3,412,553 (July 1991), growth rate 4.2% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 1 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 38 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 73 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 7.1 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Jordanian(s); adjective--Jordanian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
_#_Religion: Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%
_#_Language: Arabic (official); English widely understood among
upper and middle classes
_#_Literacy: 80% (male 89%, female 70%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 572,000 (1988); agriculture 20%, manufacturing and
mining 20% (1987 est.)
_#_Organized labor: about 10% of labor force
_#_Note: 1.5-1.7 million Palestinians live on the East Bank (55-60%
of the population), most are Jordanian citizens
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
_#_Type: constitutional monarchy
_#_Capital: Amman
_#_Administrative divisions: 8 governorates (muhafazat,
singular--muhafazah); Al Balqa, Al Karak, Al Mafraq,
Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa, Irbid, Maan
_#_Independence: 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under
British administration; formerly Trans-Jordan)
_#_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)
_#_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-Aayan) and a
lower house or House of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab); note--the
House of Deputies was dissolved by King Hussein on 30 July 1988 as
part of Jordanian disengagement from the West Bank and in November 1989
the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held, with no seats
going to Palestinians on the West Bank
_#_Judicial branch: Court of Cassation
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--King HUSSEIN Ibn Talal I (since 11 August 1952);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Tahir al-MASRI (since 17 June
1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders: none; 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--has
been completed but not yet approved
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 20
_#_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 22, Independent Islamic bloc
10, Democratic bloc (mostly leftist) 15, Liberal bloc (traditionalist)
7, Nationalist bloc (traditionalist) 14, independent 12
_#_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.)
_#_Exports: $0.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--fruits and vegetables, phosphates, fertilizers;
partners--Iraq, Saudi Arabia, India, Kuwait, Japan, China,
Yugoslavia, Indonesia
_#_Imports: $2.1 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities--crude oil, textiles, capital goods, motor vehicles,
foodstuffs;
partners--EC, US, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey, Romania, China,
Taiwan
_#_External debt: $8 billion (December 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 15% (1990 est.); accounts
for 20% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 981,000 kW capacity; 3,500 million kWh produced,
1,180 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash,
light manufacturing
_#_Agriculture: accounts for only 5% of GDP; principal products are
wheat, barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives; livestock--sheep,
goats, poultry; large net importer of food
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.7
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $1.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.5 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $44 million
_#_Currency: Jordanian dinar (plural--dinars);
1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
_#_Exchange rates: Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1--0.6670 (January
1991), 0.6636 (1990), 0.5704 (1989), 0.3709 (1988), 0.3387 (1987), 0.3499
(1986), 0.3940 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 619 km 1.050-meter gauge, single track
_#_Highways: 7,500 km; 5,500 km asphalt, 2,000 km gravel and crushed
stone
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 209 km
_#_Ports: Al Aqabah
_#_Merchant marine: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,870
GRT/38,187 DWT; includes 1 bulk, 1 cargo
_#_Civil air: 19 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 19 total, 16 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
none with runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: adequate system of radio relay, cable, and
radio; 81,500 telephones; stations--4 AM, 3 FM, 24 TV; satellite earth
stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT,
1 domestic TV receive-only; coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq, Saudi
Arabia, and Syria; radio relay to Lebanon is inactive; a microwave
network linking Syria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Jordan
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Jordan Arab Army, Royal Jordanian Air Force,
Royal Jordanian Coast Guard, Public Security Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 778,353; 555,144 fit for
military service; 39,879 reach military age (18) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $377 million, 12.4% of GNP (1990)
_%_
_@_Juan de Nova Island
(French possession)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 4.4 km2; land area: 4.4 km2
_#_Comparative area: about 7.5 times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 24.1 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 12 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;