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Travel to Jordan — Unbiased reviews and great deals from
TripAdvisorJordan
| The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan National name: Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniya
al-Hashimiyah Ruler: King Abdullah
II (1999) Prime Minister: Nader
Dahabi (2007)
Current government officials
Land area: 35,344 sq mi (91,541 sq km);
total area: 35,637 sq mi (92,300 sq km) excludes West
Bank Population (2007 est.): 6,053,193
(growth rate: 2.4%); birth rate: 20.7/1000; infant mortality rate:
16.2/1000; life expectancy: 78.6; density per sq mi: 171
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Amman, 2,677,500 (metro. area), 1,293,200 Other large cities: Zarka, 512,200;
Irbid, 267,200; As-Salt, 200,400 Monetary
unit: Jordanian dinar
Languages:
Arabic (official), English
Ethnicity/race:
Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
Religions:
Islam (Sunni) 92%, Christian 6% (mostly Greek
Orthodox), other 2% Literacy rate:
90% (2003 est.) Economic summary:
GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $27.99 billion; per capita $4,900. Real
growth rate: 5.7%. Inflation: 5.4%. Unemployment:
13.5% official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2007 est.).
Arable land: 3%. Agriculture: wheat, barley, citrus,
tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry. Labor force:
1.563 million; services 85.8%, industry 10.5%, agriculture 3.7% (2007
est.). Industries: textiles, phosphate mining, fertilizers,
pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic
chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism. Natural resources:
phosphates, potash, shale oil. Exports: $6.037 billion f.o.b.
(2007 est.): clothing, phosphates, fertilizers, potash, vegetables,
manufactures, pharmaceuticals. Imports: $11.08 billion f.o.b.
(2007 est.): crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport
equipment, manufactured goods. Major trading partners: U.S.,
Iraq, India, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany (2004). Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 614,000 (2006); mobile cellular: 4.343 million (2006).
Radio broadcast stations: FM 31 (2007). Television broadcast
stations: 22 (2007). . Internet hosts: 2,500 (2007).
Internet users: 796,900 (2006). Transportation: Railways: total: 505 km
(2006). Highways: total: 7,500 km; paved: 7,500 km; unpaved: 0
km (2004). Ports and harbors: Al 'Aqabah. Airports: 17
(2007). International disputes: 2004
Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
The Middle East kingdom of Jordan is bordered on the west by Israel and
the Dead Sea, on the north by Syria, on the east by Iraq, and on the south
by Saudi Arabia. It is comparable in size to Indiana. Arid hills and
mountains make up most of the country. The southern section of the Jordan
River flows through the country.
Government
Constitutional hereditary monarchy.
History
In biblical times, the country that is now Jordan contained the lands
of Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Bashan. Together with other Middle Eastern
territories, Jordan passed in turn to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the
Persians, and, about 330 B.C., the Seleucids.
Conflict between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies enabled the
Arabic-speaking Nabataeans to create a kingdom in southeast Jordan. In
A.D. 106 it became part of the Roman province
of Arabia and in 633–636 was conquered by the Arabs. In the 16th century,
Jordan submitted to Ottoman Turkish rule and was administered from
Damascus. Taken from the Turks by the British in World War I, Jordan
(formerly known as Transjordan) was separated from the Palestine mandate
in 1920, and in 1921, placed under the rule of Abdullah ibn Hussein.
In 1923, Britain recognized Jordan's independence, subject to the
mandate. In 1946, grateful for Jordan's loyalty in World War II, Britain
abolished the mandate. That part of Palestine occupied by Jordanian troops
was formally incorporated by action of the Jordanian parliament in 1950.
King Abdullah was assassinated in 1951. His son Talal, who was mentally
ill, was deposed the next year. Talal's son Hussein, born on Nov. 14,
1935, succeeded him.
From the beginning of his reign, Hussein had to steer a careful course
between his powerful neighbor to the west, Israel, and rising Arab
nationalism, frequently a direct threat to his throne. Riots erupted when
he joined the Central Treaty Organization (the Baghdad Pact) in 1955, and
he incurred further unpopularity when Britain, France, and Israel attacked
the Suez Canal in 1956, forcing him to place his army under nominal
command of the United Arab Republic of Egypt and Syria. The 1961 breakup
of the UAR eased Arab national pressure on Hussein, who was the first to
recognize Syria after it reclaimed its independence. Jordan was swept into
the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, however, and lost East Jerusalem and all of its
territory west of the Jordan River, the West Bank. Embittered Palestinian
guerrilla forces virtually took over sections of Jordan in the aftermath
of defeat, and open warfare broke out between the Palestinians and
government forces in 1970.
Despite intervention of Syrian tanks, Hussein's Bedouin army defeated
the Palestinians. The Jordanians drove out the Syrians and 12,000 Iraqi
troops who had been in the country since the 1967 war. Ignoring protests
from other Arab states, Hussein, by mid-1971, crushed Palestinian strength
in Jordan and shifted the problem to Lebanon, where many of the guerrillas
had fled. As Egypt and Israel neared final agreement on a peace treaty
early in 1979, Hussein met with Yasir Arafat, the PLO leader, on March 17,
and issued a joint statement of opposition. Although the U.S. pressed
Jordan to break Arab ranks on the issue, Hussein elected to side with the
great majority, cutting ties with Cairo and joining the boycott against
Egypt.
Jordan's stance during the Persian Gulf War strained relations with the
U.S. and led to the termination of U.S. aid. The signing of a national
charter by King Hussein and leaders of the main political groups in June
1991 meant political parties were permitted in exchange for acceptance of
the constitution and the monarchy. King Hussein's decision to join the
Middle East peace talks in mid-1991 helped restore his country's relations
with the U.S.
In July 1994, King Hussein and the Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin
signed a declaration ending the state of belligerency between the two
countries. A peace agreement between the two countries was signed on Oct.
26, 1994, although a clause in it calling the king the “custodian” of
Islamic holy shrines in Jerusalem angered the PLO. In the wake of the
agreement, Jordan's relations with the U.S. and with the moderate Arab
states, including Saudi Arabia, warmed. In 1997, Jordan, determined to
attract foreign investment, began negotiating with the United States about
membership in the World Trade Organization. In Jan. 1999, King Hussein
unexpectedly deposed his brother, Prince Hassan, who had been heir
apparent for 34 years, and named his eldest son as the new crown prince. A
month later, King Hussein died of cancer, and Abdullah, 37, a popular
military leader with little political experience, became king.
The first parliamentary elections under King Abdullah took place in
June 2003 and resulted in a two-thirds majority for the king's supporters.
In 2005, the king, unhappy with the slow progress on reforms, replaced his
cabinet.
Three suicide bombings by Iraqis blasted hotels in Amman, Jordan, on
Nov. 2005, killing at least 57 people and wounding 115—almost all of whom
were Jordanians. The terrorist group, al-Qaeda in Iraq, claimed
responsibility, contending that Jordan had been targeted because of its
friendly relations with the United States.
In parliamentary elections in November 2007, pro-government and
independent candidates won 104 of 110 seats. The opposition Islamic Action
Front took just six seats, down from 17 in 2003's election. Following the
elections, King Abdullah named Nader Dahabi, former air force commander
and transport minister, as prime minister and instructed him to focus on
improving the country's economy.
See also Encyclopedia: Jordan.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Jordan
Department of Statistics www.dos.gov.jo/ .
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.
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