2. 7
Country Profile
Rich history and natural attractions draw in tourists
Political and social stability supports business growth
An educated population pushes the economy forward
New potential for energy production is being discovered

4. COUNTRY PROFILE 9
The vast majority of the population lives in major metropolitan areas
Making progress
A highly educated population possesses the key to future development
Amid regional turbulence, Jordan remains relatively has placed even greater pressure on the country’s
stable and cohesive. This is a key advantage that the public infrastructure and limited resources.
kingdom offers to foreign investors, who continue The quality of Jordanian health care is evident in
to use the country as a base for targeting growth its average life expectancy of 80 years and its sta-
markets in the region, and who are stepping up their tus as a major medical tourism destination. Overall,
involvement in core domestic industries such as expenditures on health care make up about 4.5% of
energy, health care and information technology. Jor- the kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP).
dan’s stability, along with its culture of tolerance Jordan’s population is not demographically diverse,
and friendliness, is also a key point of attraction for with 98% of citizens classified as Arab, and the oth-
tourists, who annually flock to Amman, Petra, Wadi er 2% equally divided between Circassians and Arme-
Rum and Aqaba in impressive numbers. nians. Whereas 92% of Jordanians are Sunni Muslims,
Rising budget deficits and energy prices, as well about 6% belong to Christian communities. The rest
as persistently high unemployment and a severe lack mostly belong to small groups of Druze and Shia
of natural resources are key issues for the govern- Muslim communities throughout the country.
ment. Moreover, recent administrations and poli- The official language of Jordan is Arabic, yet Eng-
cies have emphasised that economic reforms must lish is also widely spoken, especially among the
be coupled with changes to the voting system that younger generations and the business community.
expand and deepen the scope of political participa- EDUCATION: Boasting one of the best school sys-
tion. To this end, the government has recently estab- tems in the region, Jordan prides itself on having a
lished a national dialogue committee, and promul- highly educated population. More than 13% of gov-
gated a number of constitutional changes and more ernment spending goes towards primary and sec-
liberalised election laws. ondary education. Although the literacy rate for
POPULATION & DEMOGRAPHICS: Jordan’s popu- males (95%) is higher than for females (88%), women
lation stands at roughly 6.5m. Out of this total, an outnumber men in higher education institutions.
estimated 82% live in major urban areas such as Education is compulsory for all children under the
Amman (home to nearly 40% of the population), age of 15 and is provided by the government at no
Zarqa, Irbid, Madaba and Aqaba. As in many Middle cost. Usually a child’s education begins at age four
Eastern countries, young people constitute a major with two years of preschool, followed by 10 years of
portion of the population, with 95% of people in the primary education and two years of secondary school
kingdom under the age of 65. The median age among or vocational training to finish at 16 years of age.
all Jordanians is 22, with the median age for women Upon completing secondary coursework, students
at 22.4 and for men at 21.8. are required to take the Certificate of Secondary
Additionally, current population figures do not Education Exam, a test that largely dictates what
typically include the number of refugees residing in career paths learners can pursue.
Jordan, which has the most refugees in the world per- Jordan is home to several high quality academic
capita. Palestinian and Iraqi refugees have long institutions, including the University of Jordan, wide-
resided in the country, and the numbers are on the ly regarded as one of the best schools in the region.
rise with a recent influx of Syrian refugees due to Perhaps the strongest testament to the quality of
political unrest in the neighbouring nation. As a education is the high number of Jordanians who are
result, the continually growing refugee population recruited by employers to fill vacancies in nearby
THE REPORT Jordan 2012

5. 10 COUNTRY PROFILE
ba. In 1965 Jordan and Saudi Arabia negotiated an
agreement regarding their respective borders that
resulted in an exchange of territory extending the
Jordanian coastline by about 18 km to its current total
of 26 km. In total, Jordan claims three nautical miles
as its territorial sea.
Jordan’s terrain can be divided into three distinct
areas, from west to east: the Jordan Valley, the Moun-
tain Heights Plateau and the Badia desert region. The
Jordan Valley forms part of the larger Great Rift Val-
ley that stretches from northern Syria to central
Mozambique. Most of Jordan’s major cities, includ-
ing Amman, Zarqa and Irbid, are located in the cen-
tral Mountain Heights Plateau.
The Badia desert region accounts for the major-
ity of the kingdom’s total area. The highest point in
the country is Jabal Umm Al Dami, in the south near
the Saudi Arabian border, at 1854 metres. The low-
est point in the country, and in fact the world, is the
Dead Sea, at 408 metres below sea level.
The education system is one of the best in the region, making it a competitive advantage for the country
NATURAL RESOURCES: Jordan is considered to be
nations, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Coun- one of the poorest countries in the world in terms
cil (GCC) countries. The flipside to high quality edu- water resources – a disadvantage that has forced
cation, however, is that this has resulted in brain Jordan’s policymakers to partake in some creative
drain, with many of the most talented Jordanian solutions in partnership with its neighbouring water-
graduates leaving home for higher paying jobs and scarce countries, international development organ-
seemingly better benefits packages abroad. isations and foreign investors. Energy resources are
POLITICS & GOVERNMENT: Jordan gained inde- also a significant issue, as the kingdom possesses
pendence in 1946, established its first constitution few oil or natural gas reserves and must import fuel
in 1952, and since then has been governed by a for nearly all of its needs.
constitutional monarchy. Since its initial ratification, Recent turmoil in Egypt, which has led to several
the country’s constitution has been amended sev- attacks on the Sinai gas pipelines, has resulted in sky-
eral times, most recently in late 2011 under decree rocketing energy costs and shortages. As a result,
from the Royal Court. His Majesty King Abdullah II Jordan is exploring new forms of alternative energy
came into the position in 1999 after the death of such as solar and wind power, as well as oil shale.
his father, King Hussein. The king holds executive According to some estimates, Jordan has the world’s
authority with the power to sign, execute and veto fourth-largest volume of oil shale reserves.
all laws. Appointed by King Abdullah II in May 2012, In addition, newly discovered deposits of uranium
the current prime minister, who serves as head of have made nuclear energy a potential solution to
government, is Fayez Al Tarawneh. The Jordanian energy shortages. As a step in that direction, Jordan
cabinet is appointed by the prime minister in con- has signed more than a dozen international coop-
sultation with the king. eration agreements in this field.
Legislative power rests in the National Assembly, One natural resource that is plentiful in Jordan is
which consists of two branches: the Senate and the its phosphates. The country is one of the largest
Chamber of Deputies. The Senate has 60 members exporters of phosphates in the world. Combined
who are appointed by the king for fixed four-year with potash, the two minerals account for around
terms. The Chamber of Deputies has 120 popularly 33% of the nation’s total annual exports.
elected members, 12 seats of which are reserved for CLIMATE: Jordan has a Mediterranean climate. In the
women, nine are reserved for Christian candidates, winter and early spring the daytime high tempera-
nine for Bedouin candidates and three for those of tures average around 13°C. Cooler temperatures are
Circassian descent. Under a newly proposed elec- not uncommon, however, and occasionally there is
tions law, the total number of seats in parliament snowfall. Nearly all of the country’s annual precipi-
would be increased to 138, while the number tation falls between the months of November and
reserved for women would be raised to 15. April, making way for dry, hot summers.
GEOGRAPHY: Sharing borders with Israel, the West Jordanian summers are not nearly as mild as its win-
Bank, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Jordan is located ters, with daytime highs averaging around 32°C. In
in the heart of the Levantine region. It occupies a July and August, the hottest months of the year, the
total area of 89,342 sq km, roughly the same size as thermometer can read above 40°C. As Jordan is
Portugal or the United Arab Emirates. Jordan’s coast- mainly a desert environment, 90% of the nation’s
line consists of a small sliver on the Red Sea in the territory receives less than 200 mm of rainfall each
south of the country, home to the port city of Aqa- year, with some areas receiving as little as 25-50 mm.
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