270 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
270 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
JORDAN
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(see separate West Bank entry)
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Note: The war between Israel and the Arab states in June 1967 ended
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with Israel in control of the West Bank. As stated in the 1978 Camp David
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Accords and reaffirmed by President Reagan's 1 September 1982 peace
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initiative, the final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, their
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relationship with their neighbors, and a peace treaty between Israel and
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Jordan are to be negotiated among the concerned parties. The Camp David
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Accords further specify that these negotiations will resolve the location
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of the respective boundaries. Pending the completion of this process, it
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is US policy that the final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has
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yet to be determined.
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 91,880 km2; land area: 91,540 km2
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Comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana
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Land boundaries: 1,586 km total; Iraq 134 km, Israel 238 km,
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Saudi Arabia 742 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km
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Coastline: 26 km
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Maritime claims:
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Territorial sea: 3 nm
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Disputes: differences with Israel over the location of the
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1949 Armistice Line which separates the two countries
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Climate: mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to
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April)
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Terrain: mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west;
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Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River
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Natural resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil
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Land use: arable land 4%; permanent crops 0.5%; meadows and
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pastures 1%; forest and woodland 0.5%; other 94%; includes irrigated 0.5%
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Environment: lack of natural water resources; deforestation;
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overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
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PEOPLE
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Population: 3,412,553 (July 1991), growth rate 4.2% (1991)
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Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 1 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 38 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 73 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 7.1 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Jordanian(s); adjective--Jordanian
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Ethnic divisions: Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
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Religion: Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 8%
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Language: Arabic (official); English widely understood among
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upper and middle classes
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Literacy: 80% (male 89%, female 70%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1990 est.)
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Labor force: 572,000 (1988); agriculture 20%, manufacturing and
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mining 20% (1987 est.)
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Organized labor: about 10% of labor force
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Note: 1.5-1.7 million Palestinians live on the East Bank (55-60%
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of the population), most are Jordanian citizens
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
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Type: constitutional monarchy
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Capital: Amman
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Administrative divisions: 8 governorates (muhafazat,
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singular--muhafazah); Al Balqa, Al Karak, Al Mafraq,
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Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa, Irbid, Maan
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Independence: 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under
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British administration; formerly Trans-Jordan)
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Constitution: 8 January 1952
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Legal system: based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial
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review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not
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accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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National holiday: Independence Day, 25 May (1946)
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Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
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Cabinet
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Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Umma)
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consists of an upper house or House of Notables (Majlis al-Aayan) and a
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lower house or House of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab); note--the
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House of Deputies was dissolved by King Hussein on 30 July 1988 as
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part of Jordanian disengagement from the West Bank and in November 1989
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the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held, with no seats
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going to Palestinians on the West Bank
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Judicial branch: Court of Cassation
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--King HUSSEIN Ibn Talal I (since 11 August 1952);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister Tahir al-MASRI (since 17 June
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1991)
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Political parties and leaders: none; after the 1989 parliamentary
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elections, King Hussein promised to allow the formation of political
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parties; a national charter that sets forth the ground rules for
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democracy in Jordan--including the creation of political parties--has
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been completed but not yet approved
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Suffrage: universal at age 20
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Elections:
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House of Representatives--last held 8 November 1989 (next to be
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held November 1993); results--percent of vote by party NA;
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seats--(80 total) Muslim Brotherhood 22, Independent Islamic bloc
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10, Democratic bloc (mostly leftist) 15, Liberal bloc (traditionalist)
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7, Nationalist bloc (traditionalist) 14, independent 12
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Communists: party actively repressed, membership less than 500
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(est.)
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Member of: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77,
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IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
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INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN,
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UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Hussein A. HAMMAMI;
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Chancery at 3504 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008;
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telephone (202) 966-2664;
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US--Ambassador Roger Gram HARRISON; Embassy on Jebel Amman, Amman
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(mailing address is P. O. Box 354, Amman, or APO New York 09892);
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telephone 962 (6) 644-371
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Flag: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green
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with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small
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white seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star represent the
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seven fundamental laws of the Koran
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Jordan was a secondary beneficiary of the oil boom of
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the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its annual GNP growth averaged
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10-12%. Recent years, however, have witnessed a sharp reduction in grant
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aid from Arab oil-producing countries and a dropoff in worker
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remittances, with national growth averaging 1-2%. Imports--mainly oil,
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capital goods, consumer durables, and foodstuffs--have been outstripping
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exports by roughly $2 billion annually, the difference being made up by
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aid, remittances, and borrowing. In mid-1989, the Jordanian Government
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agreed to implement an IMF austerity program designed to tackle the
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country's serious economic problems. The program sought to gradually
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reduce the government's budget deficit over the next several years and
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implement badly needed structural reforms in the economy. In return for
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agreeing to the IMF program, Jordan was granted IMF standby loans of over
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$100 million. Recognizing that it would be unable to cover its debt
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obligations, the government also began debt rescheduling negotiations
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with creditors in mid-1989. The onset of the Gulf crisis in August 1990
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forced the government to shelve the IMF program and suspend most debt
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payments and rescheduling negotiations. Economic prospects for 1991
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are especially gloomy, given the unsettled conditions in the Middle
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East.
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GNP: $4.6 billion, per capita $1,400; real growth rate - 15%
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(1990 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1990 est.)
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Unemployment rate: 30% (January 1991 est.)
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Budget: revenues $1.05 billion; expenditures $1.6 billion,
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including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)
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Exports: $0.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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commodities--fruits and vegetables, phosphates, fertilizers;
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partners--Iraq, Saudi Arabia, India, Kuwait, Japan, China,
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Yugoslavia, Indonesia
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Imports: $2.1 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
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commodities--crude oil, textiles, capital goods, motor vehicles,
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foodstuffs;
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partners--EC, US, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey, Romania, China,
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Taiwan
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External debt: $8 billion (December 1990 est.)
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Industrial production: growth rate - 15% (1990 est.); accounts
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for 20% of GDP
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Electricity: 981,000 kW capacity; 3,500 million kWh produced,
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1,180 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash,
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light manufacturing
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Agriculture: accounts for only 5% of GDP; principal products are
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wheat, barley, citrus fruit, tomatoes, melons, olives; livestock--sheep,
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goats, poultry; large net importer of food
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Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.7
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billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
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(1970-88), $1.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $9.5 billion;
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Communist countries (1970-89), $44 million
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Currency: Jordanian dinar (plural--dinars);
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1 Jordanian dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils
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Exchange rates: Jordanian dinars (JD) per US$1--0.6670 (January
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1991), 0.6636 (1990), 0.5704 (1989), 0.3709 (1988), 0.3387 (1987), 0.3499
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(1986), 0.3940 (1985)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 619 km 1.050-meter gauge, single track
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Highways: 7,500 km; 5,500 km asphalt, 2,000 km gravel and crushed
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stone
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Pipelines: crude oil, 209 km
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Ports: Al Aqabah
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Merchant marine: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 22,870
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GRT/38,187 DWT; includes 1 bulk, 1 cargo
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Civil air: 19 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 19 total, 16 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways;
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1 with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
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none with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: adequate system of radio relay, cable, and
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radio; 81,500 telephones; stations--4 AM, 3 FM, 24 TV; satellite earth
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stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT,
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1 domestic TV receive-only; coaxial cable and radio relay to Iraq, Saudi
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Arabia, and Syria; radio relay to Lebanon is inactive; a microwave
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network linking Syria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Jordan
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Jordan Arab Army, Royal Jordanian Air Force,
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Royal Jordanian Coast Guard, Public Security Force
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 778,353; 555,144 fit for
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military service; 39,879 reach military age (18) annually
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Defense expenditures: $377 million, 12.4% of GNP (1990)
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