Jordan Location:
Physical. Located in the Middle East, Jordan is northwest of Saudi Arabia, east of Israel, and south of Syria and Iraq. It covers an area slightly smaller than Indiana. The terrain is mostly a desert plateau in the east and a highland area in the west. The desert region is dry and arid and the western highlands have a rainy season from November to April. Arable land comprises 4% of Jordan's terrain. Natural resources include phosphates, potash and shale oil.
Jordan Geography:
Geography
Area: 92,300 sq km
Capital: Amman; (1.6 million)
Environmental concerns: limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Geographical features: mostly desert plateau in east and highland area in west; the Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River
Climate: mostly arid desert with a rainy season (November to April) in the west
Jordan People:
People. More than 5.9 million people live in Jordan. Arabic is the official language, while English is understood among the middle and upper classes. Jordan's population is overwhelmingly Arabic (98%) with Circassian and Armenian minorities. In religious practices, 92% of the population is Sunni Muslims and 6% is Christian.
5,907,000 (July 2006 est.) Arab (98%), Circassian (1%), Armenian (1%)
Annual growth rate: 2.49% (2006 est.)
Major languages are Arabic (official) though English widely understood among upper and middle classes.
Religions: Sunni Muslim (92%), Christian (6%) (majority Greek Orthodox), other 2% (2001 est.)
Jordan Government:
Government. The country is officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The nation is divided into 12 administrative divisions called governorates. The capital, Amman, is located in the northwestern sector of the country. Jordan gained its independence from a League of Nations mandate on May 25,1946, and ratified its constitution January 8, 1952. Jordan is a constitutional monarchy and has no elections as both the prime minister and cabinet are appointed to office. King Hussein had been the monarch since independence and was succeeded by his son on his death in 1999. Jordan hosts a number of political parties including the Al-Ahrar (Freedom) Party, the Arab Ba’th Progressive Party, the Arab Islamic Democratic Party and the Islamic Action Front.
Jordan is a constitutional democracy.
The chief of state is King Abdallah II (since 7 February 1999); and the head of government is Prime Minister Marouf Suleiman Bakhit (since 24 November 2005).
Universal suffrage at 20
Jordan Communication:
Communication and transportation
617,300 (2004) main telephone lines in use
600,000 (2005) Internet users
7,364 km of roadways
505 km railroads
17 (2005) airfields
265,000 motor vehicles (2004)
Jordan Economy:
Economy. Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. Debt, poverty and unemployment are fundamental problems, but King Abdallah, since assuming the throne in 1999, has undertaken some broad economic reforms in a long-term effort to improve living standards. Amman in the past three years has worked closely with the IMF, practiced careful monetary policy, and made significant headway with privatization. The government also has liberalized the trade regime sufficiently to secure Jordan's membership in the WTO (2000), an association agreement with the EU (2000), and a free trade accord with US (2000). These measures have helped improve productivity and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map. The substantial trade deficit is covered by tourism receipts, worker remittances, and foreign assistance. Ongoing challenges include fiscal adjustment to reduce the budget deficit and broader investment incentives to promote job-creating ventures. Its GDP is composed of: agriculture (4%), industry (30%) and services (67%).
Currency: Jordanian dinar
Per capita GDP: $4,700 (2005 est.)
GDP: $26.8 billion (2005 est.)
GDP growth rate: 6.1% (2005 est.)
Inflation rate: 5% (2005 est.)
Labor force: agriculture (5%), industry (12.5%) services (82.5%) (2001 est.))
Jordan Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jotoc.html | 
