Jordan Westburgalamo World Geography

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Geography, Map, History of North America and Canada. Why your go-to-market strategy should be industry focused. Nov 09, 2020 Jordan is a small, semi-arid Arab country in Southwest Asia. It is located in the rocky desert of the northern Arabian Peninsula, in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres of the Earth.

Jordan
  • Land
  • People
    • Settlement patterns
  • Economy
  • Government and society
  • Cultural life
  • History
    • Jordan under King Ḥussein
    • Reign of ʿAbdullāh II

Mineral resources include large deposits of phosphates, potash, limestone, and marble, as well as dolomite, kaolin, and salt. More recently discovered minerals include barite (the principal ore of the metallic element barium), quartzite, gypsum (used as a fertilizer), and feldspar, and there are unexploited deposits of copper, uranium, and shale oil. Although the country has no significant oil deposits, modest reserves of natural gas are located in its eastern desert. In 2003 the first section of a new pipeline from Egypt began delivering natural gas to Al-ʿAqabah.

Virtually all electric power in Jordan is generated by thermal plants, most of which are oil-fired. The major power stations are linked by a transmission system. By the early 21st century the government had completed a program to link the major cities and towns by a countrywide grid.

Beginning in the final decades of the 20th century, access to water became a major problem for Jordan—as well as a point of conflict among states in the region—as overuse of the Jordan River (and its tributary, the Yarmūk River) and excessive tapping of the region’s natural aquifers led to shortages throughout Jordan and surrounding countries. In 2000 Jordan and Syria secured funding for constructing a dam on the Yarmūk River that, in addition to storing water for Jordan, would also generate electricity for Syria. Construction of the Waḥdah (“Unity”) Dam began in 2004.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is concentrated around Amman. The extraction of phosphate, petroleum refining, and cement production are the country’s major heavy industries. Gta 5 xbox one cheat codes cars. Food, clothing, and a variety of consumer goods also are produced.

Finance

The Central Bank of Jordan (Al-Bank al-Markazī al-Urdunī) issues the dinar, the national currency. There are many national and foreign banks in addition to credit institutions. The government has participated with private enterprise in establishing the largest mining, industrial, and tourist firms in the country and also owns a significant share of the largest companies. The Amman Stock Exchange (Būrṣat ʿAmmān; formerly the Amman Financial Market) is one of the largest stock markets in the Arab world.

Trade

Jordan’s primary exports are clothing, chemicals and chemical products, and potash and phosphates; the main imports are machinery and apparatus, crude petroleum, and food products. Major sources of imports are Saudi Arabia, the United States, China, and the European Union (EU). Major destinations for exports are the United States, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. In 2000 Jordan signed a bilateral free trade agreement with the United States. The value of exports has been growing, but it does not cover that of imports; the deficit is financed by foreign grants, loans, and other forms of capital transfers. Although Jordan’s trade deficit has been large, it has been offset somewhat by revenue from tourism, remittances sent by Jordanians working abroad, earnings from foreign investments made by the central bank, and subsidies from other Arab and non-Arab governments.

Services

Services, including public administration, defense, and retail sales, form the single most important component of Jordan’s economy in both value and employment. The country’s vulnerable geography has led to high military expenditures, which are well above the world average.

The Jordanian government vigorously promotes tourism, and the number of tourists visiting Jordan has grown dramatically since the mid-1990s. Visitors come mainly from the West to see the old biblical cities of the Jordan Valley and such wonders as the ancient city of Petra, designated a World Heritage site in 1985. Income from tourism, mostly consisting of foreign reserves, has become a major factor in Jordan’s efforts to reduce its balance-of-payments deficit.

Labour and taxation

Jordan has also lost much of its skilled labour to neighbouring countries—as many as 400,000 people left the kingdom in the early 1980s—although the problem has eased somewhat. This change is a result both of better employment opportunities within Jordan itself and of a curb on foreign labour demands by the Persian Gulf states.

The majority of the workforce is men, with women constituting roughly one-seventh of the total. The government employs nearly half of those working. About one-seventh of the population is unemployed, although income per capita has increased. Labour unions and employer organizations are legal, but the trade-union movement is weak; this is partly offset by the government, which has its own procedures for settling labour disputes.

About half of the government’s revenue is derived from taxes. Even though the government has made a great effort to reform the income tax, both to increase revenue and to redistribute income, revenue from indirect taxes continues to exceed that from direct taxes. Tax measures have been adopted to increase the rate of savings necessary for financing investments, and the government has implemented tax exemptions on foreign investments and on the transfer of foreign profits and capital.

Transportation and telecommunications

Jordan has a main, secondary, and rural road network, most of which is hard-surfaced. This roadway system, maintained by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, not only links the major cities and towns but also connects the kingdom with neighbouring countries. One of the main traffic arteries is the Amman–Jarash–Al-Ramthā highway, which links Jordan with Syria. The route from Amman via Maʿān to the port of Al-ʿAqabah is the principal route to the sea. From Maʿān the Desert Highway passes through Al-Mudawwarah, linking Jordan with Saudi Arabia. The Amman-Jerusalem highway, passing through Nāʿūr, is a major tourist artery. The government-operated Hejaz-Jordan Railway extends from Darʿā in the north via Amman to Maʿān in the south. The Aqaba Railway Corporation operates a southern line that runs to the port of Al-ʿAqabah and connects to the Hejaz-Jordan Railway at Baṭn al-Ghūl. Rail connections also join Darʿā in the north with Damascus, Syria.

Royal Jordanian is the country’s official airline, offering worldwide service. Queen Alia International Airport near Al-Jīzah, south of Amman, opened in 1983. Amman and Al-ʿAqabah have smaller international airports.

In 1994 Jordan introduced a program to reform its telecommunication system. The government-owned Jordan Telecommunications Corporation, the sole service provider, had been unable to meet demand or provide adequate service, particularly in rural areas; it was privatized in 1997. Since then, the use of cellular telephones has mushroomed, far outstripping standard telephone use. In addition, Internet use has grown dramatically.

Facts & Figures

  • Ruler: King Abdullah II (1999)

    Prime Minister: Abdullah Ensour (2012)

    Land area: 34,286 sq mi (88,802 sq km); total area: 34,495 sq mi (89,342 sq km) excludes West Bank

    Population (2012 est.): 6,508,887 (growth rate: -0.965%); birth rate: 26.52/1000; infant mortality rate: 15.83/1000; life expectancy: 80.18

    Capital and largest city (2009 est.): Amman, 1.088 million

    Monetary unit: Jordanian dinar

    National name: Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniya al-Hashimiyah

    Languages: Arabic (official), English

    Ethnicity/race: Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%

    Religions: Islam (Sunni) 92%, Christian 6% (mostly Greek Orthodox), other 2%

    National Holiday:Independence Day, May 25

    Literacy rate: 92.6% (2010 est.)

    Economic summary:GDP/PPP (2011 est.): $37.37 billion; per capita $6,000. Real growth rate: 2.5%. Inflation: 6.4%. Unemployment: 12.3% official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2011 est.). Arable land: 3.32%. Agriculture: citrus, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, strawberries, stone fruits; sheep, poultry, dairy. Labor force: 1.771 million; services 77.4%, industry 20%, agriculture 2.7% (2007 est.). Industries: clothing, fertilizers, potash, phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism. Natural resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil. Exports: $8.066 billion (2011 est.): clothing, phosphates, fertilizers, potash, vegetables, pharmaceuticals. Imports: $14.01 billion (2011 est.): crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, iron, cereals. Major trading partners: U.S., Iraq, India, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany, Egypt, Lebanon, Italy (2011).

    Communications:Telephones: main lines in use: 485,000 (2009); mobile cellular: 6.62 million (2009). Broadcast media: radio and TV dominated by the government-owned Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTV) that operates a main network, a sports network, a film network, and a satellite channel; first independent TV broadcaster aired in 2007; international satellite TV and Israeli and Syrian TV broadcasts are available; roughly 30 radio stations with JRTV operating the main government-owned station; transmissions of multiple international radio broadcasters are available (2007). Internet hosts: 49,083 (2010). Internet users: 1.642 (2009).

    Transportation: Railways: total: 507 km (2010). Highways: total: 7,891 km; paved: 7,891 km; unpaved: 0 km (2009). Ports and terminals: Al 'Aqabah. Airports: 18 (2012).

    International disputes: 2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation.

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Index

  1. Jordan Profile
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.

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Government

Constitutional hereditary monarchy.

World
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.

King Hussein Confronts Challenge from Palestinians

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 Westburgalamo World Geography Class

Jordan Extends an Olive Branch to Former Foes

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 phrase 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 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.

Jordan Westburgalamo World Geography

Three suicide bombings by Iraqis blasted hotels in Amman, Jordan, in 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.

Jordan Westburg Mississippi State

In parliamentary elections in Nov. 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.

King Abdullah dissolved Parliament in November 2009, halfway through its term, and called for early elections. He appointed Samir al-Rifai as prime minister. The following November, pro-government candidates swept parliamentary elections, which were boycotted by the opposition Islamic Action Front. Violent protests followed the vote. Terms & conditions.

Arab Spring Protests Bring Down Government

Jordan was not spared the anti-government protests that swept through the Middle East in early 2011. On Jan. 28, thousands gathered in Amman and other cities, calling for government reform, the resignation of Prime Minister Samir al-Rifai and demonstrating against high food and fuel prices. The protests, led by the Islamic Action Front, triggered the dissolution of al-Rifai's government. In February, King Abdullah named Marouf al-Bakhit as the country's new prime minister and announced subsidies for food and fuel as well as pay increases for civil servants. Al-Bakhit, a diplomat former prime minister, was considered a safe choice. In June, King Abdullah said future governments will be elected rather than appointed.

The new government proved short-lived; on Oct. 17, 2011, Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit resigned. King Abdullah II designated Awn Khasawneh as new prime minister. Khasawneh's government was sworn in on Oct. 24 with Khasawneh also serving as defense minister, Umayya Touqan became finance minister, Muhammad al-Raoud interior minister and Nasser Judeh as foreign minister.

On April 26, 2012, Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh resigned. Fayez al-Tarawneh was appointed to replace Khasawne for his second term as prime minister. His first term was from Aug. 1998 to March 1999.

In September, the Jordanian government cut fuel subsidies by 10%—essentially increasing prices—in a attempt to reduce the $3 billion deficit. Protests broke out and 89 out of 120 members of Parliament signed a no confidence document in Prime Minister Tarawneh. King Abdullah then demanded that Tarawneh rescind the increase. In October the king dissolved Parliament and appointed Abdullah Ensour as prime minister—the fourth in a year. The following month, the government, feeling increased economic strain with the influx of 200,000 refugees from Syria, said it would cut gas subsidies by 14% for vehicles and by 50% for cooking oil. Violent protests immediately erupted, with demonstrators directing their anger at King Abdullah.

Jordan Westburgalamo World Geography Pdf

Parliamentary elections were held in January 2013, two years early. The Islamic Action Front, the biggest opposition party, which is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, boycotted the election, saying electoral reforms put in place after the Arab Spring protests still left urban areas are under-represented in favor of rural areas, where the government draws most of its support. As expected, pro-government candidates dominated the election. In an unprecedented move, King Abdullah sought Parliament's opinion in choosing a prime minister. Ensour, an advocate of democratic reforms, was renominated and was sworn in in March 2013.

Jordan Joins the Fight Against ISIS

In September 2014, Jordan joined the U.S.-led campaign in Syria against the radical Islamist group ISIS. ISIS militants captured Muath Kasasbeh, a Jordanian pilot who crashed during the fighting. They killed him in a gruesome execution in February 2015. In response, the Jordanian government executed two terrorists and vowed revenge.

See also Encyclopedia: Jordan .
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Jordan
Department of Statistics www.dos.gov.jo/ .

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