Democracy and Governance in Jordan
The Development Challenge: Jordan continues to play a vital role in the Middle East as both a key U.S. ally in the war on terror and a model of reform for the rest of the Arab world. This role is enhanced by the strong will and dynamism of King Abdullah II, who has actively promoted major reform initiatives in all sectors to create a better future for Jordanians. However, the Jordanian economic, political, and social sectors are still very vulnerable to regional developments, particularly in Israel and the Palestinian Territories and Iraq.
In this overall context, the Government of Jordan (GOJ) has forged ahead with economic reform. Recent figures show 7.2% growth for the first half of 2004. However, with unemployment at 12.5% and 68% of Jordan's population under the age of 25, economic growth must maintain a swift pace to ensure that the standard of living improves. Also significant for economic growth is Jordan's external debt of approximately $7.3 billion, or 67.7% of gross domestic product. This debt has been declining but is still quite large.
Jordan has also expressed increasing interest in improving democracy and governance. In October 2003, the GOJ launched an ambitious set of political reforms aimed at promoting greater press freedom, decreasing corruption, and promoting greater civil society participation in the public realm. Under this agenda, democratic reform is seen as a tool to maintain stability and engender support for ongoing economic structural adjustment.
Serious social challenges clearly exist in Jordan. First, Jordan's growing population has now reached 5.29 million. While the total fertility rate has declined to 3.5%, with a population growth rate of 2.5% the population is still expected to double by 2026. Second, although literacy rates are high at 90%, most schools do not provide students with the skills they need for work. Third, the vast majority of early childhood education services are provided by the private sector and only affordable by the upper classes. This overall situation underscores the gap between Jordanians that are able to participate in the modern economy in all its forms, including education, and those Jordanians that have yet to see the benefits from Jordan's reform agenda.
The anticipated population increase will also place a tremendous strain on Jordan's limited water resources. In fact, water is scarce throughout the Middle East, and will be a critical issue for peace and stability for decades to come.
The USAID program advances U.S. interests by targeting the priorities of Embassy/Amman's Mission Performance Plan. These priorities include combating terrorism, increasing economic growth, promoting democratic practices and better health care, and increasing water supplies. The two highly critical U.S. foreign policy and Congressional priorities of democracy and education are prominent in our new social sectors program. Also, USAID/Jordan's new focus on public outreach is creating an understanding of the benefits that Jordan's partnership with the United States brings to the Jordanian people.
The USAID Program: USAID/Jordan is requesting FY 2005 and FY 2006 funds for four objectives that focus on: increasing water supplies and using existing water resources better; improving economic opportunities for all Jordanians through private sector development; fostering the democratic process; improving Jordan's educational system; and improving primary and maternal health care.
(Excerpted from the 2006 Congressional Budget Justification for Jordan)
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