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Travel to Jordan — Unbiased reviews and great deals
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Jordan
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan National name: Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniya
al-Hashimiyah Ruler: King Abdullah
II (1999) Prime Minister: Nader
Dahabi (2007)
Current government officials
Land area: 35,344 sq mi (91,541 sq km);
total area: 35,637 sq mi (92,300 sq km) excludes West
Bank Population (2008 est.): 6,198,677
(growth rate: 2.3%); birth rate: 20.1/1000; infant mortality rate:
15.5/1000; life expectancy: 78.7; density per sq km: 67
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Amman, 2,677,500 (metro. area), 1,293,200 Other large cities: Zarka, 512,200;
Irbid, 267,200; As-Salt, 200,400 Monetary
unit: Jordanian dinar
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: 90% (2003 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.):
$28.18 billion; per capita $4,700. Real growth rate: 5.7%.
Inflation: 5.4%. Unemployment: 13.5% official rate;
unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2007 est.). Arable land:
3%. Agriculture: wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons,
olives; sheep, goats, poultry. Labor force: 1.563 million;
services 85.8%, industry 10.5%, agriculture 3.7% (2007 est.).
Industries: textiles, phosphate mining, fertilizers,
pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic
chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism. Natural resources:
phosphates, potash, shale oil. Exports: $6.037 billion f.o.b.
(2007 est.): clothing, phosphates, fertilizers, potash, vegetables,
manufactures, pharmaceuticals. Imports: $11.08 billion f.o.b.
(2007 est.): crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport
equipment, manufactured goods. Major trading partners: U.S.,
Iraq, India, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany (2004). Communications: Telephones: main lines
in use: 614,000 (2006); mobile cellular: 4.343 million (2006).
Radio broadcast stations: FM 31 (2007). Television broadcast
stations: 22 (2007). . Internet hosts: 2,500 (2007).
Internet users: 796,900 (2006). Transportation: Railways: total: 505 km
(2006). Highways: total: 7,500 km; paved: 7,500 km; unpaved: 0
km (2004). Ports and harbors: Al 'Aqabah. Airports: 17
(2007). International disputes: 2004
Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation.
Major sources and definitions
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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.
Government
Constitutional hereditary monarchy.
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.
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'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 clause 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
as 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.
Three suicide bombings by Iraqis blasted hotels
in Amman, Jordan, on 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.
In parliamentary elections in November 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.
See also Encyclopedia: Jordan. U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Jordan Department of Statistics www.dos.gov.jo/ .
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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