Jordan - education
Education is public and free at both primary and secondary level. In primary
school, which has levels of resp. six and four years duration, there is
compulsory schooling for the 6-16 year olds; this is followed by a two-year
postgraduate education, which includes a general line and a number of vocational
educations. To meet the demands of the labor market, the government's goal is to
increase the proportion of students in vocational education by the year 2000.
Higher education takes place at the country's nine universities, five in Jordan
and four in the West Bank, and at other higher education institutions.
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OFFICIAL NAME: al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashimiyya (Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan)
CAPITAL CITY: Amman
POPULATION: 6,200,000 (Source: COUNTRYaah)
AREA: 92,300 km²
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (S): Arabic, Armenian, Circassian
RELIGION: Sunni Muslims 95%, Christians 4%, Druze 1%
COIN: dinar
CURRENCY CODE: IODINE
ENGLISH NAME: Jordan
INDEPENDENCE: 1946
POPULATION COMPOSITION: Arabs 98% (of which 60% Palestinians), Armenians 1%, Cherkess 1%
GDP PER residents: 2091 $ (2007)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 70 years, women 73 years (2007)
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, HDI: 0.760
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, POSITION: 86
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .jo
Jordan, Kingdom of the Middle East, independent since 1946; until 1950 Transjordan. 1949-67
the west bank of the Jordan River (West Bank) was part of the Jordan; the area
was officially abandoned in 1988.
Jordan's population is almost exclusively Arab, over half of Palestinian
origin. The country has a large production of crude phosphate, but otherwise
has only limited natural resources. Jordan is heavily dependent on foreign aid,
which comes mainly from the United States and Saudi Arabia. Large parts of the
country are desert. Jordan has a short coastline of 26 km at Aqaba Bay to the
south.
Jordan - Constitution
Jordan is a constitutional monarchy. The Constitution is from 1951. In 1991,
the political parties were legalized on condition that they accepted the
Constitution and the monarchy.
Legislative power lies with a bicameral parliament and the king. Of the two
chambers, the House of Representatives has the greatest powers. Its 110 members
are elected by ordinary, direct election for four years; women first
participated in the 1984 election, and six seats are reserved for women. The
King has repeatedly dissolved the House of Representatives. The Senate has 55
members appointed by the king from among former ministers, politicians and
officials. The executive power is formally vested in the Prime Minister, who is
appointed by the King. The Prime Minister presents bills in the House of
Representatives; both the Senate and the King can demand bills amended.
Jordan - Economy
Since independence in 1946, Jordan has been dependent on foreign support from
especially Britain, the United States and the Arab oil countries to
financing the country's structural deficit on the trade balance. However,
support from Arab countries was significantly reduced due to the fall in oil
prices in the mid-1980's, which led to an increasing external borrowing
requirement. Towards the end of the 1980's, the country went into debt crisis and
the government had to ask the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for financial
assistance. The counterclaim was that Jordan should implement a five-year
structural recovery program, which entailed deregulation measures,
privatizations, tightening economic policies and improving external
balances. However, the schedule was undermined by the UN embargo in 1990 against
the country's main export market, Iraq, which is why a new seven-year agreement
was negotiated in 1991.
In comparison with other Arab countries, Jordan has generally had a good
relationship with the Western countries, and this was even more pronounced after
the peace agreement with Israel in 1994. This agreement also benefited the
economy, as in addition to the goodwill effect it was rewarded with debt
forgiveness from.a. USA, UK and France, just as it has led to rising tourist
revenues. In the late 1990's, a process of privatization and liberalization
began; the country joined the WTO in 2000. The outbreak of the al-Aqsa intifada
in the West Bank the same year (see Intifada) and the subsequent deteriorating
security situation, however, put a damper on foreign investment appetite, but a
free trade agreement with the United States in 2001 multiplied exports. Jordan's
exports to Iraq were temporarily disrupted by trade restrictions and since the
US-led invasion in 2003, and the oil-free country is now forced to import fuels
at market prices. Jordan has a large trade deficit, but receives aid from the
United States and the European Union. GDP growth has been around 5% since 2000.
Poverty is widespread, and unemployment, which was officially approximately 13% in
2004, estimated at a real 20-30%. Food subsidies burden the state budget and
government debt amounts to 79% of GDP (2005).
Jordan's main trading partners are on the export side, the United States and
Iraq, and on the import side, Saudi Arabia and China. Denmark's exports to
Jordan in 2005 amounted to DKK 236 million. DKK, while imports from there were 5
mill. Medical and pharmaceutical products as well as dairy products constitute
the most important Danish export products.
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