1 (39)

Chapter 2

JORDAN AT A GLANCE

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Al-mamlakah AI - Urduniay a1-

Hashimiyah ) is a young nation that occupies an ancient land. It

is situated on the banks of the Jordan river. It is bounded to

the east by Iraq, to the north by Syria, to the south-east by

Saudi Arabia and to the west by Israel and the Gulf of Aqaba

the south-west. Jordan has 12 miles of coast line. The area of

the country is 36 / 833 square miles.

Jordan • 15 a developing Arab count ry. It is situated on the

south-eastern shore o f the Mediterranean between longitudes 34°

52' and 39°12' east and latitudes 29°17' and 33°23' north, and

extends eastwards into the Arabian desert.

Jordan • 15 a hilly and arid country. Pract ically a ll of its

cultivated area as w~ll as 90 per cent of the population . IS

concentrated in the north - west which occupies only about 14 per

cent of the area and covers most of the West Bank. That part of

the Bast Bank which extends from the Syrian border southwards to

Hadaba east of this area is the Steppes; but further east and

south lies a desert plateau which is moving gradually eastwards

to the great Sirhan depression and which forms a part of the

Syrian or north Arabian desert. Between the hills of the Wes t

Bank and the mountains and plateau of the East Bank , there lies a

long and deep depression -the rift valley. A large part of it

28

1 (40)

,-

• •

, •

-,

, , • ...

'I • • . " , -• ' . •

Map 2. J

MAP OF JORDAN

• .•. ".

•

•

--r / /

--I

, \

..... \ .. ... , , ,

29

/,

:

/ /

,

,

•

! •

/

•

• ,

,

,

,

I J

\ \

\ /

• , , , , , , . ,

. ,

.. - I

\ \

\ \ -~ ,

' ,-,~ , ,

, , , , -

,

"

1 (41)

lies below the sea level and is generally dry and very hot 1n

summer. The central part of this depression is occupied by the

Dead Sea which is an inland lake of about 755 square kilometers

whose surface lies 396 meters below the Mediterranean mean sea

level . This happens to be the lowest area in the world.

Sloping gently towards the Dead Sea fr om the north . 15 a

relatively flat but widening land known as the J ordan valley , • 1n

the midst of which the Jordan river meanders in its descend ing

course to meet the Dead Sea. Sloping t owards the Dead Sea fr om

the s outh is the Wadi Aqaba which separates the Gulf of Aqaba

from the land below sea level.

History of Jordan

Since the Arab-Israeli War of June 1967 , Israel has occupied the

territory of the Jordan river , known as the West Bank , including

the Jordanian sector of Jerusalem. The occupied area • 18 about

2,270 sq. miles which forms 6 per cent of Jordan's territory but

one half of its agricultural land. About one - third of J ordan's

population lives in the West Bank.

As a political entity, Jordan came into being after the

termination of World War I, but gained its independence from the

united Kingdom as a hereditary constitutional monarchy only after

World War II in 19(6. In April 1950, national unity came into

being, between what was formerly known as Transjordan and that

part of Palestine known now as the West Bank. The latter part o f

30

1 (42)

the Kingdom has been under Israeli occupation since the June 1967

war. King Hussein Ibn Talal ascended the throne in 1952; he

attempted to mdintain Jordan's traditional poli c y of friendship

with the western countries despite strong: l ocal and international

pressures.

The intellectual differences and frustrations that pervade the

Arab world are reflected within Jordan all the more be cause the

country has provided shelter for thousands o f Arab refugees who

had fled from their homes as a result o f the Arab- Israeli wars.

Climate

The climate of Jordan is of dry Mediterranean t ype. Tempera t ures

rarely fall below the freezing point in winter a nd hardly ex c eed

• >n summer. In the highlands and the eastern part ,

temperatures are more extreme, and the Jordan valley has warm but

short winters and very hot , dry and long summers.

The rainy season usually starts in late October and continues

through March or April , with the heaviest rain falling • 1n the

first three months of the year. Rainfall displays marked annual

fluctuations, and follows a five to saven year cycle.

Precipitation in the western and the northern parts is much

greater than that in the eastern and Gouthern parts. Average

rainfall in the former exceeds 400 rom per annum .

31

1 (43)

Natural Resources

Only 13 per cent of the land area is cultivable. stringency and

uncertainty of rainfall limits rainfed cultivated area. The

supply of irrigation water , ' IS agaIn a limiting factor f o r

cultivation . At present , only a small fracti on of t he water fr om

the Yarmouk and Zarqa rivers is being utilized f or irrigat i ng

agri cultural land. Underground water is not ye t ful l y e xp lored .

Several minerals of commerc ial value are f ound to ex ist

Jordan. Phosphate roc k and materials f or cement production are

available in great abundance and are being e xploited e xtensively.

Potential l y , however , a major resource i s t he Dead Sea whose

_water contains quantities of potash, magnesIum and bromine.

Other minerals of commercial value inc lude manganese, . ceramlCS,

copper, glass sand, clay and oil shale. Explo r ation for oil In

various locations did not produce positive r esul t s. At present,

Jordan depends for its power on crude oil wh ich 1 5 imported

through pipelines from Saudi Arabia and is refined loca lly .

Of even greater significance are the various holy places and t he

various archaeological sites which attract pilgrims and t ourists

in large numbers. The city of Jerusalem is a holy place to

~eople of several religions and Petra and Jarash are well-known

places of archaeological interest.

32 •

1 (44)

Population

J ordan's population has been growing steadily in the last two

de cades from 0 . 59 million in 1952, to over 0.9 mil l i on i n 1 961 to

ove r 1.5 mi l lion in 197 0, to over 2 .2 milli on i n 1 980 and to 3 , 45

mi llion in 1990 . The approximate rate of inc r ease is about 3 . 1

per c ent per annum. Thi s is the result of a ver y high fert i lity

rate of 6.8 children per woman , a c rude bir th rate of 47 per

1000 and a c rude death rate of about 16 pe r 1000 . The f i rs teve r

census was conduct ed in 196 1 . Due t he i mpact of mi gra tion dur i ng

the 80s the annual growth rate inc re ased t o 4 ,2 per cen t .

Table 2 .1 Population of J ordan by Sex f or Select ed Years

( in ' 000) -----------------------------------------------------------------

Year Hales Females Tota l -----------------------------------------------------------------

1952i 1961 1965 1970 1975

3 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

301 .7 469.4 534 . 6 784.3 941.5

1115 . 8 1160 . 4 1206. 4 1255 . 1 1305.3 1257.6 1409.1 1462.6 151 5. 3 1569 . 5 1627.0 1777 . 0

284 .5 431. 4 493.4 723. 9 869 . 6

1017.2 105 7. 9 1100.2 1144 .2 1190. 0 1237.5 1284.6 1333. 5 1381. 5 1431. 5 148 4.0 1676.0

586.2 900 . 8

1028. 0 1508. 2 1810 . 5 21 33 . 0 2218.3 2307.0 2399 .3 2495 .3 2595.1 2693. 7 27 96.1 2896 .8 3001. 0 3111 .0 3453 . 0

-----------------------------------------------------------------1. 2.

Housing Statistics, August 1952 Results of the first population November 18, 1961

and hous ing ce nsus o n

3. Results of the housing and 10, 1979.

population cens us o n November

Source: The Hashemite Kingdom of Statistics, Statistical Year

33 •

Jordan , Department Book, No .41 , 1990.

of

1 (45)

About 4. per cent of the population lives in urban areas and the

remaining 56 per cent in rural areaSj of this, about 6 per cent

(t he religious fundamentalists) lives In scattered tents

maintaining a separate identify to keep alive the age - old

traditions of the Arabs. Nearly 95 per cent of the population

belongs to the Muslim community and 5 percent follows

Christianity.

For effective administration the entire kingdom of Jordan • lS

divided into eight governorates , Amman being the capital. Nearly

• 42 per cent of total population is concentrated in this regIon,

followed by 23.59 per cent in Irbid and 15.37 per cent in Zarqa .

Eighty- two per cent of the population is concentrated in these

three governorates, resulting an acute shortage of housing

this areas .

Table 2.2

Percentage of Employees by Sector of Activity

-----------------------------------------------------------------Activity 1988 1989 1990 -----------------------------------------------------------------Agriculture Hining and Quarrying Electricity and Water construction Trade Transport Financial Institutions Social and Public Administration

7.6 10.3 1.6

10.0 10.0

9.0 3.4

48.1

7.2 10.4 1.4 9. 7

10.2 8.8 3. 1

49.2

7.3 10.2 1.3 9.9

10.1 8.5 3. 2

49.5

-----------------------------------------------------------------Source

•

: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Department Statistics, Statistical Year Book, No,41 , 1990.

34

of

1 (46)

Workforce constitutes only 23 per cent of the population. Table

2.2 c lassifies the workforce by major eco nomic activity.

The table shows that nearly 50 per cent of the workforce belongs

to s ocial and public administration i.e. the • serVice sector,

mining , trade and construction as the maj or economic act ivity .

Maj or industries and industrial producti on are almost nil in the

country. Agriculture plays a minor r ole in the economic growth .

This shows a dependence on other countr ies for food and

manufac tured goods. Oil wells and minerals are the main economic

resources in the country . Under these conditi ons well organized

financial intermediaries like commercial banks play an i mportant

role as resources mobilizers in the growth process. While the

rapidly growing population, small domest i c market, limited

natural and capital resourCBs , heavy dependence of agri cultural

ac tivity on rainfall , chronic trade defi cit , reliance on foreign

assistance , infrastructural deficiencies , etc. are drawbacks of

the Jordan economy , the development of the financial sector

through an effic iently planned central banking system is an asset

to the country .

Jordan had to face enormous problems arising out of the events of

1948 which resulted in the Israeli occupation o f a major part of

Palestine. Within a few months, J ordan's popUl a tion tripled

without a commensurate increase in resources. Trade and lines of

communications which previously were direc ted westward to the

Mediterranean coast had to be completely re - r outed. The country

found it necessary to build infrastructural faci lities within a

35

1 (47)

very short period. Moreover, government revenues were not

sufficient to meet the fiscal requirements , and the Jordanian

government had , therefore, to depend much on financial assistance

from friendly countries and deficit financing.

Throughout its eXistence , Jordanians had t o depend upon outside

aid . Aid came first fr om the United Kingdom, late r fr om the

United States and • Slnce 1967 from other Wes te r n and Arab

countries , including Saudi Arabia , Kuwait and the Unit ed Arab

Emirates. Between 1954 and 1967 , despi t e population pr essur es,

paucity of natural resources, and i nflux of r ef ugees, J ordan's

gross national product nearly quadrupl ed .

Economic Indicators

The government's planning for utilizing s car ce r esources is do ne

in such a way that their contribution is maximiz ed . In 195 7 t he

Jordan Development Board was reconstituted to be the centra l

agency responsible for the design of the nationa l development

policy.

To make the Jordanian economy selt-reliant, the seven year

programme for economic development (1964-1970 ) was prepared as a

comprehensive economic blueprint which enjoined Jordan to move on

the path of economic independence and self-sustained growth.

Jordan was able to overcome many of the difficulties and problems

by 1966 .

36

•

1 (48)

The Israeli aggression in June 1967 and its aftermath has created

grave economic and social problems f or the people and the

gove rnment . The seizure of the West Bank placed about one-third

of Jo r dan's population under Israeli occupat ion and c rea ted a

gr ave human tragedy involving the influx i nto t he East Bank of

approximately one - fifth of the population for f ea r of Israeli

persecution.

However , with prompt gove r nment action and appropriate

measures , the economy regained i t s ear lier momentum by the second

half of 1968. The emergence of th e internal security problem

Table 2. 3

Selected Economi c I ndicator s (1980 - 1990 ) ( In .1111on JD )

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------You Inc" •• Inco: • Oro •• Honoy

fn. cli- ''''" Don.tic S"pply

r.etly Arvic.. Product ("i ) prodlJ- .. ctora (aark,t

ctlw (factor priCII)

.. etora coat }

(f&etor

coot ,

Honoy

SUpply

,tt" 8.etor fa ci li- public dity

( r •• i - ~xtfndfd

<JQnt} by

licaru;ad ban!<.

dity

------------------------------------------------_.<.--------------------------------------._-----------

1910 H6 . 3 !l42 . 1 979 . , !l94.1 9U.' !l80.6 !!6 3 .9 ~ 16.1 1~0 . 1 716 .0 611.6

1981 416.S 626.1 116'.7 701 . 'I 11'1'.' 7G6.4 711 . 3 309 . ~ 169 . 0 1047.5 666.9

1\182 4!19.3 '110.3 1321. 2 7117.' 1403.3 813.4 887. ~ 36 2 .0 la5.6 1142.5 632 .4

1983 479.6 '162. 'I 1422.7 869.4 1615.2 1035.4 1030. 9 400.0 160. 1 1103.3 729.6

1984 510 . ' 80!!.1 1499.4 8'11.4 1'IS7.7 1169 . 1 1114. 1 411. 7 26 1. 1 1071. 3 740.9

1915 SU.9 8S3.0 1573.3 U8.2 11174.8 1274.4 1274.4 425.5 255. 3 1074.4 781. 4

1\1116 518 . 1 11112 . 5 203'.6 897 . 1 ~072 .• U2S.0 1395.4 st4 . 4 22S.6 850.2 821. 9

1987 560.0 1201.3 2081 . 5 979.11 2372.2 1664 .0 1513 . 0 531. 5 248 .8 915 . ~ 870 .5

19111 613.5 1264.7 2~01.4 1181.3 2659.1 1147 . 3 1634.0 ~ 44 . 4 324 . 8 1022 .5 953 . 7

1989 796.9 1441.1 2540.6 1326.5 2990.2 1919 . 3 1130 . S 565.4 53' .1 1230 . 0 1244.8

1990 11.1. 7 13611.7 2567.4 U3~.1I 3132.0 1956. , 18S3 . 11 746. 1 612 . 3 172!!.!! 1451.8

awarae- ".P 10.51 10.05 ., • !15 11.19 12 . 94 11.77 9.91 14 . .,8 3.80 7. 95

Ala •• 1

GltOiitb a.te

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------IaurCII: c.ntral lank of Jord.an, Arnlal Raport, varioua yaara.

37

1 (49)

culminated in the sad events of September 1970. Jordan • 18 now

resolved to fa ce these challenges squarely and is quite confident

that wi th the help of friendly and peace - loving countries. Arab

rights will inevitably be restored. Jordan will, thereupon, be

able t o devote greater efforts to • economIC and social

development.

Table 2.3 gives selected economic indicators f or the period 1 980

to 1990. There is considerable growth in all the indic a to r s .

The least growth rate ( 3.80) is notic ed in commodit y impor ts and

the highest (14.78 ) in commodi t y domestic expor t, which itself

shows a progressive economI C growth. Private s ec tor deposi t s

( resident ) increased at an annual gr owth 12. 94 per cent f ollowed

by money supply (HZ ) at 11.89 per cent and cr edit fa c il i t ie s

extended by licensed banks by 11.77 per cent . Th is I S a cl ear

indication of the economic growth in the financ e sec to r or the

banking system as a whole.

Present Economic Condition

For rapid economic development, the J ordanian gove r nment had

started implementing 5-year, 3-year and 7- year plans f r om 1962 .

The Jordan Development Board was established in 1952 and was

later replaced by the National Planning Council in 1971, The

first five year plan was introduced in 1962 for the period 19 62

to 1967. The seven year programme for economic development

lasted from 1964 to 1970. The three year plan for s ocial 50d

economic development lasted from 1913 to 1975. Then came two five

38

1 (50)

year plans - one spanning the period 1980 - 85 and the next five

year development plan from 1986 to 1990, both leading to rapid

economi c development.

(1) Three year development plan (1973 - 1975): The year 1973

witnessed the beginning of a new stage o f • economlc and

social development in Jordan. The three yea r development

plan aimed at achieving a number of goals, mainly to expand

GOP by 8 per cent annually , to reduce the trade deficit from

an annual average of 11.5 per cent for the period 1967- 1971

to 6.3 per cent during the plan period, to bring the balance

of payments to equilibrium and to augment the re liance o f

the budget on domesti c revenues. During this plan period

GNP increased a~ annually at 24.78 per cent and GOP

increased by 19.57 per cent.

(2) The first five year development plan (1976 - 1980): The fi ve

year development plan for the period 19 76- 80 aime d at

furthering the development momentum attained during t he

three year development plan. During this period GNP at

constant • prlces increased by an annual rate of 20.12 per

cent and GDP by 23.09 per cent, a growth rate which no

developing country can even dream to attain. One of the

main objectives of the plan was t o direct an increased

proportion of financial resources towards investment with a

determination to accelerate the process of socio- economic

development. Jordan suffers from an acute s hortage of

housing showing high population density in slum areas • in

39

•

1 (51)

principal cities and a high occupancy ratio per room for low

lncome groups. To improve the situation during this plan

been about 21 per cent of the total investment had

channelised into the housing sector against the proposed 11

pe r cent in the plan.

During 1976-80 about 37,000 new residential building permits

were issued for a total building area of 6.8 billion square

meters. The Housing Corporation and the Jordan Valley

constructed 5221 housin9 units for limited and low i ncome

groups. In addition to this the Housing Bank provided about

JD11a.S million in l oans for hous ing and commercial

buildings for a total estimated area of 3.4 million square

metersi 7428 loans of amount less than JD 400 0, 5205 10an8

of amount between JD 4000 and JD 7000 and 1352 loans of

amount above JD 7000 • were glven to a total of 13985

beneficiaries.

(3) The second five year development plan (1981 - 1985) After

having achieved the desired growth process in GNP in the

first two plans, the development programmes and poli c ies of

the second five year plan (1981-85) aimed at a qua l itative

change in the growth process. The annual growth rate of GNP

and GOP got stabilized at 5.96 per cent and 7.99 per cent

respectively, comparable to the growth in any developing

economy. The plan called for the establishment o f

appropriate institutions and systems to improve technol ogy

40

1 (52)

and information and thereby to strengthen the productive

c apac ity and infrastructure of the national economy.

Cr edit fac ilities extended by the commercial banks and

spec ialized crodit institutions regiatered a great inc rease

during t his period. While framing the polic i es on housing

act ivity one of the goals was to encourag e the private

s ect or i n residenti a l build i ngs and mobil iz e • savl ngs for

t h is purpose , As a resul t, among the sources of financing

hous i ng proj ec ts , the share of t he pr ivate and mi xed sector

in housing proj ects inc reased f r om 31.85 per cent in 1981 to

73.21 per cent in 198 5.

( 4) The third five year development plan (1986- 1990): The plan

had t aken into consideration new dimensions ln i ts

f ormula t i on. The pr i mary priorities of th e third five year

plan were introduction of reg io na l planning, expanding

popular partic ipation in the implementation of its goals,

and regulating t he f ollow- up process. The new dimensions

had an important bearing on the mac r o, sectoral, and

regi onal goals of the plan. On t he macr o l eve l, the plan

called for increasing GDP at an annual growth rate of 5.0

per cent.

Within the framework of these macro goals, the s ec t ora l plans

have endeavoured to affect a structural economic changes • ln

favour of commodity producing sectors. On the regional l evel,

the plan aimB at realizing a balanced overall development of a ll

economic and social sectors in various regions .

41