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Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , (in Arabic as Al-Mamlakaal-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) and also known as the JK (short for The JordanianKingdom), is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan in Western Asia.

Etymology -

The kingdom is named after the river Jordan. The name "Jordan" derives fromthe Semitic languages and has multiple meanings (Ancient Arabian meaning"Steep/Slope" from the root Arda, Hebrew root Yrd and Canaanite), via theAramaic Yarden meaning "one who descends".

Location -

It borders Saudi Arabia to the south-east, Iraq to the east, Syria to the north

and West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea. Jordan'sonly port is at its southern tip, at the Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared with Israel,Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Much of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert.However, the north-western part of Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent. Thecapital city is Amman.

During its history, Jordan has seen numerous civilizations, including AncientNear Eastern ones as the Canaanite and later other Semitic peoples such as theEdomites, and the Moabites. Other civilizations possessing political sovereigntyand influence in Jordan were: Akkadian, Assyrian, Israelite/Judean, Babylonian,and Persian empires. The lands of Jordan were for a time under the rule ofPharaonic Egypt, composed part of the greater Kingdom of Israel (including thelater Judaean Kingdom, Hasmonaen Kingdom of Israel and Herodian Dynasty),

and notably, the region of Jordan also gave birth to the Nabataean civilizationwhich left rich archaeological remains at Petra, one of the New Seven Wondersof the World located in the Ma'an Governorate. Cultures further west also lefttheir mark, such as the Macedonian/Greek/Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, andOttoman empires. Since the seventh century, the area has been under theprimary rule of Muslim and Arab cultures, with the exceptions briefly for the areain Western Jordan during the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and for the entireregion during the early-mid twentieth century under British rule which led toJordan's establishment as an autonomous state.

Governance Model -The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy withrepresentative government. The reigning monarch is the chief executive and thecommander-in-chief of the armed forces. The king exercises his executiveauthority through the prime ministers and the Council of Ministers, or cabinet.The cabinet, meanwhile, is responsible before the democratically elected H ouseof Deputies which, along with the House of Notables (Senate), constitutes thelegislative branch of the government. The judicial branch is an independentbranch of the government.

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Modern Jordan is predominantly urbanized. Jordan is classified as a country of"high human development" by the 2010 Human Development Report.Furthermore, The Kingdom has been classified as an emerging market with afree market economy by the CIA World Fact Book. It has more Free Trade

Agreements than any other country in the region. It has a pro-Western regimewith very close relations with the United Kingdom and the United States. It alsobecame a major non-NATO ally of the United States in 1996, and is one of onlytwo nations in the region, the other being Egypt, that have diplomatic relationswith Israel. It is a founding member of the Arab League, the WTO, the AFESD,the Arab Parliament, the AIDMO, the AMF, the IMF, the International CriminalCourt, the UNHRC, the GAFTA, the ESCWA, the ENP and the United Nations.Jordan is also currently undergoing close integration with the European Unionand the Gulf Cooperation Council. Jordan enjoys "advanced sta tus with theEuropean Union.

History -

The ancient city of Petra, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

The Mesha stele as photographed circa 1891. The stele describes the wars ofking Mesha of Moab against the Israelites.

The Roman Oval Piazza in the ancient city of Jerash and the Roman temple ofHercules in ancient Philadelphia (Amman) are all places of tourism.

One of the most prominent, ancient states geographically located in what is nowthe State of Jordan, was the Nabatean Kingdom (Arabic: Al-Anbt) (Hebrew:Nevayt), with their capital at Petra, an ancient Semitic people who inhabitedthe wilderness region east of Israel/Judaea from Edom to Syria, northwest of theArabian peninsula. The Nabataeans developed the North Arabic Script, with theirlanguage an intermediary between Hebrew, Aramaean, and that which evolved

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into the Modern Arabic script. During its peak, the Nabataean Kingdomcontrolled regional trade routes by dominating a large area southwest of thefertile crescent, which included the whole of modern Jordan extending from Syriain the North to the northern Arabian Peninsula in the south. As a result, Petraenjoyed independence, prosperity and wealth for hundreds of years until it wasabsorbed by the Persian Empire and later the Roman Empire which was still

expanding in 100 CE.

Various ancient sovereign kingdoms in the region of Jordan, in addition to theNabataeans, have included the Kingdoms of Edom, Ammon, Moab, Israel/Judah,all of which are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Near Easterndocuments.

During the Greco-Roman period of influence, a number of semi-independentcity-states also developed in the region of Jordan under the umbrella of theDecapolis including: Gerasa (Jerash), Philadelphia (Amman), Raphana (Abila),Dion (Capitolias), Gadara (Umm Qays), and Pella (Irbid).

Later, the lands of Jordan became part of the Islamic Empire across its differentCaliphates' stages, including the Rashidun Empire, Umayyad Empire and AbbasidEmpire. After the decline of the Abbasid, the region of Jordan was ruled byseveral conflicting powers including the Mongols, the Christian Crusaders, theAyyubids and the Mamluks until it became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1516.

Modern Jordan -

With the break-up of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, the Leagueof Nations and the occupying powers chose to redraw the borders of the EasternMediterranean. The ensuing decisions, most notably the SykesPicot Agreement,gave birth to the French Mandate of Syria and British Mandate of Palestine and

Transjordan.

The country was under British supervision until after World War II. In 1946, theBritish requested that the United Nations approve an end to British Mandate rulein Transjordan. Following the British request, the Transjordanian Parliamentproclaimed King Abdullah as the first ruler of the Hashemite Kingdom ofTransjordan. Abdullah I continued to rule until a Palestinian Arab assassinatedhim in 1951 as he was departing from the al -Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Jordan occupied the area of Cisjordan(Judaea/Samaria) now known as West Bank, which it continued to control inaccordance with the 1949 Armistice Agreements and a political union formed in

December 1948. The Second Arab-Palestinian Conference held in Jericho onDecember 1, 1948, proclaimed Abdullah King of Palestine and called for a unionof Arab Palestine with the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. TheTransjordanian Government agreed to the unification on December 7, 1948, andon December 13 the Transjordanian parliament approved the creation of theHashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The step of unification was ratified by a j ointJordanian National Assembly on April 24, 1950. The Assembly was composed of20 representatives each from the East and West Bank. The Act of Union

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contained a protective clause which persevered Arab rights in Palestine withoutprejudice to any final settlement.

Many legal scholars say the declaration of the Arab League and the Act of Unionimplied that Jordan's claim of sovereignty over the West Bank was provisional,because it had always been subject to the emergence of the Palestinian state.

A political union was legally established by the series of proclamations, de crees,and parliamentary acts in December 1948. Abdullah thereupon took the titleKing of Jordan, and he officially changed the country's name to the HashemiteKingdom of Jordan in April 1949. The 1950 Act of Union confirmed and ratifiedKing Abdullah's actions. Following the annexation of the West Bank, only the UKformally recognized the union. Thomas Kuttner notes that de facto recognitionwas granted to the regime, most clearly evidenced by the maintaining ofconsulates in East Jerusalem by several countries, including the United States.Joseph Weiler agreed, and said that other states had engaged in activities,statements, and resolutions that would be inconsistent with non-recognition.Joseph Massad said that the members of the Arab League granted de f acto

recognition and that the United States had formally recognized the annexation,except for Jerusalem.

Jordanian parachute flares illuminate Jerusalem during the Arab -Israeli war in1948. Amman became Jordan's capital in 1921

The United States extended de jure recognition to the Government ofTransjordan and the Government of Israel on the same day, January 31, 1949.President Truman told King Abdullah that the policy of the United StatesGovernment as regards a final territorial settlement in Palestine had been statedin the General Assembly on Nov 30, 1948 by the American representative. TheUS supported Israeli claims to the boundaries set forth in the UN General

Assembly resolution of November 29, 1947, but believed that if Israel sought toretain additional territory in Palestine allotted to the Arabs, it should give theArabs territorial compensation.

Clea Bunch said that "President Truman crafted a balanced policy between Israeland its moderate Hashemite neighbours when he simultaneously extendedformal recognition to the newly created state of Israel and the Kingdom ofTransjordan. These two nations were inevitably linked in the President's mind astwin emergent states: one serving the needs of the refugee Jew, the otherabsorbing recently displaced Palestinian Arabs. In addition, Truman was awareof the private agreements that existed between Jewish Agency leaders and KingAbdullah I of Jordan. Thus, it made perfect sense to Truman to favour both

states with de jure recognition.

In 1978 the U.S. State Department published a memorandum of conversationheld on June 5, 1950 between Mr. Stuart W. Rockwell of the Office of African andNear Eastern Affairs and Abdel Monem Rifai, a Counselor of the Jordan Legation:Mr. Rifai asked when the United States was going to recognize the union of ArabPalestine and Jordan. Mr. Rockwell explained the Department's position, statingthat it was not the custom of the United States to issue formal statements ofrecognition every time a foreign country changed its territorial area. The union

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of Arab Palestine and Jordan had been brought about as a result of the will ofthe people and the US accepted the fact that Jordanian sovereignty had beenextended to the new area. Mr. Rifai said he had not realized this and that he wasvery pleased to learn that the US did in fact recognize the union.

Jordan and Iraq united in 1958 to form the Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan

under the Hashemite crowns in Amman and Baghdad. A coup later that yearwould end the union with the execution of the Hashemite crown in Baghdad. TheUnited Arab Republic consisting of Egypt, Syria, and Yemen quickly moved toantagonize Jordan's young King Hussein with Soviet support. King Hussein askedfor British and American assistance. The RAF and the USAF were sent to patrolJordanian airspace and British troops were deployed in Amman.

In 1965, there was an exchange of land between Saudi Arabia and Jordan.Jordan gave up a large area of inland desert in return for a small piece of sea -shore near Aqaba.

Jordan signed a military pact with Egypt in May 1967, and following an Israeli air

attack on Egypt in June 1967, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq continued the SixDay War against Israel. During the war, Israel captured the West Bank and EastJerusalem. In 1988, Jordan renounced all claims to the territory now occupied byIsrael but its 1994 treaty with Israel allowed for a continuing Jordanian role inMuslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem. The severance of administrativeties with the West Bank halted the Jordanian government's paying of civilservants and public sector employees' salaries in the West Bank.

The period following the 1967 war saw an upsurge in the activity and numbers ofArab Palestinian paramilitary elements ( fedayeen) within the state of Jordan.These distinct, armed militias were becoming a "state within a state",threatening Jordan's rule of law. King Hussein's armed forces targeted the

fedayeen, and open fighting erupted in June 1970. The battle in whichPalestinian fighters from various Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) groupswere expelled from Jordan is commonly known as Black September.

The heaviest fighting occurred in northern Jordan and Amman. In the ensuingheavy fighting, a Syrian tank force invaded northern Jordan to back thefedayeen fighters, but subsequently retreated. King Hussein urgently asked theUnited States and Great Britain to intervene against Syria. Consequently, Israelperformed mock air strikes on the Syrian column at the Americans' request.Soon after, Syrian President Nureddin al-Atassi, ordered a hasty retreat fromJordanian soil. By September 22, Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairoarranged a cease-fire beginning the following day. However, spora dic violence

continued until Jordanian forces, led by Habis Al-Majali, with the help of Iraqiforces, won a decisive victory over the fedayeen on July 1971, expelling them,and ultimately the PLO's Yasser Arafat, from Jordan.

In 1973, allied Arab League forces attacked Israel in the Yom Kippur War, andfighting occurred along the 1967 Jordan River cease-fire line. Jordan sent abrigade to Syria to attack Israeli units on Syrian territory but did not engageIsraeli forces from Jordanian territory.

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At the Rabat summit conference in 1974, Jordan was now in a more secureposition to agree, along with the rest of the Arab League, that the PLO was the"sole legitimate representative of the [Arab] Palestinian people", therebyrelinquishing to that organization its role as representative of the West Bank.

The Amman Agreement of February 11, 1985, declared that the PLO and Jordan

would pursue a proposed confederation between the state of Jordan and aPalestinian state. In 1988, King Hussein dissolved the Jordanian parliament andrenounced Jordanian claims to the West Bank. The PLO assumed responsibilityas the Provisional Government of Palestine and an inde pendent state wasdeclared.

Although Jordan did not directly participate in the Gulf War of 199091,following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, King Hussein was accused of supportingSaddam Hussein when he attempted to persuade Saddam Hussein to withdrawfrom Kuwait. As a result of the alleged support, the United States and Arabcountries cut off monetary aid to Jordan, and 700,000 Jordanians who had beenworking in Arab countries were forced to return to Jordan. In addition, millions of

Iraqi refugees fled to Jordan placing a strain on the country's social services.

International Relationships -

A handshake between Hussein I of Jordan and Yitzhak Rabin, accompanied byBill Clinton, after signing the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace, October 26, 1994

In 1991, Jordan agreed, along with Syria, Lebanon, and Arab Palestinianfedayeen representatives, to participate in direct peace negotiations with Israelat the Madrid Conference, sponsored by the U.S. and Russia. It negotiated an

end to hostilities with Israel and signed a declaration to that effect on 25 July1994 (see Washington Declaration). As a result, an Israeli-Jordanian peacetreaty was concluded on 26 October 1994. King Hussein was later honored whenhis picture appeared on an Israeli postage stamp in recognition of the goodrelations he established with his neighbor. Since the signing of the peace treatywith Israel, the United States not only contributes hundreds of millions of dollarsin an annual foreign aid stipend to Jordan, but also has allowed it to establish afree trade zone in which to manufacture goods that will enter the US withoutpaying the usual import taxes as long as a percentage of the material used inthem is purchased in Israel.

King Hussein was treated for cancer in the U.S. for a long period of time. On his

return to Jordan, King Hussein changed the crown prince from his brother PrinceHasan to his eldest son Abdullah. He also released some political prisoners inJordan. King Hussein died some time afterward in 1999. His son, King AbdullahII succeeded him.

Following the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Palestinians in the SecondIntifada in September 2000, the Jordanian government offered its offices to bothparties. Jordan has since sought to remain at peace w ith all of its neighbors.Particularly good relations have been maintained between the Jordanian royal

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fam

and Is ael, with the Jordanian government frequently dis ersing ralliesand jailing demonstrators protesting against Israeli actions The governmentalso censors anti-Israeli views from the Jordanian newsmedia.

The last major strain in Jordan's relations with Israel occurred in Septem er,1997, when two Israeli agents entered Jordan using Canadian passports and

poisoned Khaled Meshal, a senior leader of the Palestinian group Hamas. Underthreat ofcutting off diplomatic relations, King Hussein forced Israel to provide anantidote to the poison and to release dozens of Jordanians and Palestinians fromits prisons, including the spiritual leader ofHamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. SheikhYassin was later assassinated by Israel in a targeted bombing in early 2004 inthe Gaza Strip.

On 9 November 2005 Jordan experienced three simultaneous terrorist bombingsat hotels in Amman. At least 57 people died and 115 were wounded. "Al- aedain Iraq", a group led by terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility.Although claimed by them, there was no direct evidence involving them.

Recently, Jordan has revoked the citizenship of thousands of Palestinians in anattempt to thwart any attempt by Israel of permanently re-settling West BankPalestinians in Jordan. West Bank Palestinians with family in Jordan or withprevious Jordanian citizenship would be issued yellow cards which guaranteedthem all the rights of Jordanian citizenship. Palestinians working for thePalestinian Authority or the PLO were among those who have had their Jordanianpassports taken from them, in addition to anyone who did not serve in theJordanian army. Palestinians living in Jordan with family in the West Bank wouldalso be issued yellow cards. All other Palestinians wishing such Jordanian paperswould be issued a green card which would facilitate travel into Jordan and givethem temporary Jordanian passports in order to make travel easier. In addition,no Palestinians from the Gaza Strip are given any such privileges because

Jordanian authority never extended into the Gaza Strip.

Geography -

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth and about ninetimessaltier than ocean water

Jordan lies between latitudes29 and 34 N, and longitudes35 and 40 E (asmall area lies west of35). It consists of arid plateau in the east irrigated byoasis and seasonal water streams, with highland area in the west of arable land

and Mediterranean evergreen forestry. The Great Rift Valley of the Jordan Riverseparates Jordan, the west bank and Israel. The highest point in the country isJabal Umm al Dami, it is1,854m(6,083 ft) above sea level, its top is alsocovered with snow, while the lowest is the Dead Sea -420m(1,378 ft). Jordanis part of a region considered to be "the cradle ofcivilization", the Levant regionof the Fertile Crescent.

Major cities include the capital Amman in the northwest, Irbid, Jerash and Zarqa,in the north. Madaba, Karak and Aqaba in the south.

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Climate -

The climate in Jordan is semi-dry in summer with average temperature in themid 30C (mid 90F) and relatively cold in winter averaging around 13 C(55 F). The western part of the country receives greater precipitation during thewinter season from November to March and snowfall in Amman (756 m (2,480

ft) ~ 1,280 m (4,199 ft) above sea-level) and Western Heights of 500 m (1,640ft). Excluding the rift valley the rest of the country is entirely above 300 m (984ft)(SL).

The major characteristic of the climate is humid from November to March andsemi dry weather for the rest of the year. With hot, dry summers and coolwinters during which practically all of the precipitation occurs, the country has aMediterranean-style climate. In general, the farther inland from theMediterranean a given part of the country lies, the greater are the seasonalcontrasts in temperature and the less rainfall. Atmospheric pressures during thesummer months are relatively uniform, whereas the winter months bring asuccession of marked low pressure areas and accompanying cold fronts. These

cyclonic disturbances generally move eastward from over the Mediterranean Seaseveral times a month and result in sporadic precipitation.

Most of the land receives less than 620 mm (24.4 in) of rain a year and may beclassified as a semi dry region. Where the ground rises to form the highlandseast of the Jordan Valley, precipitation increases to around 300 mm (11.8 in) inthe south and 500 mm (19.7 in) or more in the north. The Jordan Valley, formsa narrow climatic zone that annually receives up to 900 mm (35.4 in) of rain inthe northern reaches; rain dwindles to less than 120 mm (4.7 in) at the head ofthe Dead Sea.

The country's long summer reaches a peak during August. January is usually the

coldest month. The fairly wide ranges of temperature during a twenty-four-hourperiod are greatest during the summer months and have a tendency to increasewith higher elevation. Daytime temperatures during the summer monthsfrequently exceed 29 C (84.2 F) and average about 32 C (89.6 F). Incontrast, the winter monthsSeptember to Marchbring moderately cool andsometimes very cold weather, averaging about 3.2 C (37.8 F). Except in therift depression, frost is fairly common during the winter, it may take the form ofsnow at the higher elevations of the north western highlands. Usually it snows acouple of times in the winter.

For a month or so before and after the summer dry season, hot, dry air from thedesert, drawn by low pressure, produces strong winds from the south or

southeast that sometimes reach gale force. Known in Western Asia by variousnames, including the khamsin, this dry, sirocco-style wind is usuallyaccompanied by great dust clouds. Its onset is heralded by a hazy sky, a fallingbarometer, and a drop in relative humidity to about 10%. Within a few hoursthere may be a 10 C (18.0 F) to 15 C (27.0 F) rise in temperature. Thesewindstorms ordinarily last a day or so, cause much discomfort, and destroycrops by desiccating them. The shamal, comes from the north or northwest,generally at intervals between June and September. Steady during daytimehours but becoming a breeze at night, the shamal may blow for as long as nine

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days out of ten and then repeat the process. It originates as a dry continentalmass of polar air that is warmed as it pa sses over the Eurasian landmass.

Administrative divisions -

The Administrative Divisions system by the Ministry of Interior divided Jordaninto 12 provinces called governorates, each headed by a governor appointed bythe king. They are the sole authorities for all government departments anddevelopment projects in their respective areas. The Governorates are:

Governorates of Jordan by population

Rank Province PopulationArea

(km2)

Density

(km-2)Capital

Population

(Metro)

1CapitalGovernorate

2,027,685 8231 246.3 Amman1,919,000

2 IrbidGovernorate

950,700 1621 570.3 Irbid

650,000

3arqa

Governorate

838,256 4080 205.5 arqa

447,880

4BalqaGovernorate

349,580 1076 324.9 Salt

96,700

5MafraqGovernorate

245,671 26435 9.3 Mafraq

56,340

6KerakGovernorate

214,225 3217 66.6 Kerak

68,810

7

Jerash

Governorate 156,675 402 370 Jerash

39,540

8MadabaGovernorate

135,890 2008 67.7 Madaba83,180

9AjlounGovernorate

118,496 412 287.1 Ajloun 55,000

10AqabaGovernorate

107,115 6583 16.3 Aqaba 95,408

11Ma'anGovernorate

103,920 33163 3.1 Ma'an 50,350

12TafilahGovernorate

81,000 2114 38.3 Tafilah 38,400

Source: Jordanian Department of Statistics (with 2005 population estimates)

The Governorates are divided into 52 departments.

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Demographics -

The Jordan National Census for the year 2004 was released on October 1 of thesame year, According to the census, Jordan had a population of 5,100,981. Thecensus estimated that there are another 190,000 who were not counte d.National growth rate was 2.5% (at maximum) compared to 3.3% of the 1994

census. Males made up 51.5% of Jordan's population (2,628,717), while femalesconstituted 2,472,264 (48.5%). Jordanian citizens made up 93% of thepopulation (4,750,463), non-Jordanian citizens made up 7% (349,933).However, it is estimated that most of those who did not turn in their forms wereimmigrants from neighboring countries, There were 946,000 households inJordan in 2004, with an average of 5.3 persons/household (compared t o 6persons/household for the census of 1994). The next census is scheduled to takeplace in 2014.

Jordan's Arab population mainly consists of Jordanians, Palestinians and Iraqis.In addition, there are sizable communities from Egypt, Syria and Lebanonresiding in Jordan. Of the non-Arab population which comprises 2% to 5% of

Jordan's population, most are Circassians, Chechens, Armenians, Turkmans, andGypsies, all of which have maintained separate ethnic identities, but haveintegrated into mainstream Jordanian culture. Since the Iraq War manyChristians (Assyrians/Chaldeans) from Iraq have settled permanently ortemporarily in Jordan.

During the years 20042007, Jordan saw a rapid increase in its population dueto the heavy migration of Iraqi refugees, an independent census carried in 2007,estimated that there are 700,000 Iraqis residing in Jordan, other estimates putthem as high as one million Iraqis. Estimates put the population of Jordanslightly over 6,300,000 as of the year 2009 (increasing from 5,100,000 in 2004).

UNRWA indicates that as many as 1,951,603 persons are registered asPalestinian refugees in 2008 mostly as Jordanian citizens.

According to Labour Ministry figures, the number of guest workers in the countrynow stands just over 300,000. However, unofficial estimates place the numberat over half a million to 700,000 guest workers. Most are Egyptians who makeup227,000 of the foreign labor, and the remaining workers are mostly fromBangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and India.

Religion -

Religion in Jordan

Religion PercentageSunni Muslims

92%

Christian

6%

Other 2%

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The Abu Darweesh Mosque was built in 1961 by the Circassian community whichcame to settle in Amman

Islam is the predominant religion in Jordan, and it is the majority religio n amongboth Arabs and non-Arabs. It is the official religion of the country, andapproximately 92% of the population is Muslim by religion, primarily of the

Sunni branch of Islam. Islamic studies are offered to students but are notmandatory to non-Muslim students. Jordan is an advocate for religious freedomin the region and the world. Religious officials have no part in the governmentand are not allowed to interfere in the state's affairs.

Jordan has an indigenous Christian minority. Christians are a religious minorityboth among the Arab and non-Arab segment. Christians of all ethnicbackgrounds permanently residing in Jordan form approximately 6% of thepopulation and are allocated respective seats in parliament (The Department ofStatistics released no information about the religion distribution from the censusof 2004). Christians made up 30% of the Jordanian population in 1950.

However, emigration to Europe, Canada and the United States and lower birthrates compared to Muslims has significantly decreased the ratio of the Christianpopulation, coupled with the fact that the majority of people that have come toJordan as refugees were Muslim.

Indigenous Jordanians of the Christians faith, are, like their counterpartindigenous Jordanians of the Muslim faith, an Arab people in language, cultureand identity. Jordanian Arab Christians hold services in the Arabic language, andshare the culture of Jordan, and share the broader Levantine Arab identity. MostJordanian Christians belong to the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. Theremainder include members of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Latin Rite CatholicChurch, Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Syriac Catholic Church and Anglican

Communion.

Among the Christian non-Arab population, significant part is made up ofArmenians in Jordan; the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenian CatholicChurch (and some in other churches). Others include expatriate Christians inJordan from various countries, as evinced, for example, by some Catholicmasses held in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Tagalog and Sinhala. WithProtestant services in English (4 Churches), Tagalog, Tamil, and German. ManyIraqi Christians have recently moved to Jordan with the turmoil in neighboringIraq, and they are composed mostly of Iraqi Assyrian Christians but also someIraqi Arab Christians.

Other religious minorities groups in Jordan include adherents to the Druze andBah' Faith. The Druze are mainly located in the Eastern Oasis Town of Azraq,some villages on the Syrian border and the city of arka, while the Village ofAdassiyeh bordering the Jordan Valley is home to Jordan's Bah' community.

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Language -

The official language is Arabic. English, though without an official status, iswidely spoken throughout the country and is the de facto language of commerceand banking, as well as a co-official status in the education sector. The spokenlanguage is Jordanian Levantine. Modern Standard Arabic and English are

obligatory learning at public and most private schools with French being animportant elective, and Spanish is slowly spreading. Radio Jordan offers radioservices in Arabic, English and French. Armenian as well as Caucasian languageslike Circassian and Chechen are understood and spoken by their respectivecommunities residing in Jordan, with several schools teaching them, alongsideEnglish. Other languages that are less commonly found are Turkish, Serbo-Croatian, Greek, and Bosnian.

Politics -

King Abdullah II is the Jordanian Head of State.

Current Prime minister of Jordan Samir Rifai

Jordan's most executive power is the King and it is a constitutional monarchywith a representative government. The King traditionally has held substantialpower, however the democratically elected Parliament holds significant influenceand power in national governance.

Constitution -Jordan is a constitutional monarchy based on the constitution promulgated on 8January 1952. Executive authority is vested in the king and his council ofministers. The king signs and executes all laws. His veto power may beoverridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the National Assembly. Heappoints and may dismiss all judges by decree, approves amendments to theconstitution, declares war, and commands the armed forces. Cabinet decisions,court judgments, and the national currency are issued in his name. The councilof ministers, led by a prime minister, is appointed by the king, who may dismissother cabinet members at the prime minister 's request. The cabinet isresponsible to the Chamber of Deputies on matters of general policy and can be

forced to resign by a 50% or more of vote of "no confidence" by that body.

The constitution provides for three categories of courts: civil, religious, andspecial. Administratively, Jordan is divided into twelve governorates, eachheaded by a governor appointed by the king. They are the sole authorities for allgovernment departments and development projects in their respective areas.

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Legal system and legislation -

Jordan's legal system is based on French code law system via the Egyptian civillaws while islamic law is limited to civic status legislation for muslims. Religiousminority civic status is regulated by respective religious courts . Judicial reviewof legislative acts occurs in a special High Tribunal. It has not accepted

International Court of Justice jurisdiction.

Jordan has multi-party politics. There are over 30 political parties in the Jordanfrom a wide range of positions ranging from extreme left (Jordanian CommunistParty) to extreme right (Islamic Action Front).

Article 97 of Jordan's constitution guarantees the independence of the judicialbranch, clearly stating that judges are 'subject to no authority but that of thelaw.' While the king must approve the appointment and dismissal of judges, inpractice these are supervised by the Higher Judicial Council.

The Jordanian legal system draws upon civil traditions as well as Islamic law and

custom. Article 99 of the Constitution divides the courts into three categories:civil, religious and special. The civil courts deal with civil and criminal matters inaccordance with the law, and they have jurisdiction over all persons in allmatters, civil and criminal, including cases brought against the government. Thecivil courts include Magistrate Courts, Courts of First Instance, Courts of Appeal,High Administrative Courts and the Supreme Court.

The religious courts include sharia (Islamic law) courts and the tribunals ofother religious communities, namely those of the Christian minority. Religiouscourts have primary and appellate courts and deal only with matters involvingpersonal law such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody. Shariacourts also have jurisdiction over matters pertaining to the Islamic waqfs. In

cases involving parties of different religions, regular courts have jurisdiction.

Specialized courts involve various bodies. One such body is the Supreme Councilwhich will interpret the Constitution if requested by either the National Assemblyor the prime minister, according to Dew et al.: "...such courts are usuallycreated in areas that the legislator deems should be governed by specializedcourts with more experience and knowledge in specific matters than otherregular courts." Other examples of special courts include the Court of IncomeTax and the Highest Court of Felonies.

The strictly military courts of the martial law period have been abolished andreplaced with a State Security Court, which is composed of both military and

civilian judges. The court tries both military and civi lians and its jurisdictionincludes offenses against the external and internal security of the state as wellas drug-related and other offenses. The findings of this court are subject toappeal before the High Court.

Both Article 102 of the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure mandatethe right of an accused person to a lawyer of his or her own choice during theinvestigation and trial period. Article 22 of the Code of Criminal Procedure alsoprovides that a lawyer has the right to attend the interrogation unless the

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investigation is confidential or urgent. Article 28 of the Code of CriminalProcedure declares that detainees should be brought before a court within 48hours of arrest, even in special security cases, giving them an opportunity tohave full access to legal counsel.

Prior to 2002 Jordan's legal system only allowed men to file for divorce,

however, during this year the first Jordanian woman successfully filed fordivorce; this was made possible from a proposal by a royal human rightscommission which had been established by King Abdullah who had vowed toimprove the status of women in Jordan.

Despite being traditionally dominated by men the number of women involved aslawyers in the Jordan legal system has been increasing. As of mid -2006 Jordanhad 1,284 female lawyers, out of a total number of 6,915, and 35 female judgesfrom a total of 630. In Jordan, between 15 and 20 women are murderedannually in the name of "honour" and at least eight such killings have beenreported in 2008, according to Jordanian authorities. In 2007 17 such murderswere recorded.

Kings of Jordan and political events -

King Abdullah I ruled Jordan after independence from Britain. After theassassination of King Abdullah I in 1951, his son King Talal ruled briefly. KingTalal's major accomplishment was the Jordanian constitution. King Talal wasremoved from the throne in 1952 due to mental illness. At that time his son,Hussein, was too young to rule, and hence a committee ruled over Jordan.

After Hussein reached 18, he ruled Jordan as king from 1953 to 1999, surviving

a number of challenges to his rule, drawing on the loyalty of his military, andserving as a symbol of unity and stability in Jordan. King Hussein ended martiallaw in 1991 and legalized political parties in 1992. In 1989 and 1993, Jordanheld free and fair parliamentary elections. Controversial changes in the electionlaw led Islamist parties to boycott the 1997 elections.

King Abdullah II succeeded his father Hussein following the latter's death inFebruary 1999. Abdullah moved quickly to reaffirm Jordan's peace treaty withIsrael and its relations with the United States. Abdullah, during the first year inpower, refocused the government's agenda on economic reform.

Jordan's continuing structural economic difficulties, burgeoning population, and

more open political environment led to the emergence of a variety of politicalparties. Moving toward greater independence, Jordan's parliament hasinvestigated corruption charges against several regime figures and has becomethe major forum in which differing political views, including those of politicalIslamists, are expressed. While the King remains the ultimate authority inJordan, the parliament plays an important role.

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Parliament -

The 1952 Constitution provided for the establishment of the bicameral NationalAssembly of Jordan (Majlis al-Umma). The Parliament consists of twoChambers: The Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al -Nuwaab) and the Senate (Majlisal-Aayan; literally, Assembly of Notables). The Senate has 60 Senators, all of

whom are directly appointed by the King, while the Chamber of Deputies/Houseof Representatives has 120 elected members representing 12 constituencies. Ofthe 120 members of the Lower Chamber, 12 seats are reserved for women, 9seats are reserved for Christian candidates, 9 seats are reserved for Bedouincandidates, and 3 seats are reserved for Jordanians of Chechen or Circassiandescent. The Constitution ensures that the Senate cannot be more than half thesize of the Chamber of Deputies.

The constitution does not provide a strong system of checks and balances withinwhich the Jordanian Parliament can assert its role in relationship to the monarch.During the suspension of Parliament between 2001 and 2003, the scope of KingAbdullah II's power was demonstrated with the passing of 110 temporary laws.

Two of such laws dealt with election law and were seen to reduce the power ofParliament.

Senators have terms of four years and are appointed by the King and can bereappointed. Prospective Senators must be at least forty years old and have heldsenior positions in either the government or military. Appointed Senators haveincluded former Prime Ministers and Members of the Chamber of Deputies.Deputies are elected to also serve a four year term. Candidates must be olderthan thirty-five, cannot have blood ties to the King, and must not have anyfinancial interests in government contracts.

Political parties -

The reforms of 1989 legalized political parties and opposition movements. Theresult is over 30 political parties, but the only political party that plays a rol e inthe legislature is the Islamic Action Front (IAF). Political parties can be seen torepresent four sections: Islamists, leftists, Arab nationalists and liberals. Someother political parties in Jordan including the Jordanian Arab Democratic Party,Jordanian Socialist Party, and Muslim Centre Party, but these have little impacton the political process because of lack of organization and clear platforms onkey domestic issues as well as differences and factions within these politicalparties.

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Human rights -

Jordan "has consistently been cited by Amnesty International as the country withthe best human rights record in the region." In the 2010 Arab Democracy Index,Jordan ranked first in the state of democratic reforms out of fifteen Arabcountries. In 2009, Jordan ranked as "Not Free" in Freedom House's 2008 Press

Freedom rankings.

Jordan's civil liberties and political rights ranked 5.0 "Partly Free" near "NotFree" in Freedom House's 2009 rankings, a drop from last year. Jordan has the5th freest press in the Arab World out of 21 countries. The Kingdom iscommitted to freedom of expression and choice. Measured by the AnnualFreedom House survey, Jordan ranks third in the Middle East on major areas offreedom, from investment to expression.

Also, Jordan enjoys transparent governance, ranking 4th among Arab countriesin the 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index issued by Transparency International,after Qatar, UAE and Bahrain. Further efforts to enhance its position include

ratifying the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) whereJordan emerged as a regional leader in spearheading efforts to promote theUNCAC and its implementation.

Amnesty International showed concern about the practices of torture and ill-treatment in Jordan, "as well as the link between torture, unfair trials, and thedeath penalty." Amnesty International also showed concern about death-penaltyrulings in Jordan "because there is a pattern of death sentences, and sometimesexecutions, occurring as a result of unfair trials where confessions extractedunder torture are used as evidence against the defendants". According to thesame Amnesty International report, there is a pattern of suppression of freedomof expression and association in Jordan.

According to Amnesty, "The practice of killing women and girls by husbands orfamily members because they have allegedly engaged in behavior that goesagainst social norms (so-called "honor killings") continues to be a problem inJordan; with an average of 20 Jordanian women killed each year. However,there has been improvement in this regard. Recently, the Judicial Ministryestablished a special tribunal for honor crimes that would speed up trials whichwould often take up to 18 months. In the past year, the judiciary has beenhanding down harsher sentences to perpetrators of honour crimes. In the past,most men served less than a year for killing a woman who had "dishonored" herfamily. Now, more than seven months after the government restructured thelegal system to deal with honor crimes as normal criminal cases, Jordan has

seen at least 10 cases result in prison sentences of seven to 15 years. There hasbeen a shift in recent years in public menta lity towards honor crimes. Forexample, the local media has toughened their rhetoric against honor crimeperpetrators and judges are passing down harsher sentences. However, thereare still pushes by women's rights activists to codify this new stance towardshonour crimes in the kingdom's laws. There is other progress in the women'srights movement in Jordan such as a 20% quota in the local councils and a 12seat quota in the national legislature. In addition, there are new laws in the

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pipeline to safeguard women's rights like the creation of a mandatory fund fordivorced women, which would guarantee a settlement from a former husband.

Amnesty also reported on the abuse of foreign domestic workers in Jordan.These violations surfaced after hundreds of Filip ino maids fled to their embassyto escape abuse. It said that many workers out of a total of 70.000 suffer human

rights violations. In August 2009, a new law aimed at improving the rights ofdomestic workers was passed by the cabinet making Jordan the firs t Arabcountry to guarantee legal protection for domestic workers. The reportedimprovements include religious freedom, health care, 10 -hour workdays, onecontact per month with the worker's homeland at the employer's expense, 14day paid annual leave and 14 days of paid sick leave per year.

The Jordanian Constitution provides for the freedom to practice one's religion inaccordance with the customs in the Kingdom, unless they violate public order ormorality. Jordan's state religion is Islam. The Governmen t bans conversion fromIslam and efforts to proselytize Muslims. While proselytizing to Christians maynot be banned, it is equally not favoured and very hampered with beaureaucratic

red tape that renders it near impossible to legalise.

The US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report of 2009indicated that there were "no reports that the practice of any faith wasprohibited" in Jordan. In fact, Jordan has been highlighted as a model ofinterfaith dialogue. The study also concluded that in the last year there were "noreports of misuse or neglect" of the Kingdom's diverse religious sites, as well asno reports of "harassment, discrimination, or restrictions" to worshippers.

Christians are well integrated into the Kingdom's political and economiclandscapes. At least one Christian holds a ministerial post in every government,eight seats in the 110-seat Parliament are reserved for Christians, and a similar

number is appointed to the Upper House by the King. They serve in the military,many have high positions in the army, and they have established good relationswith the royal family.

Economy -

Jordan is a small country with limited natural resources. The country is currentlyexploring ways to expand its limited water supply and use its existing waterresources more efficiently, including through the good regional cooperation ithas with Israel. The country depends on external sources for the majority of its

energy requirements. During the 1990s, its crude petroleum needs were metthrough imports from Iraq and neighboring countries. Since early 2003, oil hasbeen provided by some Gulf Cooperation Council member countries. In addition,the Arab Gas Pipeline from Egypt to the southern port city of Aqaba wascompleted in 2003. The government plans to extend this pipeline north to theAmman area and beyond.

Since King Abdullah II's accession to the throne in 1999, liberal economicpolicies have been introduced which has resulted in a boom lasting for a decade

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continuing even through 2009. Jordan is the 4th freest economy in the MiddleEast and North Africa, beating traditionally free economies like Israel, the UnitedArab Emirates and Lebanon. Jordan's developed and modern banking sector isbecoming the investment destination of choice due to its conservative bankpolicies that helped Jordan escape the worst of the global financial crisis of 2009.

With instability across the region in Iraq and Lebanon, Jordan is emerging as the"business capital of the Levant" and "the next Beirut". Jordan's economy hasbeen growing at an annual rate of 7% for a decade. Jordan's economy isundergoing a major shift from an aid-dependent, rentier economy to one of themost robust, open and competitive economies in the region. In recent years,there has been shift to knowledge-intensive industries, i.e ICT, and a rapidlygrowing trade sector benefiting from regional instability.

Jordan has more free trade agreements than any other Arab country. Jordan hasFTA's with the United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, the European Union,Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Iraq, Turkey and Syria. More FTA's are planned with thePalestinian Authority, the GCC, Lebanon, and Pakistan. Jordan is a member of

the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement, the Euro-Mediterranean free tradeagreement, and the Agadir Agreement. Increased investment and exports arethe main sources of Jordan's growth. Continued close integration into theEuropean Union and GCC markets will reap vast economic rewards for theKingdom in the coming years.

The main obstacles to Jordan's economy are scarce water supplies, completereliance on oil imports for energy, and regional instability.

Rapid privatization of previously state-controlled industries and liberalization ofthe economy is spurring unprecedented growth in Jordan's urban centers likeAmman and especially Aqaba. Jordan has six special economic zones that attract

significant amount of investment amounting in the billions: Aqaba, Mafraq,Ma'an, Ajloun, the Dead Sea, and Irbid. Jordan also has a plethora of industrialzones producing goods in the textile, aerospace, defense, ICT, pharmaceutical,and cosmetic sectors.

King Abdullah has repeatedly emphasised that Jordan has a bright future an dthat it compares favourably with much of the region on key social and economicindicators. According to JIB (Jordan Investment Board)officials, Jordan receivestwice the level of per capita foreign investment than its larger neighbour Egyptdoes. Even though inflation pushed its way up to the 13% mark in the first halfof 2008, the shocks to the system are far less than in Egypt where inflation creptup to around 23%. Jordan's economy has come under some pressure in 2007

and perhaps more so in 2008, prima rily from global increases in oil and foodprices that have affected the government budget and the current accountbalance. While Jordan is facing enormous economic pressures, it is managing tosustain good levels of GDP growth and foreign investment.

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States that went intoeffect in December 2001 will phase out duties on nearly all goods and servicesby 2010. The agreement also provides for more open markets incommunications, construction, finance, health, transportation, and services, as

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well asstrict application of international standards for the protection ofintellectual property. In 1996, Jordan and the United Statessigned a civilaviation agreement that provides for open skies between the two countries, anda U.S.-Jordan treaty for the protection and encouragement of bilateralinvestment entered into force in 2003. Jordan has been a member of the WorldTrade Organization since 2000.

Many Iraqi and Palestinian businessesmaintain important offices in Jordan. Dueto the instability in these two regions, many Iraqis and Palestinians work out ofJordan. With Jordan becoming known as the gateway to Iraq and the Palestinianterritories and for its free trade policies, Amman and the Kingdom of Jordan as awhole has the potential to monopolize business and trade in the Levant.

In the 2000Competitive Industrial Performance (CIP) Index, Jordan ranked asthe third most industrialized economy in the Middle East and North Africa,behind Turkey and Kuwait. Jordan was in the upper bracket of nationsscored bythe CIP index.

In the 2009 Global Trade Enabling Report, Jordan ranked 4th in the Arab Worldbehind the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar. The report analyzes the country'smarketaccess, the country's transport and communications infrastructure, borderadministration, and the business environment of the country. Textile andclothing exports from Jordan to the United Statesshot up 2,000 from2000 to2005, following introduction of the FTA. According to the National LaborCommittee, a U.S.-based NGO (Non-Governmental Organization), Jordan hasexperienced sharp increases in sweatshop conditions in its export-orientedmanufacturing sector.

Jordanian exports in 2006

The proportion ofskilled workers in Jordan is among the highest in the region.The servicessector dominates the Jordanian economy. Tourism is a rapidlygrowing industry in Jordan with revenues over one billion. Industriessuch as

pharmaceuticals are emerging as very profitable products in Jordan. The RealEstate economy and construction sectorscontinue to flourish with mass amountsof investments pouring in from the Persian Gulf and Europe. Foreign DirectInvestment is in the billions. The stock market capitalization of Jordan is worthnearly $40 billion.

Jordan isclassified by the World Bank as a "lower middle income country." Theper-capita GDP was approximately USD $5,100 for 2007 and 14.5 of theeconomically active population, on average, was unemployed in 2003.

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Education and literacy rates and measures of social well-being are very highcompared to other countries with similar incomes. Jordan's population growthrate is high, but has declined in recent years, to approximately 2.8% currently.One of the most important factors in the government's efforts to improve thewell-being of its citizens is the macroeconomic stability that has been achievedsince the 1990s. However, unemployment rates remain high, with the official

figure standing at 12.5%, and the unofficial around 30%. Rates of price inflationare low, at 2.3% in 2003, and the currency has been stable with an exchangerate fixed to the U.S. dollar since 1995.

While pursuing economic reform and increased trade, Jordan's economy willcontinue to be vulnerable to external shocks and regional unrest. Without calmin the region, economic growth seems destined to stay below potential. On thepositive side, however, there is huge potential in the solar energy falling onJordan's deserts, not only for the generation of pollution -free electricity but alsofor such spin-offs as desalination of sea water (see Trans-MediterraneanRenewable Energy Cooperation (TREC)).

Jordan is pinning its hopes on tourism, future uranium and oil shale exports,trade, and ICT for future economic growth.

Amman was ranked as the Arab World's most expensive city in 2006 by theEconomist Intelligence Unit, beating Dubai. In 2009, Amman ranked as the 4thmost expensive city in the Arab World, behind Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Beirut.

Jordan is an importer of low skilled and semi -skilled laborers from Egypt, SouthAsia, Indonesia, Syria, and the Philippines. There are a range of estimates of thesize of the migrant workforce in Jordan from conservative estimates of 300,000foreign workers to almost 700,000 foreigners working in Jordan. They constituteabout 20-30% of the labor force in Jordan and they are consistently cited when

discussing Jordan's chronic unemployement problem.

[99]

. These migrant workersoften work in construction, the textile factories in Jordan's Qualified Industrialones, municipal maintenance services, and as domestic workers. Recently,

these migrant workers were incorporated into the Kingdom's labor laws givingthem a wide range of benefits and rights and access to legal protection, the firstArab country to do so.

Jordan has several large-scale global corporations despite its small size. Some ofthese include Arab Bank, Aramex, Maktoob, and Kurdi Group. Since 2009, thereare 2 Jordanian companies listed in the Forbes Global 2000 list, Arab Bank (Rank 708) and Arab Potash (Rank 1964). In addition, Jordan has severalbillionaires as well like

iad Manasir and Eyhab Jumean.

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Natural resources -

Although Jordan is a generally resource -poor country, Jordan does containsignificant deposits of both oil shale and sources of uranium; these potentialsources of indigenous energy have been the focus of renewed interest in recentyears.

Jordan, however, is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world andconsiderable water is required to develop these resources, particularly oil shale.There are very limited resources of timber and forestry products and timbering isstrictly limited by Jordan's environmentalists.

Phosphate

Phosphate mines at the south of the kingdom enable Jordan to be one of thelargest producers and exporters of this mineral in the world. Potassium, salt,natural gas and stone are the most important other substances extracted.Phosphates are carried by rail from the mines to the port of Aqaba where it is

shipped via cargo ship to other ports.

Uranium

Jordan has one of the largest uranium reserves in the world. Jordan's reservesaccount for 2% of the world's total uranium. It's estimated that Jordan canextract 80,000 tons of uranium from its uranic ores, and the country's phosphatereserves also contain some 100,000 tons of uranium. Jordan plans that by 2035,60% of the country's total energy consumption will be from nuclear energy. 4nuclear power plants are planned to be built in Jordan with the first one to beoperational in 2017.

Hydrocarbons

Natural gas was discovered in Jordan in 1987, and the estimated size of thereserve discovered was about 230 billion cubic feet, and quantities are verymodest compared with its neighbours. It was the development of the Risha fieldin the Eastern Desert beside the Iraqi border, and the field produces nearly 30million cubic feet of gas a day, to be sent to a nearby power plant to producenearly 10% of the Jordan's Electric needs.

Despite the fact that reserves of crude oil are non-commercial, Jordan possessesone of the world's richest stockpiles of oil shale where there are huge quantitiesthat could be commercially exploited in the central and northern regions west of

the country. The extent the World Energy Council reserves Jordan approximately40 billion tons, which established it as the second richest state in rock oilreserves after Canada (estimated), and first at the world's level of provendiscoveries at a rate of extraction of oil up to between 8% and 12% of content,and could be the production of 4 billion tons of oil from the current reserve,which puts the quality of Jordanian oil on the one hand extraction, on an equalfooting with their counterparts in western Colorado in the United States, whichits estimated amount may rise to 20 billion tons. The moisture content and ashwithin is relatively low. And the total thermal value is 7.5 megajoules/kg, and

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the content of ointments reach 9% of the weight of the organic content. [108]Jordan recently signed a deal with Royal Dutch Shell to extract and exploit shaleoil reserves in central Jordan. It is expected Jordan will produce its firstcommercial quantities of oil in the year 2020, wi th an estimated production of50,000 barrels of oil a day, 35 per cent of the Kingdom's energy consumption in"less than 10 years". Previous NRA studies have revealed that 40 billion tonnes

of oil shale exist in 21 sites concentrated near the Yarmouk River , Buweida, BeitRas, Rweished, Karak, Madaba and Maan.

A switch to power plants operated by oil shale has the potential to reduceJordan's energy bill by at least 4050 per cent, according to the National ElectricPower Company.

Transportation -

Being that Jordan is a transit country for goods and services to the Palestinian

territories and Iraq, Jordan maintains a well developed transportationinfrastructure.

There are three commercial airports, all receiving and sending internationalcommercial flights, two of them in Amman and the third is located in the city ofAqaba. The largest airport in the country is Queen Alia International Airport inAmman that serves as the hub of the regional airline Royal Jordanian. Theairport is currently under significant expansion in a bid to make it the hub for theLevant. Marka International Airport was the country's main airport before it wasreplaced by Queen Alia Airport but it still serves several regional routes. KingHussein International Airport serves Aqaba with connections to Amman andseveral regional and international cities.

Jordan has a well-developed road infrastructure with 7,999 kilometres of pavedhighways.

A National Rail System was approved by the Jordanian Government which willconnect all major cities and towns by passenger and cargo rail. There are twolines to be constructed. The North-South Line passing through Mafraq, arqa,Amman, Maan, and Aqaba with international connections to Syria and SaudiArabia. The East-West Line will run from Mafraq, Irbid, and Azraq withinternational connections to Iraq and possibly Israel. The national rail system willbe completed by 2013. These routes are planned to be electrified. There are alsoplans for a light rail system operating between Amman and

arqa and a

funicular and a three line metro system for Amman.

Two connected but non-contiguously operated sections of the Hedjaz Railwayexist:

y from Amman in Jordan to Syria, as the "Hedjaz Jordan Railway."y from phosphate mines near Ma'an to the Gulf of Aqaba as the "Aqaba

Railway."

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Jordan shares the longest common borders with the West Bank, there are twoborder crossings between Jordan and Israel in the Bisan merge (King HusseinBridge) in the north in the Wadi Araba in the south.

The Port of Aqaba is Jordan's sole outlet to the sea. It handles all cargo bound toJordan, Iraq,and in some cases the West Bank. The Main Port is being relocated

further south and being expanded. An Abu Dhabi consortium will handle the $5billion dollar deal. The project is set to be completed in 2013.

Currency and exchange rates -

The official currency in Jordan is the Jordanian dinar and divides into 10 dirham,100 qirsh (also called piastres) or 1000 fils. In 1949, banknotes were issued bythe government in denominations of 500 fils, 1, 5 ,10 and 10 dinar. From 1959,the Central Bank of Jordan took over note production. 20 dinar notes wereintroduced in 1977, followed by 50 dinar in 1999. dinar notes were replaced

by coins in 1999. Coins were introduced in 1949 in denominations of 1, 5, 10,20, 50 and 100 fils. The first issue of 1 fils were mistakenly minted with thedenomination given as "1 fil". 20 fils coins were minted until 1965, with 25 filsintroduced in 1968 and dinar coins in 1970. The 1 fils coin was last minted in1985. In 1996, smaller dinar coins were introduced alongside and 1 dinarcoins. Since October 23, 1995, the dinar has been official ly pegged to the IMF'sSpecial Drawing Rights (SDRs). In practice, it is fixed at 1 U.S. dollar = 0.709dinar, which translates to approximately 1 dinar = 1.41044 dollars. The CentralBank buys U.S. dollars at 0.708 dinar, and sell U.S. dollars at 0.7125dinar,Exchangers buys U.S. dollars at 0.708 and sell U.S. dollars at 0.709.

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Tourism -

The treasury, as seen from al-Siq

An Arabian Desert castle in Azraq

The Corinthian columns are a popular tourist attraction in Jerash.

The Brazen Serpent statue on Mount Nebo

Tourism is a very important sector of the Jordanian economy, contributingbetween 10% and 12% to the country's Gross National Product in 2006. Inaddition to the country's political stability, the geography offe red makes Jordanan attractive tourism destination. In 2008, there were over 6 million arrivals, 3million of them tourists, to Jordan. Jordan earned over 3 billion dollars inrevenue from the tourist industry. Opodo and Travel Guides named Jordan asthe Top Emerging Destination for 2009. Jordan's major tourist activities includenumerous ancient places, its unique desert castles and unspoiled naturallocations to its cultural and religious sites. Jordan also offers a variety of nightlifeoptions with nightclubs, discothques, bars, and raves in Amman, Irbid, Aqaba,

and in 4 and 5-star hotels across the kingdom including in the Dead Sea andPetra areas. However, Jordan's best options for nightlife and clubbing are inWest Amman. More traditional nightlife options like shisha lounges and late -night street cafes are available around Jordan. In addition, Jordan has playedhost to numerous raves and concerts like the Petra Prana Festival in 2007 whichcelebrated Petra's win as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World withworld-renowned DJ's like Tiesto and Sarah Main. Also, the annual Distant Heatfestival held in Wadi Rum and Aqaba, which was ranked as one of the world's

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top 10 raves, brings local, regional, and international DJ's to play nonstop fortwo whole days. The best known tourist attractions include:

y Ancient sightseeingo Petra in Wadi Musa, the home of the Nabateans, is a complete city

carved in a mountain. The huge rocks are colorful, mostly pink, and

the entrance to the ancient city is through a 1.25 km narrow gorgein the mountaincalled the Siq. In the city are various structures,all (except 2) are carved into rock, including al Khazneh known asthe Treasury which has been designated as one of the "NewSeven Wonders of the World" by the for-profit New Open WorldCorporation. Other major sites of interest in Petra include theMonastery, the Roman theater, the Royal Tombs, the Hi gh Place ofSacrifice. Petra was rediscovered for the western world by Swissexplorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.

o Umm Qais, a town located on the site of the ruined HellenisticRoman city of Gadara amongst the few in the Hellenistic world tohave black basalt facades .

Roman ruins at Umm Qais ->

o Ajlun, famous for the Ajlun Castle called in Arabic Al-Rabad Castle.o Jerash, famous for its ancient Roman architecture, with colonnaded

streets, Corinthian arches, outdoor Roman Theaters and the OvalPlaza. Outside Jerash proper, the countryside is amongst the mostscenic in the country with ancient olive groves and oak and pine

woodlands.

o Amman, Jordan's liberal capital, contains the Roman theater, inaddition to several museums, where one may find remains of theDead Sea Scrolls. Amman is one of the world's oldest citieshowever the city is surprisingly modern and very prosperous.Jordan's cosmopolitan capital city boasts plenty of historical sites, athriving nightlife scene that evolves so quickly that hot spots openand close before they are published in guide books and magazines,a rapidly growing culinary scene with restaurants serving a plethor aof international dishes including anything from regional dishes toWestern dishes and even Asian cuisine like sushi, a plethora of

modern shopping malls and cultural events from around the world.

Discothques, music bars and shisha lounges have sprouted around Amman,changing the city's old image as the conservative capital of the kingdom.Jordan's young population is helping shape this new burgeoning nightlife scene,a tamer version however than the Middle East's so called "sin city" Beirut. It hasdrastically changed so much that partying is becoming a cultural lifestyle forJordanians. Driving expensive cars and sporting the latest fashions, many ofthese young, affluent Jordanians gather almost every night at the chic new

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spots. Furthermore, Amman has developed one of the Middle East's fewhomosexual partying scenes that ismostly concentrated around liberal, affluenthangouts like Books@Cafe and Club Fame, attesting to the rapid opening andwesternization of Jordanian society over the past decade. Amman along with,Abu Dhabi and Jeddah, had the highest hotel occupancy rates in the region in2009.

o Al Karak is built around an important Crusader castle from aroundthe times of Salah al-Din, "Crac desMoabites" now known as Al-Karak Castle.

y Religiou siteso Madaba, well known for its Byzantine mosaics, as well as important

religioussitessuch as: The "terra Santa" Madaba Map of the Holyland. The River Jordan, Bethany Beyond the Jordan the biblical

Bethabara where Jesus of Nazareth was baptized, by Johnthe Baptist.

Mount Nebo, where Moses wassaid to have gone to get aview of the Promised Land before he died.

y Seaside

excavated remains of Bethabara, Jordan, where John the Baptist isbelieved to have conducted hisministry.

o The Dead Sea It is the lowest point on earth, 402meters belowsea level,[118] and becomes1meter lower each year. It is the onlydepository of River Jordan and was part of the biblical kingdoms ofMidianites and later the Moabites. The Dead Sea area is home tonumerous world-class resortssuch as the Kempinski and Marriott.In addition, there are water parks, a public beach and internationalrestaurants. The ultra-chic destination in the area, however, is the

O-Beach which is home to cabanas, bars, international restaurants,and a beach club.

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World's lowest (dry) point, Jordan, 1971

yo Aqaba is a town on the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba with numerous

shopping centers, hotels and access to various water sports andprotected coral reefs and marine life. It has the ruins of themediaeval town of Ayla and other Edomite ruins. Aqaba also has avibrant nightlife scene especially on holiday weekends when hordesof wealthy Jordanians visit the coastal city. Numerous raves and

concerts are held by international DJ's and artists at the majorresorts and beach clubs. Aqaba isseeing nearly $20 billion worth ofdevelopmentscentered on tourism and real estate projectstransforming the city into a "new Dubai".

y Other sites

Mount Rum, known as Seven Pillars of Wisdom by Lawrence of Arabia

o as-Salt, was the administrative capital east of the river Jordanduring the Ottoman era. It still boasts architecture from the 17thcentury upwards and is famous for its old vineyards. It isconsidered today as the most ancient of the urban centers east ofthe river Jordan.

o Wadi Rum is a desert full ofmountains and hills located south ofJordan. It is popular for itssights in addition to a variety ofsportsthat are practiced there, such as rock-climbing. It is also known forits association with Lawrence of Arabia.

o Fuheis, a town about 20minutes north-west of Amman known forits traditional 18th and 19th century churches and turn of thecentury provincial Jordanian architecture.

o Mahis with important religioussites, and wonderful landscape.

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o Shoubak with its Crusader Castle "Crac de Montreal", Marking boththe eastern and southern frontier of Crusader expansion.

o Muwakir (Arabic for Machaerus) was the hilltop stronghold of Herodthe Great. Upon Herod's death, his son Herod Antipas inhabited thefortress, and ordered John the Baptist to be beheaded there andwhere the fabled Salom daughter of Herodias is said to have

danced the famous Dance of the Seven Veils thus asking for Johnthe Baptists' head.

[edit] Medical Tourism in Jordan

Jordan has been an established medical tourism destination in the Middle Eastsince the 1970s. A study conducted by Jordan's Private Hospitals Association(PHA) found that 210,100 patients from 48 countries received treatment in thekingdom in 2008, compared to 190,000 in 2007, bringing over $1 billion inrevenue. It is the region's top medical tourism destination as rated by the WorldBank, and fifth in the world overall. [119][120][121]

There are about 60 private health care institutions in the kingdom, four of whichhave been accredited by US-based Joint Commission International, which isconsidered the gold standard for international accreditation in the healthcareindustry.

Also, most of Jordan's doctors speak proficient English and many have beentrained or are affiliated with top US hospitals such as the Mayo Clinic and JohnsHopkins. Although Jordan's medical institutions are of high standards, its costsare relatively low compared to the developed world but relatively high for thedeveloping world. Healthcare costs in Jordan typically are just one-tenth of theprice of treatments in the USA, and less than a third of the cost of medicalservices in the UK. Other features that make Jordan a popular healthcare

destination are sight-seeing attractions such as Petra and the Dead Sea.

The most common procedures requested by patients from the USA and UK atthe hospital are plastic surgery, in-vitro fertilization, and orthopaedic care.Regional Patients travelling to Jordan usually seek cardiac surgery, vascularsurgery, neurosurgery, and cancer-related procedures.

The main barrier to further growth for Jordan's medical tourism industry is visarestrictions placed on some countries due to the fear of permanent illegalsettlement in Jordan. Jordan's main focus of attention in its marketing effort arethe ex-Soviet states, Europe, and America. [122] Top institutions that work in thisindustry include JORDICURE for medical tourism, King Hussein Cancer Center,

Khalidi Hospital, Jordan Hospital and the Specialty Hospital among others.

[edit] Nature reserves

Main article: List of nature reserves in Jordan

Jordan has a number of nature reserves.

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y Dana Biosphere Reserve covers 308 square kilometres. It is composed ofa chain of valleys and mountains which extend from the top of the JordanRift Valley down to the desert lowlands of Wadi Araba. Attractions includeRummana mountain, the ancient archaeological ruins of Feinan, the DanaVillage and the grandeur of the red and white sandstone cliffs of WadiDana. The Reserve contains a remarkable diversity of landscapes, which

range from wooded highlands to rocky slopes and gravel plains to sanddunes. Dana supports diverse wildlife including a variety of rare species ofplants and animals; Dana is home to about 600 species of plants, 37species of mammals and 190 species of birds.

y The Azraq Wetland Reserve is a unique wetland oasis located in the heartof the semi-arid Jordanian eastern desert, one of several beautiful naturereserves managed by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature(RSCN). Its attractions include several natural and ancient built pools, aseasonally flooded marshland, and a large mudflat known as Qa'a Al -Azraq. A wide variety of birds stop at the reserve each year for a restduring their arduous migration routes between Asia and Africa. Some stay

for the winter or breed within the protected areas of the wetland.

y The Shaumari Wildlife Reserve was created in 1975 by the RSCN as abreeding centre for endangered or locally extinct wildlife. Today, followingbreeding programs with some of the world's leading wildlife parks andzoos, this small, 22-square-kilometre reserve is a thriving protectedenvironment for some of the most rare species in the Middle East. Oryx,ostriches, gazelles and onagers, which are depicted on many 6th centuryByzantine mosaics, are rebuilding their populations in this safe haven,protected from the hunting and habitat destruction that nearly wipedthem out.

y The Mujib Nature Reserve is the lowest nature reserve in the world, with aspectacular array of scenery near the east cost of the Dead Sea. Thereserve is located within the deep Wadi Mujib gorge, which enters theDead Sea at 410 metres below sea level. The Reserve extends to theKerak and Madaba mountains to the north and south, reaching 899metres above sea level in some places. This 1,300 metre variation inelevation, combined with the valley's year-round water flow from seventributaries, means that Wadi Mujib enjoys a magnificent bio -diversity thatis still being explored and documented today. Over 300 species of plants,10 species of carnivores and numerous species of permanent andmigratory birds have been recorded. Some of the remote mountain andvalley areas are difficult to reach, and thus offer safe havens for rarespecies of cats, goats and other mountain animals. Mujib's sandstone cliffsare an ideal habitat for one of the most beautiful mountain goats in theworld, the horned ibex.

[edit] Influence of the Southwest Asian conflict

The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict, the Persian Gulf War, and other conflicts inSouthwest Asia have made huge impacts on the economy of Jordan. The factthat Jordan has peace with the surrounding countries, combined with its

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stability, has made it a preference for many Palestinians, Lebanese, and PersianGulf immigrants and refugees. Though this may have resulted in a more activeeconomy, it has also damaged it by substantially decreasing the amount ofresources each person is entitled to. Jordan has a law that states that anyPalestinian may immigrate and obtain Jordanian citizenship, but must remithis/her Palestinian claim. Palestinians are not allowed to purchase l and unless

they give up their Palestinian citizenship. In November 2005, King Abdullahcalled for a "war on extremism" in the wake of three suicide bombings inAmman.

[edit] Opportunity Cost ofConflict

A report[123] by Strategic Foresight Group has calculated the opportunity cost ofconflict for the Middle East from 1991 to 2010 at a whopping $12 trillion(12,000,000,000,000). Jordan's share in this is almost $84 billion. EveryJordanian family will also have the opportunity to increase their annual incomeby more than $1,250 if peace is established in the region and the Arab-Israeliboycott is lifted in full.

The report[124] also outlines how an extremely significant cost to Jordan is thatthe country is host to millions of refugees who make up 40% of their populationand are a drain on 7% of the GDP. Jordan also spends over 5% of its GDP ondefense, and has one of the highest numbers of military personnel in the region,23,500 military personnel per million people.

[edit] Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Jordan

Jordan has consistently followed a pro-Western foreign policy and traditionally

has had close relations with the United States and the United Kingdom. Theserelations were damaged by Jordan's neutrality and maintaining relations withIraq during the first Gulf War even though it was negotiating a peace settlementto end the conflict. Jordan has a well earned reputation for usually following apragmatic and non-confrontational foreign policy, leading to good relations withits neighbours.

Jordan has always been a mediator during times of high tension. During the1970s, King Hussein negotiated with Iran to halt the military buildup to annexthe small Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain. In the 1990s, King Hussein also tried tomediate the conflict between the United States and Iraq and tried to bring anend to hostilities while still condemning the Iraqi annexation of Kuwait. Jordan

has historically been at the forefront of negotiating peace between the Israelisand the Palestinians. King Abdullah II is the mediator between Israel and theArab League's negotiations for peace and normalization of bilateral ties.

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King Abdullah II on a visit to The Pentagon.

Following the Gulf War, Jordan largely restored its relations with Westerncountries through its participation in the Southwest Asia peace process andenforcement of UN sanctions against Iraq. Relations between Jordan and thePersian Gulfcountries improved substantially after King Hussein's death.Following the fall of the Iraqi regime, Jordan has played a pivotal role insupporting the restoration ofstability and security to Iraq. The Government of

Jordan signed a memorandum of understanding with the Coalition ProvisionalAuthority in Iraq to facilitate the training of up to 30,000 Iraqi police cadets at aJordanian facility.

A handshake between Hussein I of Jordan and Yitzhak Rabin, accompanied byBill Clinton, during the Israel-Jordan peace negotiations, October 26, 1994

Jordan signed a non-belligerency agreement with Israel (the WashingtonDeclaration) in Washington, D.C., on 25 July 1994. King Hussein and YitzhakRabin negotiated this treaty. Jordan and Israel signed a historic peace treaty on26 October 1994, witnessed by President Bill Clinton, accompanied by U.S.Secretary, Warren Christopher. The U.S. has participated with Jordan and Israelin trilateral development discussions in which key issues have been water-sharing and security;cooperation on Jordan Rift Valley development;

infrastructure projects; and trade, finance, and banking issues.

Jordan and Israel had generally close relations even before the signing of the1994 Peace Treaty. On more than one occasion, Jordan warned Israel of animpending attack by Syria and Egypt. Also, during the Black September conflictin Jordan, Israel warned Syria that any Syrian intervention on the side of thePLO against the Jordanian monarchy would result in an Israeli attack. Israel andJordan along with Lebanon were already negotiating a peace treaty as early asthe 1950s but a string of assassinations including Jordanian and Lebanese

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ambassadors and the King of Jordan himself, stopped such an attempt at peace.However, this friendship has been damaged several times due to the worseningsituation in the Palestinian territories and the slow peace process with thePalestinians. In Israel, several Likud lawmakers proposed a bill that called for aPalestinian state on both sides of the Jordan River, presuming that Jordan shouldbe the alternative homeland for the Palestinians. As a result, right-wing

Jordanian lawmakers then proposed a bill in the Jordanian Parliament in whichthe peace treaty between Israel and Jordan would be freezed. However, manyspeculate whether such a drastic and radical bill would ever be endorsed by thegovernment.[125][126]

Jordan's relations with the United States have traditionally been close. However,the relationship between the two countries reached new heights during the reignof King Abdullah II. The Jordanian General Intelligence Department is reportedlythe CIA'sclosest partner after Britain'sMI6. Also, the release classified U.S.cables on Wikileaks proved the depth of US-Jordan relations. Over 4,000militarycables were sent from Amman, the fifth most popular origin of U.S. militarycables worldwide, higher than from London or Tel Aviv. Regionally, only Ankara

and Baghdad surpassed Amman. Jordan provides extensive strategic and logisticsupport to U.S. military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the leakedmilitary cablesshow that America had kept Jordan's involvement in the War onTerror quiet whether it be its rendition program or Jordan's leading ofcounterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Jordan also participates in the multilateral peace talks. Jordan belongs to the UNand several of itsspecialized and related agencies, including the World TradeOrganization (WTO), the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), Foodand Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),and the World Health Organization (WHO). Jordan also is a member of the WorldBank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization of the IslamicConference

(OIC), Nonaligned Movement (NAM), and Arab League.

[edit] Military

Jordanian troops in a military parade in Amman

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Culture

Main article:Culture of Jordan

A large plate ofmezes in Petra, Jordan.

The culture of Jordan, as in itsspoken language, values, beliefs, ethnicities isArab as the Kingdom is in the heart of Southwest Asia. Although many peoplefrom different regions of the world have come to settle in Jordan, Europeans likethe (Circassians and the Chechens) or the Armenians, they have long beenassimilated in the society and added their richness to the society thatsubsequently developed. Jordan has a very diverse cultural scene with manydifferent artists, religioussects, and ethnic groups residing in the small countrybecause of Jordan's reputation for stability and tolerance.

Jordan borrowsmost of itsmusic, cinema, and other forms of entertainmentfrom other countriesmost specifically other Arab countries like Lebanon and

Egypt and the West primarily the United States. There has been a rise of home-grown movies, television series, and music in Jordan, but they pale incomparison to the amount imported from abroad.

Jordan has become a center for Iraqi and Palestinian artists in exile because ofthe violence in their volatile areas.

Mansaf, the national dish of Jordan.[137]

See:

y Music of Jordany Religion in Jordan (Islam in Jordan, Christianity in Jordan)

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y Sports in Jordany Cuisine of Jordany Art in Jordany Public Holidays in Jordan

[edit] Health

Jordan has quite an advanced health care system, although services remainhighly concentrated in Amman. Government figures have put total healthspending in 2002 at some 7.5% of Gross domestic product (GDP), whileinternational health organizations place the figure even higher, at approximately9.3% of GDP. The country's health care system is divided between public andprivate institutions. In the public sector, the Ministry of Health operates 1,245primary health-care centers and 27 hospitals, accounting for 37% of all hospitalbeds in the country; the military's Royal Medical Services runs 11 hospitals,providing 24% of all beds; and the Jordan University Hospital accounts for 3% oftotal beds in the country. The private sector provides 36% of all hospital beds,distributed among 56 hospitals. In 1 June 2007, Jordan Hospital (as the biggest

private hospital) was the first general specialty hospital who gets theinternational accreditation JCAHO. Treatment cost in Jordanian hospitals is lessthan in other countries.[138]

According to 2003 estimates, the rate of prevalence of human immunodeficiencyvirus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) was less than 0.1%.According to a United Nations Development Program report, Jordan has beenconsidered malaria-free since 2001; cases of tuberculosis declined by half duringthe 1990s, but tuberculosis remains an issue and an area needing impro vement.Jordan experienced a brief outbreak of bird flu in March 2006. Noncommunicablediseases such as cancer also are a major health issue in Jordan. Childhoodimmunization rates have increased steadily over the past 15 years; by 2002

immunizations and vaccines reached more than 95% of children under five.

[138]

About 86% of Jordanians had medical insurance in 2009, the Jordaniangovernment plans to reach 100% in 2011.

The King Hussein Cancer Center is the only specialized cancer treatment facilityin the Middle East. It is one of the top cancer treatment facilities in the world.Jordan was ranked by the World Bank to be the number one health care servicesprovider in the region and among the top 5 in the world. In 2008, 250,000patients sought treatment in the Kingdom including Iraqis, Palestinians,Sudanese, Syrians, GCC citizens, Americans, Canadians, and Egyptians. Jordanearned almost $1 billion dollars in medical tourism revenues according to the

World Bank.

According to the CIA World Factbook, the life expectancy in Jordan is 78.55years, the second highest in the region (after Israel). There were 203 physi ciansper 100,000 people in the years 2000 2004, a proportion comparable to manydeveloped countries and higher than most of the developing world. [139]

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Water and sanitation, available to only 10% of the population in 1950, nowreach 99% of Jordanians. Electricity now also reaches 99% of the population, ascompared to less than 10% in 1955. [140]

See: Medical education in Jordan.

[edit] Quality of life

In the 2008 Quality of Life Index, J