Jordan Information Guide & Facts

Full Country Name: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Area: 89,213 sq km (34,445 sq mi)
Population: 5.2 million
Capital City: Amman (population: 1,214,000)
People: Arab (98%), Circassian (1%), Armenian (1%). The Jordanian Department of Palestinian Affairs year 2000 report states that 1,554,375 Palestinian refugees and displaced persons reside in Jordan, 272,257 of whom live in the 13 refugee camps
Languages: Arabic (official), English
Religions: Sunni Muslim 96%, Christian 4%
Currency: 1 Jordanian Dinar (JD) = 1,000 fils

GEOGRAPHY

Land Use: Permanent Pastures 9%, Arable Land 4%, Permanent Crops 1%, Forests and Woodland 1%, Other 85%
Natural Resources: Phosphates, Potash, Shale Oil
Coastline: 26km
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Dead Sea –408m, highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734m

The greater part of Jordan consists of a plateau some 700-1,000 metres above sea level. There are no natural topographical frontiers between Jordan and its neighbours Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and the plateau continues unbroken into three countries. The River Jordan rises just inside Syria and flows through Israel and Jordan until entering the Dead Sea 251km from its source. It is a tiny trickle of a river, especially in summer and, though a de facto frontier, is not a great natural obstacle.

Summers are hot, especially on the plateau and in the Jordan valley, where temperatures over 49C have been recorded. Winters are fairly cold, and on the plateau frost and some snow are usual. The key element is rainfall. Only about 25% of the total area of Jordan is suitable for cultivation. Jordan is therefore far from self-sufficient in foodstuffs, notably wheat. Some winter crops (grains) are grown in highland areas. High value vegetable and fruit crops are grown under irrigation in the Jordan Valley region, partly for export to neighbouring Arab countries. Jordan's plans for agricultural development entail increased irrigation, which depends on the availability of water, a scarce commodity in the region and therefore a potential bone of contention between Jordan and its neighbours. Various projects to improve the availability of water are being considered.

HISTORY

Transjordan was traditionally a sparsely populated, largely bedouin country. It was ruled from its creation in 1921 by the Amir Abdullah, the second son of Sharif Hussein of Mecca, who started the Arab revolt against the Turks in the First World War (all members of the Hashemite family are entitled to style themselves ‘Sharif' as descendants of Hussein, son of the Fourth Caliph, Ali, and Ali's wife Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Mohammed). In 1946, the British Mandate over the Amirate of Transjordan ended, Jordan became independent and the Amir became King.

At the end of the British Mandate in Palestine in 1948, the army of Transjordan (the Arab Legion) entered Palestine with other Arab forces. The war ended with the fertile coastal plain in Israeli hands and much of Eastern Palestine (the West Bank) held by the Arabs. The city of Jerusalem was divided; the Old City, containing almost all the holy places, was left in Jordanian hands. The West Bank was formally claimed by Jordan in 1950. Only Britain and Pakistan supported the claim and formally recognised Jordanian sovereignty over the area. King Abdullah united the West Bank and Transjordan, giving the areas equal representation in the Jordanian Parliament, to create the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Following the assassination of Abdullah, the first King of Jordan, in 1951, his eldest son Talal ruled for less than a year before he was deposed (owing to illness) in favour of his eldest son, King Hussein, who succeeded to the throne in 1952.

During the war of June 1967 Israel occupied the whole West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israeli law was extended to cover East Jerusalem in the same year and the whole city was proclaimed the capital of Israel by a 'Basic Law' in 1980. The West Bank and Gaza were not annexed, but administered by a military government. In 1988 Jordan announced its 'disengagement' from the Occupied Territories, handing over responsibility for the areas, and for speaking on behalf of the Arab inhabitants, to the PLO. But Jordan did not formally renounce sovereignty over the West Bank and East Jerusalem until shortly before King Hussein’s death in 1999. Hussein was succeeded by his eldest son, King Abdullah II.