Jordan Travel Podcast with Faris Al Khouri

Location

Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the west) and Iraq

Terrain

Mostly arid desert plateau; a great north-south geological rift along the west of the country is the dominant topographical feature and includes the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Jordanian Highlands

Climate

Mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)

Elevation

Highest point

Jabal Umm ad Dami 1,854 m

Lowest point

Dead Sea -431 m

Mean elevation

812 m

Area

Total

89,342 sq km

Land

88,802 sq km

Water

540 sq km

Size comparison

About three-quarters the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Indiana

Coastline

26 km

Land borders

Total

1,744 km

Border countries

Iraq 179 km; Israel 307 km; Saudi Arabia 731 km; Syria 379 km; West Bank 148 km

Natural resources

Phosphates, potash, shale oil

Land use

Agricultural land

11.5% (2023 est.)

Arable land

2.3% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops

0.9% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture

8.4% (2023 est.)

Forest

0.8% (2023 est.)

Other

87.7% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

Droughts; periodic earthquakes; flash floods

Note

Strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba; the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the West Bank; the Dead Sea, the lowest point in Asia and the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lac Assal in Djibouti), lies on Jordan's western border with Israel and the West Bank; Jordan is almost landlocked but does have a 26 km southwestern coastline with a single port, Al 'Aqabah (Aqaba)

Population

Total

11,312,507 (2025 est.)

Male

5,908,853

Female

5,403,654

Nationality

Noun

Jordanian(s)

Adjective

Jordanian

Ethnic groups

Jordanian 69.3%, Syrian 13.3%, Palestinian 6.7%, Egyptian 6.7%, Iraqi 1.4%, other 2.6% (2015 est.)

Languages

Languages

Arabic (official), English (widely understood among upper and middle classes)

Major-language sample(s)

كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)

Religions

Muslim 97.1% (official; predominantly Sunni), Christian 2.1% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), Buddhist 0.4%, Hindu 0.1%, Jewish <0.1%, folk <0.1%, other <0.1%, unaffiliated <0.1% (2020 est.)

Median age

Total

25.4 years (2025 est.)

Male

25.5 years

Female

24.4 years

Life expectancy

Total population

76.5 years (2024 est.)

Male

75 years

Female

78.1 years

Urbanisation

Urban population

92% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization

0.98% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

Population heavily concentrated in the west, and particularly the northwest, in and around the capital of Amman; a sizeable but smaller population is located in the southwest along the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba

Largest cities

2.232 million AMMAN (capital) (2023)

Background

After World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. In 1921, Britain demarcated from Palestine a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan and recognized ABDALLAH I from the Hashemite family as the country's first leader. The Hashemites also controlled the Hijaz, or the western coastal area of modern-day Saudi Arabia, until 1925, when IBN SAUD and Wahhabi tribes pushed them out. The country gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The country has had four kings. Long-time ruler King HUSSEIN (r. 1953-99) successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, UK, and Soviet Union), various Arab states, Israel, and Palestinian militants, the latter of which led to a brief civil war in 1970 that is known as "Black September" and ended in King HUSSEIN ousting the militants.

Jordan's borders have changed since it gained independence. In 1948, Jordan took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the first Arab-Israeli War, eventually annexing those territories in 1950 and granting its new Palestinian residents Jordanian citizenship. In 1967, Jordan lost the West Bank and East Jerusalem to Israel in the Six-Day War but retained administrative claims to the West Bank until 1988, when King HUSSEIN permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank in favor of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). King HUSSEIN signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, after Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Accords in 1993.

Jordanian kings continue to claim custodianship of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem by virtue of their Hashemite heritage as descendants of the Prophet Mohammad and agreements with Israel and Jerusalem-based religious and Palestinian leaders. After Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 War, it authorized the Jordanian-controlled Islamic Trust, or Waqf, to continue administering the Al Haram ash Sharif/Temple Mount holy compound, and the Jordan-Israel peace treaty reaffirmed Jordan's "special role" in administering the Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem. Jordanian kings claim custodianship of the Christian sites in Jerusalem on the basis of the 7th-century Pact of Omar, when the Muslim leader, after conquering Jerusalem, agreed to permit Christian worship.

King HUSSEIN died in 1999 and was succeeded by his eldest son and current King ABDALLAH II. In 2009, ABDALLAH II designated his son HUSSEIN as the Crown Prince. During his reign, ABDALLAH II has contended with a series of challenges, including the Arab Spring influx of refugees from neighboring states, the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of the war in Ukraine, a perennially weak economy, and the Israel-HAMAS conflict that began in October 2023.

Government

Parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital

Amman

Time zone

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Local name

Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah

Independence

25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

National day

Independence Day, 25 May (1946)

Overview

Upper-middle-income Middle Eastern economy; high debt and unemployment, especially for youth and women; global events triggering trade slump and decreased revenue from tourism; growing manufacturing and agricultural sectors; key US foreign assistance recipient; natural-resource-poor and import-reliant

GDP per capita

Real GDP per capita 2024

$9,500 (2024 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$9,400 (2023 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2022

$9,300 (2022 est.)

Inflation

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024

1.6% (2024 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023

2.1% (2023 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

4.2% (2022 est.)

Unemployment

Unemployment rate 2024

18% (2024 est.)

Unemployment rate 2023

18% (2023 est.)

Unemployment rate 2022

18.2% (2022 est.)

Exchange rate

Currency

Jordanian dinars (JOD) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2024

0.71 (2024 est.)

Exchange rates 2023

0.71 (2023 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

0.71 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

0.71 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

0.71 (2020 est.)

Main industries

Tourism, information technology, clothing, fertilizer, potash, phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing

Agriculture

Tomatoes, milk, chicken, potatoes, olives, cucumbers/gherkins, onions, chillies/peppers, peaches/nectarines, sheep milk (2023)

Airports

18 (2025)

Railways

Total

509 km (2020)

Narrow gauge

509 km (2014) 1.050-m gauge

Ports

Total ports

1 (2024)

Large

0

Medium

0

Small

0

Very small

1

Ports with oil terminals

1

Key ports

Al Aqabah

Internet domain

.jo

Internet users

Percent of population 93% (2023 est.)

Mobile subscriptions

Total subscriptions

8.05 million (2024 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

70 (2024 est.)

Environmental issues

Limited natural freshwater resources; declining water table; salination; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; biodiversity and ecosystem damage/loss

Fresh water

937 million cubic meters (2022 est.)