JORDAN
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| (See reference map VI) |
NOTE: The war between Israel and the Arab states in June 1967 ended with Israel in control of West Jordan. Although approximately 930,000 persons resided in this area before the start of the war, fewer than 750,000 of them remain there under the Israeli occupation, the remainder having fled to East Jordan. Over 14,000 of those who fled were repatriated in August 1967, but their return has been more than offset by other Arabs who have crossed and are continuing to cross from West to East Jordan. These and certain other effects of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war are not included in the data below.
LAND
96,089 km2 (including about 5,439 km2 occupied by Israel); 11% agricultural, 88% desert, waste, or urban, 1% forested
Land boundaries: 1,770 km (1967, 1,668 km excluding occupied areas)
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 3 nm
Coastline: 26 km
PEOPLE
Population: 3,246,000—East and West Banks, including East Jerusalem (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.2%; East Bank, 2,415,000, average annual growth rate 3.9%; West Bank, including East Jerusalem, 831,000, average annual growth rate 1.2%
Nationality: noun—Jordanian(s); adjective—Jordanian
Ethnic divisions: 98% Arab, 1% Circassian, 1% Armenian
Religion: 90%-92% Sunni Muslim, 8%-10% Christian
Language: Arabic official; English widely understood among upper and middle classes
Literacy: about 50%-55% in East Jordan; somewhat less than 60% in West Jordan
Labor force: 638,000; less than 2% unemployed
Organized labor: 9.8% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Official name: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: 'Amman
Political subdivisions: eight governorates (three Israeli occupied) under centrally appointed officials
Legal system: based on Islamic law and French codes; constitution adopted 1952; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 25 May
Branches: King holds balance of power; Prime Minister exercises executive authority in name of King; Cabinet appointed by King and responsible to parliament; bicameral parliament with House of Representatives last chosen by national elections in April 1967, and dissolved by King in February 1976; a National Consultative Council appointed by the King in March 1978 as temporary substitute for House of Representatives; Senate last appointed by King in January 1979; present parliament subservient to executive; secular court system based on differing legal systems of the former Transjordan and Palestine; law Western in concept and structure; Sharia (religious) courts for Muslims, and religious community council courts for non-Muslim communities; desert police carry out quasi-judicial functions in desert areas
Government leader: King HUSSEIN I
Suffrage: all citizens over age 20
Political parties and leaders: political party activity illegal since 1957; Palestine Liberation Organization and various smaller fedayeen groups clandestinely active on West Bank; Muslim Brotherhood
Communists: party actively repressed, membership estimated at less than 500
Member of: Arab League, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ISCON, ITU, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
ECONOMY
GNP: $3.4 billion (East Bank only, 1980), $1,250 per capita; real growth rate (1980), 9%
Agriculture: main crops—vegetables, fruits, olive oil, wheat; not self-sufficient in many foodstuffs
Major industries: phosphate mining, petroleum refining, and cement production, light manufacturing
Electric power: 299,000 kW capacity (1980); 917 million kWh produced (1980), 290 kWh per capita, East Bank only
Exports: $553 million (f.o.b., 1980); fruits and vegetables, phosphate rock; Communist share 13% of total (1980)
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