Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
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.
- Capital
- Amman
- Government
- parliamentary constitutional monarchy
- Population
- 11,312,507
- Area
- 89,342 sq km
- Location
- Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the west) and Iraq
- Climate
- mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
- Natural resources
- phosphates; potash; shale oil
- Languages
- Arabic (official); English (widely understood among upper and middle classes)
- Religions
- Muslim 97.1% (official; predominantly Sunni); Christian 2.1% (majority Greek Orthodox; but some Greek and Roman Catholics…
- Independence
- 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
- Administrative divisions
- 12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); 'Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Al ‘Asimah (Amman…
- Currency
- Jordanian dinars (JOD)
- Export partners
- USA 21%; India 13%; Saudi Arabia 11%; China 7%…
- Import partners
- China 17%; Saudi Arabia 14%; UAE 8%; India 6%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain