Jordan

Geography

Location: Asia, Middle East, north­west of Saudi Arabia. Area: 92,300 sq. km. Principal cities: Amman, Az Zarqa and Irbid. Tourist attractions: Amman Citadel (Jebel al-Qala'a), Karak Castle, Petra, Qala'at ar-Rabad and Ruins at jerash. Time zone:" GMT + 2 hours.

People

Population: 6.053,193 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate: 2.412% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 1.102 male(s)/female (2007 est.), Religions: Sunni Muslim, Christian, others. Languages: Arabic (official), English widely understood. Literacy rate: Total 89.9%, Male 95.1%, Female 84.7% (2003 est.). Infant mortality rate: 16.16 deaths/ 1,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 78.55 years, Male 76.04 years, Female 81.22 years (2007 est.).

Government

Capital: Amman. National anthem: As-salam al-malaki al-urdoni. Govern­ment type: Constitutional monarchy. Independence: 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under Brit­ish administration). Legal system: Based on Islamic law and French codes. Executive branch: Chief of state: King Abdallah II (since 7 February 1999); Crown Prince Hamzah (half-brother of the monarch, born 29 March 1980). Head of government: Prime Minister Maaruf al-Bakhit (since 24 November 2005). Legislative branch: Jordan has a bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma. It consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayan) and the House of Representatives, also called the House of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwaab). judicial branch: Court of cassation; Supreme court (court of final appeal).

Economy

Currency: Jordanian dinar. Currency conversion: Jordanian dinar per Indian rupee:—0.0175 (June 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity—$30 billion {2006 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 6.3% (2006 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$5,100 (2006 est.). Inflation rate: 6.3% (2006 est.). Population below poverty line: 30% (2001 est.). Unemployment rate: 15.4% official rate {2006 est.). Exports: $4,798 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). Imports: $10.42 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). External debt: $7.32 billion (2006 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: 505 km. Roads: 7,500 km. Airports: King Hussein and Queen Alia International Airports. Telephones: 6,28,200 (2005). Mobile cellular: 3.013 million (2005). Internet users: 629,500 (2005). Internet country code: .jo. ISD code: 962.