Jordan

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.

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

31 00 N, 36 00 E

Middle East

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

26 km

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

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

phosphates, potash, shale oil

875 sq km (2022)

Arabian Aquifer System

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

droughts; periodic earthquakes; flash floods

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)

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

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.)

1.68% (2025 est.)

21.9 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-1.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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

2.232 million AMMAN (capital) (2023)

24.6 years (2017/18 est.)

31 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

2.83 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.37 (2025 est.)

2.85 physicians/1,000 population (2022)

1.4 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

35.5% (2016)

2.5% (2023 est.)

56% (2018 est.)

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

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

26.3 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

937 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); 'Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Al ‘Asimah (Amman), At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba

mixed system developed from Ottoman Empire codes (based on French law), British common law, and Islamic law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

'Azem
Blessed Land Party
Building and Labor Coalition
Eradah Party
Growth Party
Islamic Action Front or IAF
Jordanian al-Ansar Party
Jordanian al-Ghad Party
Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party or JASBP
Jordanian Civil Democratic Party
Jordanian Communist Party or JCP
Jordanian Equality Party
Jordanian Democratic People's Party or HASD
Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party or JDPUP/Wihda
Jordanian Democratic Unionist Party
Jordanian Flame Party
Jordanian Future and Life Party
Jordanian Model Party
Jordanian National Integration Party
Jordanian National Loyalty Party
Jordanian Reform and Renewal Party or Hassad
Jordanian Shura Party 
Jordanian Social Democratic Party or JSDP
Justice and Reform Party or JRP 
Labor Party
National Charter Party
National Coalition Party
National Constitutional Party
National Current Party or NCP
National Islamic Party
National Union
Nationalist Movement Party or Hsq
New Path Party
Progress Party

ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CD, CICA, EBRD, FAO, G-11, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, NATO (partner), OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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

Independence Day, 25 May (1946)

description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green; a red isosceles triangle is on the left side, with a small white seven-pointed star in the center

meaning: black stands for the Abbassid Caliphate, white for the Ummayyad Caliphate, and green for the Fatimid Caliphate; the triangle stands for the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, and the star's points for the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Quran, as well as faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations

history: the design is based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I

eagle

black, white, green, red

$53.352 billion (2024 est.)

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

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

3.7% (2024 est.)

3.08 million (2024 est.)

15.7% (2018 est.)

17% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

USA 21%, India 13%, Saudi Arabia 11%, China 7%, Iraq 6% (2023)

fertilizers, garments, phosphates, jewelry, phosphoric acid (2023)

China 17%, Saudi Arabia 14%, UAE 8%, India 6%, USA 5% (2023)

cars, refined petroleum, gold, crude petroleum, jewelry (2023)

radio and TV dominated by the government-owned Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTV) that operates a main network, a sports network, a film network, and a satellite channel; first independent TV broadcaster aired in 2007; international satellite TV and Israeli and Syrian TV broadcasts are available; roughly 30 radio stations; transmissions of multiple international radio broadcasters are available

.jo

JY

18 (2025)

6 (2025)

Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF; aka Arab Army): Jordanian Army (Jordanian Ground Forces; includes Special Operations Forces, Border Guards, Royal Guard), Jordanian Air Force, Jordanian Navy)  

Ministry of Interior: Public Security Directorate (includes national police, the Gendarmerie, and the Civil Defense Directorate) (2025)

approximately 100,000 active duty Armed Forces (2025)

the JAF inventory is comprised of mostly older or secondhand equipment provided by China, some European countries, select Gulf States, Russia, and the US (2025)

17 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; initial service term is 24 months; selective compulsory military service (3 months) for men turning 18 will be reinstated in 2026; compulsory military service for jobless men aged 25-29 was reinstated in 2020 (12 months; 3 months of military training and 9 months of professional and technical training) (2025)

140 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (2025)

the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) are responsible for territorial defense and border security and have a supporting role for internal security; key areas of concern include regional conflict and instability and unconventional threats, such as terrorism and weapons smuggling; the JAF participates in both bilateral and multinational exercises, UN peacekeeping missions, and have taken part in regional military operations alongside international forces in Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen

the US is a key security partner, and Jordan is one of the largest recipients of US military aid in the region; it cooperates with the US on a number of issues, including border security, arms transfers, cybersecurity, and counterterrorism; Jordan has Major Non-NATO Ally status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation (2025)

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)