Population: 5,153,378 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:

         0-14 years: 37.23% (male 980,345; female 938,081)
         15-64 years: 59.44% (male 1,633,579; female 1,429,631)
         65 years and over: 3.33% (male 84,815; female 86,927)

Population growth rate: 3% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 25.44 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 2.62 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: 7.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female

total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 20.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:

   total population: 77.53 years
   male: 75.1 years
   female: 80.12 years (2001 est.)

Ethnic groups: Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2000 est.)
Languages: Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes

Literacy:

    definition: age 15 and over can read and write
    total population: 86.6%
    male: 93.4%
    female: 79.4% (1995 est.)

Location: Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 31 00 N, 36 00 E
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total: 92,300 sq km
land: 91,971 sq km
water: 329 sq km

Land boundaries: total: 1,619 km

border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km
Coastline: 26 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 3 NM
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m

highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m
Natural resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil
Land use: arable land: 4%

permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 9%
forests and woodland: 1%
other: 85% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 630 sq km (1993 est.)

GDP: purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3%

industry: 25%

services: 72% (1998 est.)
Population below poverty line: 30% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.4%

highest 10%: 34.7% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.7% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 1.15 million

note: in addition, at least 300,000 workers are employed abroad (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52% (1992)
Unemployment rate: 15% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (1999 est.)
Budget: revenues: $2.8 billion

expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries: phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, tourism
Industrial production growth rate: 3.8% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 6.657 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.79%

hydro: 0.21%

nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption: 6.594 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 4 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 407 million kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry
Exports: $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures
Exports - partners: India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE, Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Ethiopia
Imports: $4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods
Imports - partners: Iraq, Germany, US, Japan, UK, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia, Syria, China
Debt - external: $8 billion (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $850 million (1996 est.)
Currency: Jordanian dinar (JOD)
Currency code: JOD
Exchange rates: Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.7090

Railways: total: 677 km

narrow gauge: 677 km 1.050-m gauge (2001)
Highways: total: 8,000 km

paved: 8,000 km

unpaved: 0 km (2000 est.)
Waterways: none
Pipelines: crude oil 209 km; note - may not be in use
Ports and harbors: Al 'Aqabah
Merchant marine: total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 40,919 GRT/57,777 DWT

ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, container 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.)
Airports: 18 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:

total: 15
over 3,047 m: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 3
under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.)
Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)

Military branches: Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF; includes Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Naval Force, and Royal Jordanian Air Force); Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Force (falls under JAF only in wartime or crisis situations)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,458,571 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,034,109 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 57,131 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $608.9 million (FY98/99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 7.8% (FY98/99)

Telephones - main lines in use: 403,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 11,500 (1995)
Telephone system: general assessment: service has improved recently with the increased use of digital switching equipment, but better access to the telephone system is needed in the rural areas and easier access to pay telephones is needed by the urban public

domestic: microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; considerable use is made of mobile cellular systems; Internet service is available

international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals; fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria; connection to international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); participant in MEDARABTEL; international links total about 4,000
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999)
Radios: 1.66 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions: 500,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .jo
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (2000)
Internet users: 87,500 (2000)