Part 436

@Jordan:Government

Country name: conventional long form: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan conventional short form: Jordan local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah local short form: Al Urdun former: Transjordan

Data code: JO

Government type: constitutional monarchy

National capital: Amman

Administrative divisions: 8 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Ma'an

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

National holiday: Independence Day, 25 May (1946)

Constitution: 8 January 1952

Legal system: based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: King HUSSEIN bin Talal Al-Hashimi (since 2 May 1953) head of government : Prime Minister Abd al-Salam al-MAJALI (since 19 March 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the king elections: none; the king is a constitutional monarch; prime minister appointed by the king

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the House of Notables or Majlis al-A'ayan (a 40-member body appointed by the king from designated categories of public figures; members serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives (80 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held 8 November 1993 (next to be held NA November 1997 election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - IAF 16, Jordanian National Alliance Party 4, Al-Yaqazah Party 2, Al-Watan Party 2, Al-'Ahd Party 2, Jordanian Arab Democratic Party 2, Al-Mustaqbal Party 1, Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 1, Jordanian Democratic Progressive Party 1, Jordanian People's Democratic Party-Hashd 1, Jordanian Socialist Democratic Party 1, independents 47 note : the House of Representatives has been convened and dissolved by the king several times since 1974; in November 1989 the first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation

Political parties and leaders: Al-Ahrar (Liberals) Party, Ahmad al-ZU'BI, secretary general; Al-Taqaddumi (Progressive) Party, Fawwaz al-ZUBI, secretary general; Constitutional Jordanian Arab Front Party, Milhim al-TALL, leader; Democratic Arab Islamic Movement Party-Du'a', Yusuf ABU BAKR, secretary general; Islamic Action Front (IAF), Ishaq al-FARHAN, secretary general; Jordanian Arab Socialist Ba'th Party, Taysir al-HIMSI, command first secretary; Jordanian Communist Party (JCP), Ya'qub ZAYADIN, secretary general; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party, 'Azmi al-KHAWAJA, secretary general; Jordanian People's Democratic Party-Hashd, Salim al-NAHHAS, secretary general; Jordanian Unionist Democratic Party, 'Isa MADANAT (secretary general), Ali AMIR (secretary general), Munis al-RAZZAZ (secretary general); Pan-Arab Action Front Party, Muhammad al-ZU'BI, secretary general; Progressive Arab Ba'th Party, Mahmud al-MA'AYITAH, command secretary; Al-Mustaqbal (Future) Party, Sulayman 'ARAR, secretary general; Jordanian Arab Partisans Party, Muhammad al-MAJALI, leader, Muhammad al-SHURAYDAH, secretary general; Jordanian Peace Party, leader NA; Ansar Party, leader NA; Ummah Party, leader NA; Arab Land Party, leader NA note: in 1995, the Jordanian Arab Democratic Party, the Jordanian Democratic Progressive Party, and the Jordanian Socialist Democratic Party merged to form the Jordanian Unionist Democratic Party, Isa MADANAT, Ali AMIR, Munis al-RAZZAZ, secretaries general; in May 1997 the following parties - Al-'Ahd (Pledge) Party, 'Abd al-Hadi al-MAJALI, secretary general; Al-Watan (Homeland) Party, 'Akif al-FAYIZ, leader; Al-Yaqazah (Awakening) Party, 'Abd al-Ra'uf al-RAWABIDAH, secretary general; Democratic Arab Unionist Party-Wa'd, Anis al-MU'ASHIR, secretary general; Jordanian Arab Masses Party, 'Abd al-Khaliq SHATAT, secretary general; Jordanian National Alliance Party, Mijhim al-KHURAYSHAH, secretary general; Popular Unity Party-the Unionists, Mustafa AL-'ISAWI, secretary general; and the Progress and Justice Party, 'Ali al-SA'D, secretary general - merged to form the National Constitutional Party, 'Abd al Hadi AL-MAJALI, secretary general

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFCTU, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, PCA, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNRWA, UNTAES, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Fayez A. TARAWNEH chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone : (202) 966-2664 FAX: (202) 966-3110

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Wesley W. EGAN, Jr. embassy: Jabel Amman, Amman mailing address : P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: (6) 820101 FAX: (6) 820159

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star represent the seven fundamental laws of the Koran

Economy

Economy - overview: Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil and coal. Jordan benefited from increased Arab aid during the oil boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its annual real GNP growth averaged more than 10%. In the remainder of the 1980s, however, reductions in both Arab aid and worker remittances slowed real economic growth to an average of roughly 2% per year. Imports - mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and food - outstripped exports, with the difference covered by aid, remittances, and borrowing. In mid-1989, the Jordanian Government began debt-rescheduling negotiations and agreed to implement an IMF-supported program designed to gradually reduce the budget deficit and implement badly needed structural reforms. The Persian Gulf crisis that began in August 1990, however, aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the government to shelve the IMF program, stop most debt payments, and suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker remittances, and trade contracted; and refugees flooded the country, producing serious balance-of-payments problems, stunting GDP growth, and straining government resources. The economy rebounded in 1992, largely due to the influx of capital repatriated by workers returning from the Gulf, but the recovery was uneven in 1994-96. The government is implementing the reform program adopted in 1992 and continues to secure rescheduling and write-offs of its heavy foreign debt. Debt, poverty, and unemployment remain Jordan's biggest on-going problems.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $20.9 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.9% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,000 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6% industry: 28% services : 66% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 4.5% (1996 est.)

Labor force: total : 600,000 (1992) by occupation: industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10.0%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52.0% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 16% (1994 est.)