Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is located in Western Asia on the East bank of the Jordan River. The country is landlocked with Saudi Arabia from the South, Iraq from North-East, Syria from the North, Israel and Palestine from the west.
Jordan is almost landlocked with a small shoreline on the Red Sea from the South-West and on the Western Side lies the Dead Sea. The population of Jordan is 10,053,000 spread over 12 municipalities. The sex ratio is 112.5 males for every 100 females. The total area of Jordan is 89,318 km. Amman is the capital of Jordan with the highest number of population (Department of statistics).
Political Situation
The framework of politics in Jordan is parliamentary monarchy, where the prime minister is the head of government and it is a multi-party system. Jordan is constitutional monarchy; the king exercises his power through the government he appoints which is responsible before the parliament.
King Hussein ruled Jordan from 1953 to 1999 surviving several challenges and he served as a symbol of unity and stability for both Jordanian and Palestinian communities in Jordan. King Abdullah II succeeded his father Hussein following his death in 1999. He reaffirmed the peace treaty and he focused the governmental agenda to economic reform.
Over the past few years, Jordan has been facing growing demands for political reform, especially in the awake of Tunisian Jasmine Revolution and unfolding events in Egypt which led to the Arab Spring events in 2011. King Abdullah dismissed his government at that time and appointed a series of prime ministers to oversee the introduction of political changes.
The political situation which engulfed the middle east has effected Jordan in a way or another. Jordan is facing external and internal challenges; externally Syria crisis spillover, international oil prices fluctuations and workers’ remittance particularly from the GCC. Internally particularly from public anger from the economic austerity and the new rising policies, laws and regulations. The concerns over cost of living and income tax reform have led to regular street protests.
Economic Situation
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s primary natural resources are Phosphate and Potash; they are the major of export income. Energy and water resources are scarce and they are limiting the agricultural and industrial development. Therefore, Jordan has relatively few natural resources, and it is dependable on international aids and foreign loan.
The conflicts in the neighboring countries, Arab Spring and refugee’s influx are putting extra pressure on the limited resources.
The economy will remain in threat with the ongoing uncertainty in Syria, the slow revival of Iraq economy and the economic recessions in the Gulf Corporation Council.
Syria crisis is having an extended adverse effect on Jordan economy as Jordan hosted a stream of Syrian refugees.
Overall, the number of registered refugees with UNRWA and UNHCR has reached 2.8 million, making Jordan the largest refugee-hosting country worldwide, when compared to the size of its population.
