Jordan
|
| Basic Facts |
| 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 |
| Gevernment type | constitutional monarchy |
| Capital |
name: Amman
geographic coordinates: 31 57 N, 35 56 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Thursday in March; ends last Friday in September |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), representing the Abbassid Caliphate, white, representing the Ummayyad Caliphate, and green, representing the Fatimid Caliphate; a red isosceles triangle on the hoist side, representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, and bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations; design is based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I |
| Currency | Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
| Internet country code | .jo |
| Ports and terminals | Al 'Aqabah |
| Agriculture products | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry |
| Industries | textiles, phosphate mining, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism |
| Geography |
| Location | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia |
| Coordinates | 31 00 N, 36 00 E |
| Continent | Middle East |
| Area |
total: 92,300 sq km
land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
| Boundaries |
total: 1,635 km
border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 744 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km |
| Coastline | 26 km |
| Climate | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) |
| Terrain | mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River |
| Natural resources | phosphates, potash, shale oil |
| Natural hazards | droughts; periodic earthquakes |
| People |
| Population | 5,906,760 (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% |
| Religions | Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2001 est.) |
| Languages | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes |
