AECID - Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo

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Name: Jordan.

Area: 89,213 km2.

Mediterranean coastline: None.

Population (World Bank data): 4.9 million.

Annual population growth (World Bank data): 3.1%.

Population distribution (World Bank data): 74% urban, 26% rural.

Human Development Index (2001 UNDP Report): 88 of 162.

Distribution by productive sectors (World Bank data): primary 2.2% of GDP, secondary 24.8% and tertiary 73%.

Access to drinking water (2001 UNDP Report): 96%.

Annual per capita energy consumption (IUCN system): 1,205 Kw/hours.

Geographical description: Jordan is an arid plateau rising abruptly toward the western banks of the River Jordan and the Dead Sea, to a height of between 610 and 915 m, then dropping gently to the Syrian desert in the far east of the country. The River Jordan, the border with Israel and the West Bank, is the heart of the country’s drainage system. It runs through a deep depression in the Great Rift Valley, 209 m below sea level in the area of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) and 408 m below sea level around the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. The Arabian Plateau is in the south of the country, with its deep canyons and its mountains rising to altitudes of 1,500 m or more.

Climate: The Jordanian climate is marked by major seasonal variations both in temperature and in rainfall. Summer temperatures in the Jordan Valley reach 49ºC in August, the hottest month, although the average temperature in Amman is 26ºC. Temperatures in the coldest month, January, fall to below freezing although the average at this time of the year is above 7ºC. Most rain falls during this time, ranging from 660 mm in the northwest to less than 127 mm in the east.

Natural resources: Because most of the country is desert and steppe, plant life is not very abundant. In the area of Jabal Ajlun between Amman and the Syrian border, meadows and wooded zones are to be found. Jordan has scant minerals except for potassium and phosphate deposits, which are exploited commercially.

Main environmental problems: Most of the land is desert and there is a significant lack of water. Since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank, just 5% of Jordanian territory is cultivable, and irrigation is a serious problem because of the dependence on rainwater. Efficient water use, and sustainable farming are Jordan’s main challenges.