Official Name: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (JO)

Capital    : Amman

Important Cities: Amman, Irbid, Zarka, Karak, Mafraq, Aqaba

Area: 89.213 km2

Population       : 10,320,000[1]  70% of the population lives in cities.

Ethnicity: 98% Arabs, 1.2% Circassians, 0.7% Turks and a small number of Kurds. A significant number of Arabs are of Palestinian origin.

Language: Arabic.

Religion: The official religion is Islam. 95% of the population is Sunni Muslim and 5% is Christian. However, Christians are given 10% quota in the parliament.

Mode of Government: Jordan is a kingdom based on a parliamentary system. A law passed in 1992 authorised the establishment of political parties. It has an 80-member parliament, whose members are elected every four years, and a senate (upper house) of 40 members. Elections were previously held according to the proportional representation system. However, upon the strengthening of the Islamic movement in the country, the electoral law was changed as a precaution against this movement gaining majority in the parliament. Shortly before the 8 November 1993 general elections, according to the new electoral law, which was proposed by the US ambassador to Amman and put into effect by the administration, voters can vote for only one person from the list of candidates presented by a political party in their region. However, the laws adopted in the parliament must also be approved by the king in order to enter into force. The king can give the task of forming the government to any person considering the arithmetic structure of the parliament. The king also has the power to dismiss the government and dissolve or suspend parliament.

Administrative division: It is divided into 8 provinces and 44 districts.

International Organisations: It is a member of international organisations such as the UN, OIC[2], League of Arab States, IMF, Islamic Development Bank. Political Parties: Jordan's largest grassroots political party is the Islamic Labour Front Party, the representative of the Islamic movement. In the 8 September 1993 elections, it won only 18 seats in the parliament. The base of the Islamic Labour Front is mostly composed of the members of the Muslim Brotherhood. However, a significant number of other Islamic communities in the country also support this party and are represented within the party. Other political parties: Jordanian Arab Socialist Baath Party: A pro-Iraqi, Baathist party that advocates Arab tribalism. Communist Party of Jordan: It is a Marxist-Leninist party under the leadership of Jordan's former communist Christian Yakub Ziyadin. Justice and Progress Party: It is a centre-right party with a westernist approach that supports the royal regime.

History: Jordan lands joined the Islamic state during the reign of Hz. Umar (r.a.). After being liberated from the Crusaders in 1187, it remained in the hands of Ayyubids, Fatimids and Mamluks respectively. After the Mamluks, it was taken by the Ottoman Sultan Yavuz Sultan Selim in 1517 and joined the Ottoman lands. Between 1831-1840, it was under the rule of Mehmed Ali Pasha, who rebelled against the Ottomans in Egypt. The lands of Jordan remained in Ottoman hands until the British occupation in 1917. The British occupation of Palestine and Jordan was aided by Sharif Hussein, who was promised the kingdom of the Arabian peninsula. King Abdullah was assassinated in 1951, again by the British. He was succeeded by his son Talal. However, Talal was later asked to leave the kingdom on the grounds that he was mentally unstable. He was forced to hand over his office to his son Hussein in 1952. King Hussein tried to implement a policy of balance in the country. Initially, he wanted to establish a royal regime based on a parliamentary system. However, as he did not want to compromise his own powers, the parliaments created after the first elections remained a symbolic democratic institution. The king dissolved the parliament immediately after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. This parliament was only able to reconvene on 9 January 1984. General elections were held only on 8 November 1989. The events of 18 April 1989 forced the Jordanian king to hold such elections. In April 1989, the Jordanian government devalued its currency by 50% in line with the demands of the IMF and the World Bank, which led to a week-long popular uprising. The king was only able to pacify his people with some promises. Among these promises was the holding of free elections. Accordingly, in the general elections held on 8 November 1989, 33 people, 22 of whom were from the Muslim Brotherhood, were able to enter the 80-seat parliament. As the Islamic movement became stronger in the following years, the government changed the electoral system.

Internal Problems: The most important internal problem of Jordan is the problem of Palestinian refugees. After Israel's occupation of the West Bank region of Palestine in the 1967 war, most of the Palestinians living in this region had to seek refuge in Jordan. Most of them still live in refugee camps. Most of the refugees living in these camps are unemployed. The need of the country's administration to pursue the interests of the USA and Israel in foreign policy leads to the reaction of the people and a government-people irreconcilability.

External Problems: Jordan is under constant threat from Israel as it has the widest border with the territories occupied by the Israeli administration and is a country harbouring the largest number of Palestinians. Before the 1967 war, the West Bank region of Palestine was under Jordanian administration. In the war, Jordan ceded this region to Israel. Until August 1988, although this area was under Israeli occupation, it was considered as a part of Jordan and the wages of those working in this area were paid by Jordan. However, King Hussein decided in August 1988 to cut their wages. Jordan has no claim to the West Bank and favours peace with Israel. Jordan sided with Iraq in the Gulf War, which resulted in its isolation by the Arab countries on the other side. Jordan was forced to side with Iraq in this war partly because of its relations of interest with this country. Because the crude oil coming from Iraq was refined in the oil refining facilities in Zarqa near Amman and Jordan met its oil needs completely from here. However, Jordan's siding with Iraq did not prevent the cutting off of its oil supply. The international embargo imposed on Iraq prevented this country from pumping oil to Jordan. In order to get out of the isolation caused by its stance in the Gulf war, Jordan carried out some friendly operations, which were largely successful. The US, which protects Israel's interests, took advantage of Jordan's position and forced it to make unconditional peace with Israel. By bowing to US pressure and accepting what was demanded of it, the Jordanian government partially overcame its isolation on the international platform. However, this time it had to take on its own people. On the other hand, he also fell out with Iraq over some political issues.

Islamism in the country: The Muslim Brotherhood is the strongest and most widespread of the Islamic communities in Jordan. This community endeavours to establish good relations and solidarity with all other Islamic communities. The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood is active in all fields. It won 22 seats in the parliament in the 1989 elections held before the law on political parties was passed. After the enactment of the law on political parties, he led the establishment of the Islamic Labour Front.  The Muslim Brotherhood established the Islamic Central Charity Society for the organisation of cultural and social activities. This organisation organises various charitable, cultural, social and educational activities. The Islamic Hospital, which was established in Amman under the organisation and has been in service since 1982, is the largest hospital in the country after the university hospitals. The same organisation has opened 23 schools at various levels from kindergarten to higher education. They also have a college that trains nurses affiliated to the Islamic hospital. The leading Islamic communities outside the Muslim Brotherhood include Hizb al-Tahrir, the Tablighi Jamaat, Salafis and various Sufi orders. Hizb al-Tahrir focusses mainly on the caliphate. It opposes any compromise with the existing order and political activity through parties. It even opposes participating in elections and entering parliament, claiming that it would mean a compromise with the administration in the country. The Salafism movement, which has an influence all over the Arab world, has a significant influence in Jordan. The most widespread among the Sufi orders is the Shazeliya order. The Islamic Movement in Jordan has also entered the field of Islamic banking. For this purpose, the Jordan Islamic Bank was established. The most problematic area for the Jordanian Islamic Movement is the field of publishing activities. The administration puts various difficulties in front of the Islamic movement in this regard.[3]

Economy: Jordan's economy is dependent on foreign countries in all respects. This situation also prevents the country from pursuing an independent foreign policy. Jordan's economy is generally based on agriculture and animal husbandry. The share of income from agricultural products in the gross domestic product is 7%. 5% of the working population is employed in agriculture. The main agricultural products are cereals, bananas, citrus fruits and various fruits and vegetables. Apart from phosphate and potassium hydrate, it has small reserves of iron and copper. Phosphate is usually extracted from the Dead Sea, also known as the Dead Sea. The share of mining revenues in the gross domestic product is 8 per cent. Despite the high level of education in Jordan, unemployment reaches 20%. The United States also uses its loans to Jordan as a means of pressure on Jordan to adopt a conciliatory policy towards Israel.

Currency: Jordanian Dinar.

National Income per Capita: 4,393 USD[4].

Foreign Trade: The main exports are processed building blocks, asbestos cement, natural phosphate fertiliser, vegetables, fruits, spices, livestock, fabrics, yarns and pharmaceuticals. The main imports are crude oil, mineral fuels, mechanical vehicles and their spare parts, iron and steel, motor vehicles, electrical and electronic equipment and metal products. Its foreign trade is mainly with Saudi Arabia, USA, Japan, UK, Italy, Iraq, India, Romania, Pakistan and Kuwait. The foreign trade deficit in 1991 was 2 billion dollars.

Industry: The most important industrial facilities of Jordan are the oil refining plants in Zarqa. Apart from these, there are industrial facilities for the production of foodstuffs, soft drinks, cigarettes, textiles, clothing, furniture, wood products, paper, stationery, fertilisers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, earth and metal goods, cement, building blocks and other construction materials, electrical equipment and some mechanical tools and leather processing. The share of industrial income in gross domestic product is 15 per cent.

Energy: Almost all of the electrical energy is obtained from thermal power plants. Annual electricity consumption per capita is 900 kw/hour on average.

Transportation: There are 2 airports. There is a large harbour used for import and export in Aqaba on the Red Sea coast. It has 900 km. railway and 5700 km. motorway, all of which are asphalted. On average, there is one motorised transport vehicle for 14 people.

Education: Jordan has 3,000 primary schools, 630 general and 30 vocational secondary schools. 95 per cent of primary school children and 70 per cent of secondary school children can benefit from these education. There are 60 higher education institutions, 5 of which are universities. Among the young people of higher education age, the rate of those enrolled in higher education institutions is 30%. The rate of literacy is 81 per cent.

[1]    www.ticaret.gov.tr  (December-2021 Access)

[2]     www.oic-oci.org

[3]    www.enfal.de  (December-2021 Access)

[4]    www.ticaret.gov.tr  (December-2021)