Jordan

{{See also|Jordan River#Etymology}}

Jordan takes its name from the Jordan River, which forms much of the country's northwestern border.{{cite web|url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jordan/|title= The World Fact book – Jordan|work= CIA World Factbook|access-date= 15 June 2018|archive-date= 27 February 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230227115821/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jordan/|url-status= live}} While several theories for the origin of the river's name have been proposed, it is most plausible that it derives from the Hebrew word Yarad ({{lang|he|ירד}}), meaning "the descender", reflecting the river's declivity.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC|title= Mercer Dictionary of the Bible|access-date= 15 June 2018|year= 1990|pages= 466–467, 928|first1= Watson E.|last1= Mills|first2= Roger Aubrey|last2= Bullard|publisher= Mercer University Press|isbn= 9780865543737|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171018095243/https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC|archive-date= 18 October 2017|url-status= live}} Much of the area that makes up modern Jordan was historically called Transjordan, meaning "across the Jordan"; the term is used to denote the lands east of the river. The Hebrew Bible uses the term {{lang|he|עבר הירדן}} {{translit|he|Ever ha'Yarden}} ({{literal translation|the other side of the Jordan}}) for the area.

Early Arab chronicles call the river Al-Urdunn (a term cognate to the Hebrew Yarden). Jund Al-Urdunn was a military district around the river in the early Islamic era.{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lest|title= Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A. D. 650 To 1500|page= [https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lest/page/52 52]|publisher= Alexander P. Watt for the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund|first= Guy|last= Le Strange|date= 1890|access-date= 15 June 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101005052930/http://www.archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lest|archive-date= 5 October 2010|url-status= live}} Later, during the Crusades in the beginning of the second millennium, a lordship was established in the area under the name of Oultrejordain.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=nx4TAQAAIAAJ|title= Crusader Warfare: Muslims, Mongols and the struggle against the Crusades|first= David|last= Nicolle|publisher= Hambledon Continuum|date= 1 November 2008|access-date= 15 June 2018|page= 118|isbn= 9781847251466|archive-date= 10 April 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044106/https://books.google.com/books?id=nx4TAQAAIAAJ|url-status= live}}

{{Main|History of Jordan}}

File:20100923 amman37.JPG (c. 7250 BC) uncovered in Amman are some of the oldest human statues ever found.]]

The oldest known evidence of hominid habitation in Jordan dates back at least 200,000 years.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-jfWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|access-date=16 June 2018 |date= 8 December 2015|publisher= Princeton University Press|first= Raphael|last= Patai|title= Kingdom of Jordan|pages=23, 32|isbn=9781400877997|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171018095624/https://books.google.com/books?id=-jfWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|archive-date=18 October 2017|url-status=live}} Jordan is a rich source of Paleolithic human remains (up to 20,000 years old) due to its location within the Levant, where various migrations out of Africa converged,{{cite book|chapter-url= http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4877|title= Atlas of Jordan|access-date= 16 June 2018|editor-first= Myriam|editor-last= Ababsa|chapter= The First Traces of Man. The Palaeolithic Period (<1.5 million – ca 20,000 years ago)|first= Maysoun|last= al-Nahar|series= Contemporain publications|date= 11 June 2014|pages= 94–99|publisher= Presses de l'Ifpo|isbn= 9782351594384|archive-date= 15 June 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180615214900/http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4877|url-status= live}} and its more humid climate during the Late Pleistocene, which resulted in the formation of numerous remains-preserving wetlands in the region.{{cite journal |last1=Abu-Jaber |first1=Nizar |last2=Al Khasawneh |first2=Sahar |last3=Alqudah |first3=Mohammad |last4=Hamarneh |first4=Catreena |last5=Al-Rawabdeh |first5=Abdulla |last6=Murray |first6=Andrew |date=1 November 2020 |title=Lake Elji and a geological perspective on the evolution of Petra, Jordan |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018220303497 |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |volume=557 |page=109904 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.109904 |bibcode=2020PPP...55709904A |s2cid=225003090 |access-date=6 December 2022 | issn = 0031-0182}} Past lakeshore environments attracted different groups of hominids, and several remains of tools dating from the Late Pleistocene have been found there. Scientists have found the world's oldest known evidence of bread-making at a 14,500-year-old Natufian site in Jordan's northeastern desert.{{cite web|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44846874 |title= Prehistoric bake-off: Scientists discover oldest evidence of bread|work=BBC|date=17 July 2018|access-date=17 July 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180716234918/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44846874 |archive-date=16 July 2018|url-status=live}}

During the Neolithic period (10,000–4,500 BC), there was a transition there from a hunter-gatherer culture to a culture with established populous agricultural villages.{{cite book|chapter-url=http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4879|title=Atlas of Jordan|access-date=16 June 2018|editor-first=Myriam|editor-last=Ababsa|chapter=The Refining of Tools. The Epipalaeolithic Period (c 23,000 – 11,600 years ago)|first=Maysoun|last=al-Nahar|series=Contemporain publications|date=11 June 2014|pages=100–105|publisher=Presses de l’Ifpo|isbn=9782351594384|archive-date=16 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616134508/http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4879|url-status=live}} 'Ain Ghazal, one such village located at a site in the eastern part of present-day Amman, is one of the largest known prehistoric settlements in the Near East.{{Cite book|last1= Betts|first1= Alison |title= The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi= 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199212972.013.012|date= March 2014|chapter= The Southern Levant (Transjordan) During the Neolithic Period|isbn=9780199212972}} Dozens of plaster statues of the human form, dating to 7250 BC or earlier, have been uncovered there; they are one of the oldest large-scale representations of humans ever found.{{cite web|url= https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/l/lime_plaster_statues.aspx |title= Lime Plaster statues|work= British Museum|publisher= Trustees of the British Museum|access-date= 16 June 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151018143147/https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/l/lime_plaster_statues.aspx|archive-date= 18 October 2015|quote= Dating to the end of the eighth millennium BC, they are among the earliest large-scale representations of the human form.}} During the Chalcolithic period (4500–3600 BC), several villages emerged in Transjordan including Tulaylet Ghassul in the Jordan Valley;{{cite book|chapter-url=http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4885|title=Atlas of Jordan|access-date=16 June 2018|editor-first=Myriam|editor-last=Ababsa|chapter=The Copper Age. The Chalcolithic period (4500–3600 BC)|first=Maysoun|last=al-Nahar|series=Contemporain publications|date=11 June 2014|pages=114–116|publisher=Presses de l'Ifpo|isbn=9782351594384|archive-date=17 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617214759/http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4885|url-status=live}} a series of circular stone enclosures in the eastern basalt desert from the same period have long baffled archaeologists.{{cite news|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/03/the-giant-stone-circles-in-the-middle-east-no-one-can-explain/|title=The giant stone circles in the Middle East no one can explain|first= Terrence|last=McCoy|date=3 November 2014|access-date=16 June 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180710225346/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/03/the-giant-stone-circles-in-the-middle-east-no-one-can-explain/|archive-date=10 July 2018|url-status=live}}

File:Mesha Stele (511142469) (cropped).jpg (c. 840 BC) records the glory of Mesha, King of Moab, displayed at the Louvre Museum.]]

Fortified towns and urban centres first emerged in the southern Levant early in the Bronze Age (3600–1200 BC).{{cite book|chapter-url=http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4885|title=Atlas of Jordan|access-date=2 July 2018|editor-first=Myriam|editor-last=Ababsa|chapter=The First Cities in Early Bronze Age (3600–2000 BC)|first=Maysoun|last=al-Nahar|series=Contemporain publications|date=11 June 2014|pages=117–118|publisher=Presses de l'Ifpo|isbn=9782351594384|archive-date=17 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617214759/http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4885|url-status=live}} Wadi Feynan became a regional centre for copper extraction: the metal was exploited on a large scale to produce bronze.{{cite web|url= https://pure.qub.ac.uk/portal/files/798584/158410_1_En_8_Chapter_ProofPDF[1].pdf|title= Human activity in the ancient metal-smelting and farming complex in the Wadi Faynan, SW Jordan, at the desert margin in the Middle East|publisher= Queen's University Belfast|year= 2010|access-date= 4 July 2018|page= 2|quote= It was a key Middle Eastern industrial centre from the early 3rd millennium BC to the Byzantine period|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190924194946/https://pure.qub.ac.uk/portal/files/798584/158410_1_En_8_Chapter_ProofPDF|archive-date=24 September 2019|url-status=dead}} Trade and movement of people in the Middle East peaked, causing cultural innovations and whole civilisations to spread. Villages in Transjordan expanded rapidly in areas with reliable water-resources and arable land.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4890|title=Atlas of Jordan|access-date=2 July 2018|editor-first=Myriam|editor-last=Ababsa|chapter=The Period of Small Cities. The Middle Bronze Age (ca 2000–1500 BC)|first=Maysoun|last=al-Nahar|series=Contemporain publications|date=11 June 2014|pages=122–123|publisher=Presses de l'Ifpo|isbn=9782351594384|archive-date=4 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704025517/https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4890|url-status=live}} Ancient Egyptian populations expanded towards the Levant and came to control both banks of the Jordan River.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4892|title=Atlas of Jordan|access-date=2 July 2018|editor-first=Myriam|editor-last=Ababsa|chapter=The Influence of Egypt. The Late Bronze Age (1500–1200 BC)|first=Maysoun|last=al-Nahar|series=Contemporain publications|date=11 June 2014|pages=124–125|publisher=Presses de l'Ifpo|isbn=9782351594384|archive-date=4 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704060354/https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4892|url-status=live}}

During the Iron Age (1200–332 BC), after the withdrawal of the Egyptians, Transjordan was home to the kingdoms of Ammon, Edom and Moab. These peoples spoke Semitic languages of the Canaanite group; archaeologists have concluded that their polities were tribal kingdoms rather than states. Ammon was located in the Amman plateau; Moab in the highlands east of the Dead Sea; and Edom in the area around Wadi Araba in the south.{{cite conference|first1= Oystein S.|last1= LaBianca|first2= Randall W.|last2= Younker|title= The kingdoms of Ammon, Moab, and Edom: The Archaeology of Society in Late Bronze/Iron Age Transjordan (ca. 1400–500 BCE)|book-title= The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land|editor= Thomas Levy|page= 114|publisher= Leicester University Press|date= 1995|url= https://www.academia.edu/744029|access-date= 16 June 2018|archive-date= 9 August 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210809031715/https://www.academia.edu/744029|url-status= live}} The northwestern region of the Transjordan, known then as Gilead, was settled by the Israelites.{{Cite book|last1=Finkelstein|first1=Israel|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1101929531|title=Ugarit-Forschungen; Band 43 (2011)|last2=Lipschits|first2=Oded|last3=Koch|first3=Ido|publisher=|year=2012|isbn=978-3-86835-086-9|location=[Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar]|pages=151|chapter=The Biblical Gilead: Observations on Identifications, Geographic Divisions and Territorial History.|oclc=1101929531|access-date=8 December 2021|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044250/https://www.worldcat.org/title/1101929531|url-status=live}} The three kingdoms continually clashed with the neighbouring Hebrew kingdoms of Israel and Judah, centred west of the Jordan River.{{Citation|last1= Harrison|first1= Timothy P.|contribution= 'The land of Medeba' and Early Iron Age Mādabā|pages=27–45|url= http://sites.utoronto.ca/tmap/Harrison.2009.pdf|access-date= 16 June 2018|year= 2009|title= Studies on Iron Age Moab and Neighbouring Areas: In Honour of Michèle Daviau|editor-last=Bienkowski|editor-first= Piotr|place=Leuven|publisher=Peeters|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180516215108/http://sites.utoronto.ca/tmap/Harrison.2009.pdf|archive-date= 16 May 2018|url-status=live}} One record of this is the Mesha Stele, erected by the Moabite king Mesha in 840 BC; in an inscription on it, he lauds himself for the building projects that he initiated in Moab and commemorates his glory and his victory against the Israelites.{{cite book|page= 54|title=Writing and Literacy in the World of Ancient Israel: Epigraphic Evidence from the Iron Age|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kx9Uke_IfloC&pg=PA54|access-date=16 June 2018|first=Chris A.|last= Rollston|year=2010|publisher=Society of Biblical Lit|isbn=9781589831070|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171018095638/https://books.google.com/books?id=kx9Uke_IfloC&pg=PA54|archive-date=18 October 2017|url-status=live}} The stele constitutes one of the most important archeological parallels to accounts recorded in the Bible.{{cite web|url= http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/mesha-stele |title= The Mesha Stele|access-date=16 June 2018|work=Department of Near Eastern Antiquities: Levant|publisher= Louvre Museum|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180616103247/https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/mesha-stele|archive-date=16 June 2018|url-status= dead | quote = The stele of King Mesha constitutes one of the most important direct accounts of the history of the world that is related in the Bible. The inscription pays tribute to the sovereign, celebrating his great building works and victories over the kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab, son of Omri. The mention of 'Israel' is its earliest known written occurrence. }} At the same time, Israel and the Kingdom of Aram-Damascus competed for control of the Gilead.{{Cite journal|last=Na'aman|first=Nadav|date=1995|title=Rezin of Damascus and the Land of Gilead|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27931518|journal=Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins|volume=111|issue=2|pages=105–117|jstor=27931518|issn=0012-1169|access-date=8 December 2021|archive-date=8 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208201429/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27931518|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/967957191|title=In search for Aram and Israel : politics, culture, and identity|date=2016|others=Omer Sergi, Manfred Oeming, Izaak J. de Hulster|isbn=978-3-16-153803-2|location=Tübingen|oclc=967957191}}

Around 740–720 BC, Israel and Aram-Damascus were conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The kingdoms of Ammon, Edom and Moab were subjugated but were allowed to maintain some degree of independence.{{cite book

|chapter-url = http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/5075

|title = Atlas of Jordan

|access-date = 16 June 2018

|editor-first = Myriam

|editor-last = Ababsa

|chapter = The Iron Age and the Persian Period (1200–332 BC)

|first = Maysoun

|last = al-Nahar

|series = Contemporain publications

|date = 11 June 2014

|pages = 126–130

|publisher = Presses de l'Ifpo

|isbn = 9782351594384

|archive-date = 17 June 2018

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180617051103/http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/5075

|url-status = live

}} Then in 627 BC, following after the disintegration of the Assyrians' empire, Babylonians took control of the area. Although the kingdoms supported the Babylonians against Judah in the 597 BC sack of Jerusalem, they rebelled against Babylon a decade later. The kingdoms were reduced to vassals, a status they retained under the Persian and Hellenic empires. By the beginning of Roman rule around 63 BC, the kingdoms of Ammon, Edom and Moab had lost their distinct identities and were assimilated into the Roman culture. Some Edomites survived longer – driven by the Nabataeans, they had migrated to southern Judea, which became known as Idumaea; they were later converted to Judaism by the Hasmoneans.{{Cite journal|last=Levin|first=Yigal|date=2020-09-24|title=The Religion of Idumea and Its Relationship to Early Judaism|journal=Religions|volume=11|issue=10|pages=487|doi=10.3390/rel11100487|issn=2077-1444|doi-access=free }}

File:Al Khazneh Petra edit 2 (cropped).jpg, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, contains Al-Khazneh, believed to be the mausoleum of the Nabataean King Aretas IV, 1st century AD]]

Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire in 332 BC introduced Hellenistic culture to the Middle East.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=10}} After Alexander's death in 323 BC, the empire split among his generals, and in the end much of Transjordan was disputed between the Ptolemies based in Egypt and the Seleucids based in Syria.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=10}} The Nabataeans, nomadic Arabs based south of Edom, managed to establish an independent kingdom in 169 BC by exploiting the struggle between the two Greek powers.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=10}} The Nabataean Kingdom controlled much of the trade routes of the region, and it stretched south along the Red Sea coast into the Hejaz desert, up to as far north as Damascus, which it controlled for a short period (85–71 BC).{{sfn|Taylor|2001|p=51}} The Nabataeans massed a fortune from their control of the trade routes, often drawing the envy of their neighbours.{{sfn|Taylor|2001|p=30}} Petra, Nabataea's capital, flourished in the 1st century AD, driven by its extensive water irrigation systems and agriculture.{{sfn|Taylor|2001|p=70}} The Nabataeans were talented stone carvers, building their most elaborate structure, Al-Khazneh, in the first century AD. It is believed to be the mausoleum of the Arab Nabataean King Aretas IV.{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2016/01-02/petra/|title=Petra Lost and Found|work=National Geographic|date=2 January 2016|access-date=8 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408210210/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2016/01-02/petra/|archive-date=8 April 2018|url-status=dead}}

Roman legions under Pompey conquered much of the Levant in 63 BC, inaugurating a period of Roman rule that lasted four centuries.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVZfx3Y6o5IC&pg=PA573|page=573|title=The Roman Frontier in Central Jordan: Final Report on the Limes Arabicus Project|year=2006 |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks|first1=Samuel|last1=Parker|first2=John|last2=Betlyon|access-date=3 July 2018|isbn=9780884022985|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044112/https://books.google.com/books?id=PVZfx3Y6o5IC&pg=PA573|url-status=live}} In 106 AD, Emperor Trajan annexed Nabataea unopposed and rebuilt the King's Highway which became known as the Via Traiana Nova road. The Romans gave the Greek cities of Transjordan—Philadelphia (Amman), Gerasa (Jerash), Gedara (Umm Quays), Pella (Tabaqat Fahl) and Arbila (Irbid)—and other Hellenistic cities in Palestine and southern Syria, a level of autonomy by forming the Decapolis, a ten-city league.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4903|title=Atlas of Jordan|access-date=2 July 2018|editor-first=Myriam|editor-last=Ababsa|chapter=Roman Arabia|first=Maysoun|last=al-Nahar|series=Contemporain publications|date=11 June 2014|pages=155–161|publisher=Presses de l’Ifpo|isbn=9782351594384|archive-date=4 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704034841/https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4903|url-status=live}} Jerash is one of the best preserved Roman cities in the East; it was even visited by Emperor Hadrian during his journey to Palestine.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=--x-3W2R_QwC&pg=PA393|title=Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome|access-date=9 April 2016|date=15 April 2013|first1=Charles|last1=Gates|publisher=Routledge|pages=392–393|isbn=9781134676620|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128062152/https://books.google.com/books?id=--x-3W2R_QwC&pg=PA393|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}}

File:Jerash 01 (cropped).jpg (c. 1st century AD), then member of the ten-city Greco-Roman league, the Decapolis, seven of which are present in modern-day Jordan.]]

In 324 AD, the Roman Empire split and the Eastern Roman Empire, later known as the Byzantine Empire, continued to control or influence the region until 636.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vSwi2TYabS4C&pg=PA43|page=43|title=Government Leaders, Military Rulers, and Political Activists|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2001|first1=Florence|last1=Lemoine|first2=John|last2=Strickland|access-date=4 July 2018|isbn=9781573561532|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044112/https://books.google.com/books?id=vSwi2TYabS4C&pg=PA43|url-status=live}} Christianity had become legal within the empire in 313 after co-emperors Constantine and Licinius signed an edict of toleration. In 380, the Edict of Thessalonica made Christianity the official state religion. Transjordan prospered during the Byzantine era, and Christian churches were built throughout the region.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=14}} The Aqaba Church in Ayla was built during this era; it is considered to be the world's first purpose built Christian church.{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-purpose-built-church|title=First purpose-built church|access-date=4 July 2018|work=Guinness World Records|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617193456/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-purpose-built-church|archive-date=17 June 2018|url-status=live}} Umm ar-Rasas in southern Amman contains at least 16 Byzantine churches.{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1093|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=4 July 2018|title=Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa'a)|date=1 January 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704001404/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1093|archive-date=4 July 2018|url-status=live}} Meanwhile, Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after a 363 earthquake destroyed many structures it declined further, eventually being abandoned. The Sasanian Empire in the east became the Byzantines' rivals, and frequent confrontations sometimes led to the Sasanids controlling some parts of the region, including Transjordan.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2aTFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA302|title=The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach|access-date=4 July 2018|date=30 January 2014|first=Gideon|last=Avni|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|page=302|isbn=9780191507342|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018100348/https://books.google.com/books?id=2aTFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA302|archive-date=18 October 2017|url-status=live}}

In 629, during the Battle of Mu'tah in what is today Karak Governorate, the Byzantines and their Arab Christian clients, the Ghassanids, staved off an attack by a Muslim Rashidun force that marched northwards towards the Levant from the Hejaz.{{cite book|last1=Bowersock|first1=G. W.|last2=Brown|first2=Peter|last3=Grabar|first3=Oleg|title=Late Antiquity: A guide to the Postclassical World|publisher=Harvard University Press|access-date=17 June 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c788wWR_bLwC&pg=PA468|isbn=9780674511736|year=1999|pages=468–469|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410045102/https://books.google.com/books?id=c788wWR_bLwC&pg=PA468|url-status=live}} The Byzantines however were defeated by the Muslims in 636 at the decisive Battle of the Yarmuk just north of Transjordan. Transjordan was an essential territory for the conquest of Damascus. The Rashidun caliphate was followed by that of the Umayyads (661–750).

File:The Madaba Map, part of a floor mosaic in the early Byzantine church of Saint George depicting the Holy Land in the 6th century AD, Madaba, Jordan (34477807231).jpg showing the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. Dating to the 6th century AD, it is the oldest surviving depiction of the Holy Land]]

Under the Umayyad Caliphate, several desert castles were constructed in Transjordan, including Qasr Al-Mshatta and Qasr Al-Hallabat.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-_OBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT54|title=Near Eastern Tribal Societies During the Nineteenth Century: Economy, Society and Politics Between Tent and Town|page=54|date=14 October 2014|publisher=Routledge|first=Eveline|last=van der Steen|access-date=18 June 2018|isbn=9781317543473|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044112/https://books.google.com/books?id=d-_OBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT54|url-status=live}} The Abbasid Caliphate's campaign to take over the Umayyad's began in a village in Transjordan known as Humayma.{{cite book|chapter-url=http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4913|title=Atlas of Jordan|access-date=16 June 2018|editor-first=Myriam|editor-last=Ababsa|chapter=The Abbasid Caliphate|first=Maysoun|last=al-Nahar|series=Contemporain publications|date=11 June 2014|pages=178–179|publisher=Presses de l’Ifpo|isbn=9782351594384|archive-date=1 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601200841/http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4913|url-status=live}} The powerful 749 earthquake is thought to have contributed to the Umayyads' defeat by the Abbasids, who moved the caliphate's capital from Damascus to Baghdad. During Abbasid rule (750–969), several Arab tribes moved northwards and settled in the Levant. As had happened during the Roman era, growth of maritime trade diminished Transjordan's central position, and the area became increasingly impoverished.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=21}} After the decline of the Abbasids, Transjordan was ruled by the Fatimid Caliphate (969–1070), then by the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (1115–1187).{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=22}}

The Crusaders constructed several castles as part of the Lordship of Oultrejordain, including Montreal and Al-Karak.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-_NbE5obqRMC|title=Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: An Archaeological Gazetteer|page=2|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=11 December 1997|access-date=18 June 2018|last= Pringle |first= D.|author-link=Denys Pringle |isbn=9780521460101|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204034437/https://books.google.com/books?id=-_NbE5obqRMC|archive-date=4 February 2017|url-status=live}} During the Battle of Hattin (1187) near Lake Tiberias just north of Transjordan, the Crusaders lost to Saladin, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty (1187–1260).{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=23}} The Ayyubids built the Ajloun Castle and rebuilt older castles to be used as military outposts against the Crusaders.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=23}} Villages in Transjordan under the Ayyubids became important stops for Muslim pilgrims going to Mecca who travelled along the route that connected Syria to the Hejaz.{{cite book|chapter-url=http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4998|title=Atlas of Jordan|access-date=16 June 2018|editor-first=Myriam|editor-last=Ababsa|chapter=Ayyubid and Mamluk Jordan|first=Maysoun|last=al-Nahar|series=Contemporain publications|date=11 June 2014|pages=184–187|publisher=Presses de l’Ifpo|isbn=9782351594384|archive-date=19 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619051706/http://books.openedition.org/ifpo/4998|url-status=live}} Several of the Ayyubid castles were used and expanded by the Mamluks (1260–1516), who divided Transjordan between the provinces of Karak and Damascus.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=25}} During the next century Transjordan experienced Mongol attacks, but the Mongols were ultimately repelled by the Mamluks at the Battle of Ain Jalut (1260).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-OmCfNI_SxAC&pg=PA11|title=Trade, Travel, and Exploration in the Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia|first1=John|last1=Friedman|first2=Kristen|last2=Figg|publisher=Routledge|date=4 July 2013|access-date=18 June 2018|page=11|isbn=9781135590949|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044155/https://books.google.com/books?id=-OmCfNI_SxAC&pg=PA11|url-status=live}}

{{multiple image

|image1=Kerak BW 1 (cropped).JPG

|caption1=The Karak Castle (c. 12th century) built by the Crusaders, and later expanded under the Muslim Ayyubids and Mamluks.

|image2=Ajloun Castle 1.jpg

|caption2=The Ajloun Castle (c. 12th century) built by the Ayyubid leader Saladin for use against the Crusades.

|width1=165

|width2=215

}}

In 1516 the Ottoman Caliphate's forces conquered Mamluk territory.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=26}} Agricultural villages in Transjordan witnessed a period of relative prosperity in the 16th century but were later abandoned.{{cite book|pages=37, 47|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lh1_ernmsnwC|title=Village, Steppe and State: The Social Origins of Modern Jordan|first1=Eugene|last1=Rogan|first2=Tariq|last2=Tell|publisher=British Academic Press|year=1994|access-date=8 June 2016|isbn=9781850438298|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128110615/https://books.google.com/books?id=lh1_ernmsnwC|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} Transjordan was of marginal importance to the Ottoman authorities.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/5002|title=The Impact of Ottoman Reforms|access-date=19 June 2018|editor-first=Myriam|editor-last=Ababsa|chapter=The Abbasid Caliphate|first=Maysoun|last=al-Nahar|series=Contemporain publications|date=11 June 2014|pages=198–201|publisher=Presses de l’Ifpo|isbn=9782351594384|archive-date=29 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929035405/https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/5002|url-status=live}} As a result, Ottoman presence was virtually absent and reduced to annual tax collection visits.

More Arab Bedouin tribes moved into Transjordan from Syria and the Hejaz during the first three centuries of Ottoman rule, including the Adwan, the Bani Sakhr and the Howeitat.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|pp=26, 27}} These tribes laid claims to different parts of the region, and with the absence of a meaningful Ottoman authority, Transjordan slid into a state of anarchy that continued until the 19th century.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=27}} This led to a short-lived occupation by the Wahhabi forces (1803–1812), an ultra-orthodox Islamic movement that emerged in Najd (in modern-day Saudi Arabia).{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=30}} Ibrahim Pasha, son of the governor of the Egypt Eyalet, rooted out the Wahhabis under the request of the Ottoman sultan by 1818.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=31}}

File:Z Ottoman Ten arches Amman 2.jpg built south of Amman in 1904, as part of the Hejaz railway, which stretched across the length of Transjordan and linked Damascus with Medina.]]

In 1833 Pasha turned on the Ottomans and established his rule over the Levant. His policies led to the unsuccessful peasants' revolt in Palestine in 1834. Transjordanian cities of As-Salt and Al-Karak were destroyed by Pasha's forces for harboring a peasants' revolt leader. Egyptian rule was forcibly ended in 1841, with Ottoman rule restored.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AMAbXGQDmDYC&pg=PA31|page=31|title=Frontiers of the State in the Late Ottoman Empire: Transjordan, 1850–1921|access-date=8 June 2016|date=11 April 2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|first=Eugene|last=Rogan|isbn=9780521892230|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128110537/https://books.google.com/books?id=AMAbXGQDmDYC&pg=PA31|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} Only after Pasha's campaign did the Ottoman Empire try to solidify its presence in the Syria Vilayet, which Transjordan was part of.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=37}}

A series of tax and land reforms (Tanzimat) in 1864 brought some prosperity back to agriculture and to abandoned villages; the end of virtual autonomy led a backlash in other areas of Transjordan.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=37}} Muslim Circassians and Chechens, fleeing Russian persecution, sought refuge in the Levant. In Transjordan and with Ottoman support, Circassians first settled in the long-abandoned vicinity of Amman in 1867 and later in the surrounding villages.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HRV9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|page=14−15|access-date=7 June 2016|title=Jordan: A Hashemite Legacy|first1=Beverley|last1=Milton-Edwards|first2=Peter|last2=Hinchcliffe|publisher=Routledge|date=5 June 2009|isbn=9781134105465|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128072708/https://books.google.com/books?id=HRV9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} The Ottoman authorities' establishment of its administration, conscription and heavy taxation policies led to revolts in the areas it controlled.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=38}} Transjordan's tribes in particular revolted during the Shoubak (1905) and the Karak revolts (1910), which were brutally suppressed. The construction of the Hejaz Railway in 1908—stretching across the length of Transjordan and linking Damascus with Medina—helped the population economically, as Transjordan became a stopover for pilgrims.

{{Main|Emirate of Transjordan}}

File:030Arab (cropped).jpg holding the flag of the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in the Hejaz, 1916]]

Increasing policies of Turkification and centralisation adopted by the Ottoman Empire in the wake of the 1908 Young Turk Revolution disenchanted the Arabs of the Levant, which contributed to the development of an Arab nationalist movement. These changes led to the outbreak of the 1916 Arab Revolt during World War I, which ended four centuries of stagnation under Ottoman rule. The revolt was led by Sharif Hussein of Mecca, scion of the Hashemite family of the Hejaz, and his sons Abdullah, Faisal and Ali. Locally, the revolt garnered the support of the Transjordanian tribes, including Bedouins, Circassians and Christians.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=41}} The Allies of World War I, including Britain and France whose imperial interests converged with the Arabist cause, offered support.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=40}} The revolt started on 5 June 1916 from Medina and pushed northwards until the fighting reached Transjordan in the Battle of Aqaba on 6 July 1917.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YqjfHLyyj8C&pg=PA117|page=117|title=World War I: Encyclopedia, Volume 1|publisher=ABC-CLIO|first=Spencer|last=Tucker|year=2005|access-date=5 July 2018|isbn=9781851094202|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044152/https://books.google.com/books?id=2YqjfHLyyj8C&pg=PA117|url-status=live}} The revolt reached its climax when Faisal entered Damascus in October 1918 and established an Arab-led military administration in OETA East, later declared as the Arab Kingdom of Syria, both of which Transjordan was part of.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=41}} During this period, the southernmost region of the country, including Ma'an and Aqaba, was also claimed by the neighbouring Kingdom of Hejaz.

The nascent Hashemite Kingdom over the region of Syria was forced to surrender to French troops on 24 July 1920 during the Battle of Maysalun;{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6I7FBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT396|title=The Making of the Modern Near East 1792–1923|first=Malcolm|last=Yapp|publisher=Routledge|date=9 January 2014|access-date=23 July 2018|page=396|isbn=9781317871064|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044140/https://books.google.com/books?id=6I7FBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT396|url-status=live}} the French occupied only the northern part of Syria, leaving Transjordan in a period of interregnum. Arab aspirations failed to gain international recognition, due mainly to the secret 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement, which divided the region into French and British spheres of influence, and the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which Britain announced its support for the establishment of a "national home" for Jews in Palestine.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=34}} This was seen by the Hashemites and the Arabs as a betrayal of their previous agreements with the British,{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=71}} including the 1915 McMahon–Hussein Correspondence, in which the British stated their willingness to recognize the independence of a unified Arab state stretching from Aleppo to Aden under the rule of the Hashemites.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XR56Jup9hwwC&pg=PT55|title=The Social and Economic Origins of Monarchy in Jordan|publisher=Springer|first=Tariq Moraiwed|last=Tell|doi=10.1057/9781137015655|access-date=23 July 2018|date=7 January 2013|isbn=978-1-349-29089-5|page=55|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044118/https://books.google.com/books?id=XR56Jup9hwwC&pg=PT55|url-status=live}}

File:The high commissioner's first visit to Transjordan, in Es-Salt..jpg residents gather on 20 August 1920 during the British High Commissioner's visit to Transjordan]]

British High Commissioner Herbert Samuel travelled to Transjordan on 21 August 1920 to meet with As-Salt's residents. He there declared to a crowd of 600 Transjordanian notables that the British government would aid the establishment of local governments in Transjordan, which was to be kept separate from that of Palestine. The second meeting took place in Umm Qais on 2 September, where the British representative Major Fitzroy Somerset received a petition that demanded: an independent Arab government in Transjordan to be led by an Arab prince (emir); land sale in Transjordan to Jews be stopped as well as the prevention of Jewish immigration there; that Britain establish and fund a national army; and that free trade be maintained between Transjordan and the rest of the region.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HXNnEkLRtSoC&pg=PA35|page=35|title=Nationalist Voices in Jordan: The Street and the State|publisher=University of Texas Press|date=15 September 2009|first=Betty S.|last=Anderson|isbn=9780292783959|access-date=11 August 2019|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044141/https://books.google.com/books?id=HXNnEkLRtSoC&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}

Abdullah, the second son of Sharif Hussein, arrived from Hejaz by train in Ma'an in southern Transjordan on 21 November 1920 to redeem the Greater Syrian Kingdom his brother had lost.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=82}} Transjordan then was in disarray, widely considered to be ungovernable with its dysfunctional local governments.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=91}} Abdullah gained the trust of Transjordan's tribal leaders before scrambling to convince them of the benefits of an organised government.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=100}} Abdullah's successes drew the envy of the British, even when it was in their interest.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=101}} The British reluctantly accepted Abdullah as ruler of Transjordan after having given him a six-month trial.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=96}} In March 1921, the British decided to add Transjordan to their Mandate for Palestine, in which they would implement their "Sharifian Solution" policy without applying the provisions of the mandate dealing with Jewish settlement. On 11 April 1921 the Emirate of Transjordan was established with Abdullah as emir.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|p=93}}

In September 1922, the Council of the League of Nations recognised Transjordan as a state under the terms of the Transjordan memorandum.{{cite web|url=http://www.historynet.com/creating-chaos-lawrence-of-arabia-and-the-1916-arab-revolt.htm|title=Creating Chaos: Lawrence of Arabia and the 1916 Arab Revolt|access-date=15 October 2015|date=10 August 2010|first=O'Brien|last=Browne|publisher=HistoryNet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013070030/http://www.historynet.com/creating-chaos-lawrence-of-arabia-and-the-1916-arab-revolt.htm|archive-date=13 October 2015|url-status=live}}League of Nations Official Journal, Nov. 1922, pp. 1188–1189, 1390–1391. Transjordan remained a British mandate until 1946, but it had been granted a greater level of autonomy than the region west of the Jordan River.Marjorie M. Whiteman, Digest of International Law, vol. 1, U.S. State Department (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1963) pp 636, 650–652 Multiple difficulties emerged upon the assumption of power in the region by the Hashemite leadership.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|pp=10, 30, 31, 49, 104}} In Transjordan, small local rebellions at Kura in 1921 and 1923 were suppressed by Abdullah's forces with the help of the British.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|pp=10, 30, 31, 49, 104}} Wahhabis from Najd regained strength and repeatedly raided the southern parts of his territory, seriously threatening the emir's position.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|pp=10, 30, 31, 49, 104}} The emir was unable to repel those raids without the aid of the local Bedouin tribes and the British, who maintained a military base with a small Royal Air Force detachment close to Amman.{{sfn|Salibi|1998|pp=10, 30, 31, 49, 104}}

{{Main|Timeline of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan}}

File:King Abdullah I of Jordan declaring independence, 25 May 1946.jpg on 25 May 1946 declaring independence, with Prime Minister Ibrahim Hashem in the background.]]

The Treaty of London, signed by the British government and the Emir of Transjordan on 22 March 1946, recognised the independence of the state.{{cite book|title=Foreign relations of the United States, 1946. The Near East and Africa, Vol. 7|date=1946|publisher=United States Department of State|pages=794–800|url=http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/FRUS.FRUS1946v07|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044151/https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AQO5OANDMOMTCX8N|url-status=live}} On 25 May 1946, the day that the treaty was ratified by the Transjordan parliament, Transjordan was raised to the status of a kingdom under the name of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Arabic, with Abdullah as its first king; although it continued to be referred to as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan in English until 1949.{{cite web|url=https://qistas.com/legislations/pal/view/MjE2MDEwODU=|title=The Jordanian Constitution of 1947|work=The Government of Jordan|accessdate=3 January 2023|date=1 January 1947|archive-date=10 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410044107/https://qistas.com/legislations/pal/view/MjE2MDEwODU=|url-status=live}}{{cite book|first=N.H.|last=Aruri|title=Jordan: a study in political development (1921–1965)|access-date=20 March 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GVaG4WGKj9MC&pg=PA90|year=1972|publisher=Springer Netherlands|isbn=978-90-247-1217-5|page=90|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311153453/https://books.google.com/books?id=GVaG4WGKj9MC&pg=PA90|archive-date=11 March 2016|url-status=live}} 25 May is now celebrated as the nation's Independence Day, a public holiday.{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/middle-east/jordan/articles/things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-jordan/ |title=10 curious facts about Jordan, home to the Red Sea resort you've never heard of |last=Chris |first=Leadbeater |date=28 May 2015 |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=8 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508184521/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/middle-east/jordan/articles/things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-jordan/ |archive-date=8 May 2019 |url-status=live }} Jordan became a member of the United Nations on 14 December 1955.{{cite book|last=Khalil|first=Muhammad|year=1962|publisher=Khayats|place=Beirut|pages=53–54|title=The Arab States and the Arab League: a Documentary Record}}

On 15 May 1948, as part of the 1948 Palestine war, Jordan intervened along with several other Arab states.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CC7381HrLqcC|title=A History of the First Arab-Israeli War|first=Benny|last=Morris|publisher=Yale University Press|date=1 October 2008|pages=214, 215|access-date=15 June 2016|isbn=978-0300145243|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018103047/https://books.google.com/books?id=CC7381HrLqcC|archive-date=18 October 2017|url-status=live}} Following the war, Jordan controlled the West Bank, and on 24 April 1950 Jordan formally annexed these territories after the Jericho Conference.{{cite book|last=Sicker|first=Martin|title=The Middle East in the Twentieth Century|access-date=20 March 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gHfw0Mv_uFUC&pg=PA187|year=2001|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-96893-9|page=187|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315081606/https://books.google.com/books?id=gHfw0Mv_uFUC&pg=PA187|archive-date=15 March 2016|url-status=live}} In response, some Arab countries demanded Jordan's expulsion from the Arab League.{{cite book|last=Aruri|first=Naseer Hasan|title=Jordan: a study in political development (1921–1965)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GVaG4WGKj9MC&pg=PA90|year=1972|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-90-247-1217-5|page=90|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311153453/https://books.google.com/books?id=GVaG4WGKj9MC&pg=PA90|archive-date=11 March 2016|url-status=live}} On 12 June 1950, the Arab League declared that the annexation was a temporary, practical measure and that Jordan was holding the territory as a "trustee" pending a future settlement.{{cite book|last=El-Hasan|first=Hasan Afif|title=Israel Or Palestine? Is the Two-state Solution Already Dead?: A Political and Military History of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CjuzDY-WBr8C&pg=PA64|year=2010|publisher=Algora Publishing|access-date=20 March 2016|isbn=978-0-87586-793-9|page=64|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312181041/https://books.google.com/books?id=CjuzDY-WBr8C&pg=PA64|archive-date=12 March 2016|url-status=live}}

King Abdullah was assassinated at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1951 by a Palestinian militant, amid rumors he intended to sign a peace treaty with Israel. Abdullah was succeeded by his son Talal, who established the country's modern constitution in 1952. Illness caused Talal to abdicate to his eldest son Hussein,{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-remembers-king-talal|title=Jordan remembers King Talal|work=The Jordan Times|access-date=1 June 2017|date=6 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803133637/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-remembers-king-talal|archive-date=3 August 2017|url-status=live}} who ascended to the throne in 1953 at age 17.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1951/jul/21/fromthearchive|title=Assassination of King Abdullah|work=The Guardian|access-date=15 October 2015|date=21 July 1951|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223003730/http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1951/jul/21/fromthearchive|archive-date=23 December 2015|url-status=live}} Jordan witnessed great political uncertainty in the following period. The 1950s was a period of political upheaval, as Nasserism and Pan-Arabism swept the Arab World.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RI0o-bfRAvIC&pg=PA90|title=The Mirage of Peace: Understanding the Never-Ending Conflict in the Middle East|page=90|first=David|last=Aikman|access-date=1 June 2017|date=14 August 2009|publisher=Gospel Light Publications|isbn=9780830746057|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018103427/https://books.google.com/books?id=RI0o-bfRAvIC&pg=PA90|archive-date=18 October 2017|url-status=live}} On 1 March 1956, King Hussein Arabised the command of the Army by dismissing a number of senior British officers, an act made to remove remaining foreign influence in the country.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UhJBhHhpcBUC&pg=PA91|page=91|title=Democracy in the Arab World: Explaining the Deficit|access-date=15 October 2015|year=2011|first1=Samir|last1=Makdisi|first2=Ibrahim|last2=Elbadawi|publisher=IDRC|isbn=9780415779999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128075112/https://books.google.com/books?id=UhJBhHhpcBUC&pg=PA91|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} In 1958, Jordan and neighbouring Hashemite Iraq formed the Arab Federation as a response to the formation of the rival United Arab Republic between Nasser's Egypt and Syria. The union lasted only six months, being dissolved after Iraqi King Faisal II (Hussein's cousin) was deposed by a bloody military coup on 14 July 1958.{{cite book|first=Bruce|last=Maddy-Weitzman|chapter=Jordan and Iraq: Efforts at Intra-Hashimite Unity|title=Middle Eastern Studies|volume=26|issue=1|pages=65–75|date=3 January 1990|jstor=4283349|publisher=Taylor & Francis}}

File:Karama aftermath 1.jpg on 21 March 1968 checking an abandoned Israeli tank in the aftermath of the Battle of Karameh.]]

Jordan signed a military pact with Egypt just before Israel launched a preemptive strike on Egypt to begin the Six-Day War in June 1967, where Jordan and Syria joined the war. The Arab states were defeated, and Jordan lost control of the West Bank to Israel. The War of Attrition with Israel followed, which included the 1968 Battle of Karameh where the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) repelled an Israeli attack on the Karameh camp on the Jordanian border with the West Bank.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-bXMBQAAQBAJ|title=Aviation and Airport Security: Terrorism and Safety Concerns, Second Edition|access-date=27 October 2015|first=Kathleen|last=Sweet|publisher=CRC Press|date=23 December 2008|page=79|isbn=9781439894736|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128095216/https://books.google.com/books?id=-bXMBQAAQBAJ|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} Despite the fact that the Palestinians had limited involvement against the Israeli forces, the events at Karameh gained wide recognition and acclaim in the Arab world. As a result, there was an upsurge of support for Palestinian paramilitary elements (the fedayeen) within Jordan from other Arab countries. The fedayeen activities soon became a threat to Jordan's rule of law. In September 1970, the Jordanian army targeted the fedayeen and the resultant fighting led to the expulsion of Palestinian fighters from various PLO groups into Lebanon, in a conflict that became known as Black September.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eACqCQAAQBAJ|title=Concise History of Islam|access-date=15 October 2015|date=24 September 2011|first1=Muzaffar Husain|last1=Syed|first2=Syed Saud|last2=Akhtar|first3=B D|last3=Usmani|publisher=Vij Books India|page=378|isbn=9789382573470|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617211200/https://books.google.com/books?id=eACqCQAAQBAJ|archive-date=17 June 2016|url-status=live}}

In 1973, Egypt and Syria waged the Yom Kippur War on Israel, and fighting occurred along the 1967 Jordan River cease-fire line. Jordan sent a brigade to Syria to attack Israeli units on Syrian territory but did not engage Israeli forces from Jordanian territory. At the Rabat summit conference in 1974, in the aftermath of the Yom-Kippur War, Jordan and the rest of the Arab League agreed that the PLO was the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people". Subsequently, Jordan renounced its claims to the West Bank in 1988.

At the 1991 Madrid Conference, Jordan agreed to negotiate a peace treaty sponsored by the US and the Soviet Union. The Israel–Jordan peace treaty was signed on 26 October 1994. In 1997, in retribution for a bombing, Israeli agents entered Jordan using Canadian passports and poisoned Khaled Mashal, a senior Hamas leader living in Jordan. Bowing to intense international pressure, Israel provided an antidote to the poison and released dozens of political prisoners, including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, after King Hussein threatened to annul the peace treaty.

File:HabisAlMajali&WasfiAlTall.jpg and Prime Minister Wasfi Tal during a military parade in 1970, two widely acclaimed national figures.]]

On 7 February 1999, Abdullah II ascended the throne upon the death of his father Hussein, who had ruled for nearly 50 years.{{cite web|url=http://www.kingabdullah.jo/index.php/en_US/pages/view/id/148.html|title=His majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein|work=King Abdullah II Official Website|access-date=15 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603162828/http://kingabdullah.jo/index.php/en_US/pages/view/id/148.html|archive-date=3 June 2016|url-status=live}} Abdullah embarked on economic liberalisation when he assumed the throne, and his reforms led to an economic boom which continued until 2008. Abdullah II has been credited with increasing foreign investment, improving public-private partnerships and providing the foundation for Aqaba's free-trade zone and Jordan's flourishing information and communication technology sector. He also set up five other special economic zones.{{cite news |url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/ms/2006/112806.htm |title=Jordan—Concluding Statement for the 2006 Article IV Consultation and Fourth Post-Program Monitoring Discussions |newspaper=Imf |publisher=International Monetary Fund |date=28 November 2006 |access-date=15 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408031341/http://www.imf.org/external/np/ms/2006/112806.htm |archive-date=8 April 2013 |url-status=live }} However, during the following years Jordan's economy experienced hardship as it dealt with the effects of the Great Recession and spillover from the Arab Spring.{{cite web|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/?fa=86063&lang=en|title=Jordan is Sliding Toward Insolvency|access-date=20 March 2016|date=18 March 2016|first=Kirk|last=Sowell|publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321092157/http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/?fa=63061|archive-date=21 March 2016|url-status=live}}

Al-Qaeda under Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's leadership launched coordinated explosions in three hotel lobbies in Amman on 9 November 2005, resulting in 60 deaths and 115 injured. The bombings, which targeted civilians, caused widespread outrage among Jordanians.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3eZK7cm6pjoC&pg=PA228|title=Arab-Israeli Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Wars|first=Anthony|last=Cordesman|access-date=23 September 2015|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|date=1 January 2006|page=228|isbn=9780275991869|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128095212/https://books.google.com/books?id=3eZK7cm6pjoC&pg=PA228|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} The attack is considered to be a rare event in the country, and Jordan's internal security was dramatically improved afterwards. No major terrorist attacks have occurred since then.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/jordan/2016-02-17/isis-meets-its-match|access-date=16 March 2016|date=17 February 2016|title=ISIS Meets Its Match? How Jordan Has Prevented Large-Scale Attacks|magazine=Foreign Affairs|first=Aaron|last=Magid|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222044928/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/jordan/2016-02-17/isis-meets-its-match|archive-date=22 February 2017|url-status=live}} Abdullah and Jordan are viewed with contempt by Islamic extremists for the country's peace treaty with Israel, its relationship with the West, and its mostly non-religious laws.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/10/world/middleeast/3-hotels-bombed-in-jordan-at-least-57-die.html|title=3 Hotels Bombed in Jordan; At Least 57 Die|first1=Hassan|last1=Fattah|first2=Michael|last2=Slackmannov|date=10 November 2005|access-date=13 February 2017|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819230258/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/10/world/middleeast/3-hotels-bombed-in-jordan-at-least-57-die.html|archive-date=19 August 2016|url-status=live}}

The Arab Spring were large-scale protests that erupted in the Arab world in 2011, demanding economic and political reforms. Many of these protests tore down regimes in some Arab nations, leading to instability that ended with violent civil wars. In response to domestic unrest, Abdullah replaced his prime minister and introduced reforms including reforming the constitution and laws governing public freedoms and elections.{{cite news|title=Jordan's king fires Cabinet amid protests|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-02-02-jordan-cabinet_N.htm|access-date=13 March 2016|agency=The Associated Press|work=USA Today|date=2 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314070559/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-02-02-jordan-cabinet_N.htm|archive-date=14 March 2016|url-status=live}} Proportional representation was re-introduced to the Jordanian parliament in the 2016 general election, a move which he said would eventually lead to establishing parliamentary governments.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/new-elections-bill-sheds-one-vote-system|title=New elections bill sheds one-vote system|date=31 August 2015|work=The Jordan Times|access-date=13 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423030020/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/new-elections-bill-sheds-one-vote-system|archive-date=23 April 2016|url-status=live}} Jordan was left largely unscathed from the violence that swept the region despite an influx of 1.4 million Syrian refugees into the natural resources-lacking country and the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

On 4 April 2021, 19 people were arrested, including Prince Hamzeh, the former crown prince of Jordan, who was placed under house arrest, after having been accused of working to "destabilize" the kingdom.

{{Main|Geography of Jordan}}

File:Mountain in Wadi Rum, Jordan.jpg is a valley in southern Jordan whose resemblance to the surface of Mars has made it a popular tourist and filming location, including scenes of The Martian]]

Jordan sits strategically at the crossroads of the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, in the Levant area of the Fertile Crescent, a cradle of civilisation. Its area is {{convert|89341|sqkm|sqmi}}, and it is {{convert|400|km|mi}} long between its northernmost and southernmost points; Umm Qais and Aqaba respectively. The kingdom lies between 29° and 34° N, and 34° and 40° E. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and the east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north, and Israel and Palestine (West Bank) to the west.

The east is an arid plateau irrigated by oases and seasonal streams. Major cities are overwhelmingly located on the north-western part of the kingdom with its fertile soils and relatively abundant rainfall. These include Irbid, Jerash and Zarqa in the northwest, the capital Amman and As-Salt in the central west, and Madaba, Al-Karak and Aqaba in the southwest.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Hw_XY6VPm0C&pg=PA1|page=1|title=Diplomacy on Springer Science & Business Media|access-date=14 June 2016|year=2002|first=Munther J.|last=Haddadin|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9780792375272|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128093649/https://books.google.com/books?id=-Hw_XY6VPm0C&pg=PA1|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} Major towns in the east are the oasis towns of Azraq and Ruwaished.{{cite book|title=Geo-data: The World Geographical Encyclopedia|pages=281–283|access-date=10 March 2016|publisher=Gale Research Company|year=2003|first=John|last=McCoy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tVIRAQAAMAAJ|isbn=9780787655815|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128060211/https://books.google.com/books/about/Geo_data.html?id=tVIRAQAAMAAJ|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}}

In the west, a highland area of arable land and Mediterranean evergreen forestry drops suddenly into the Jordan Rift Valley. The rift valley contains the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, which separates Jordan from Israel. Jordan has a {{convert|26|km|mi}} shoreline on the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea but is otherwise landlocked.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJgnebGbAB8C&pg=PA498|page=498|title=Encyclopedia of World Geography|first=R. W.|last=McColl|publisher=Infobase Publishing|access-date=15 June 2016|date=14 May 2014|isbn=9780816072293|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128074233/https://books.google.com/books?id=DJgnebGbAB8C&pg=PA498|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} The Yarmuk River, an eastern tributary of the Jordan, forms part of the boundary between Jordan and Syria (including the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights) to the north. The other boundaries are formed by several international and local agreements and do not follow well-defined natural features. The highest point is Jabal Umm al Dami, at {{convert|1854|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} above sea level, while the lowest is the Dead Sea {{convert|-420|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, the lowest land point on Earth.File:Dead sea newspaper.jpg, which is located along Jordan's western border, is the lowest point on Earth and a natural resort that has attracted visitors from across the region for millennia]]

Jordan has a diverse range of habitats, ecosystems and biota because of its varied landscapes and environments.{{cite web|title=The Main Jordanian Ecosystems|url=http://www.jeis.gov.jo/chm/menu_11.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312063256/http://www.jeis.gov.jo/chm/menu_11.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 March 2016|website=Jordanian Clearinghouse Mechanism|publisher=Jordanian Ministry of Environment|access-date=12 March 2016}} The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature was set up in 1966 to protect and manage Jordan's natural resources. Nature reserves in Jordan include the Dana Biosphere Reserve, the Azraq Wetland Reserve, the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve and the Mujib Nature Reserve.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2010/sep/04/jordan-nature-parks-eco-tourism|access-date=9 April 2016|date=4 September 2010|work=The Guardian|title=Jordan's green crusade|first=Gemma|last=Bowes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412113834/http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2010/sep/04/jordan-nature-parks-eco-tourism|archive-date=12 April 2016|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Climate of Jordan|Climate change in Jordan}}

The climate varies greatly; generally, the further inland from the Mediterranean, there are greater contrasts in temperature and less rainfall. The average elevation is {{convert|812|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} above sea level. The highlands above the Jordan Valley, mountains of the Dead Sea and Wadi Araba and as far south as Ras Al-Naqab are dominated by a Mediterranean climate, while the eastern and northeastern areas of the country are arid desert. Although the deserts reach high temperatures, the heat is usually moderated by low humidity and a daytime breeze, while the nights are cool.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lmPVOL9_r7MC&pg=PA11|title=The Report: Jordan 2011|page=11|publisher=Oxford|access-date=18 June 2016|year=2011|isbn=9781907065439|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018104458/https://books.google.com/books?id=lmPVOL9_r7MC&pg=PA11|archive-date=18 October 2017|url-status=live}}

Summers, lasting from May to September, are hot and dry, with temperatures averaging around {{convert|32|°C|0|abbr=on}} and sometimes exceeding {{convert|40|°C|0|abbr=on}} between July and August. The winter, lasting from November to March, is relatively cool, with temperatures averaging around {{convert|11.08|°C|°F|0|abbr=on}}. Winter also sees frequent showers and occasional snowfall in some western elevated areas.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LbdAnZft2F4C&pg=PA404|page=404|access-date=14 June 2016|date=21 April 2011|title=Water, Life and Civilisation: Climate, Environment and Society in the Jordan Valley|publisher=Cambridge University Press|first1=Emily|last1=Black|first2=Steven|last2=Mithen|isbn=9781139496674|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128080255/https://books.google.com/books?id=LbdAnZft2F4C&pg=PA404|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Wildlife of Jordan}}

File:Ajlun Green.jpg, northern Jordan. Forests make less than 2% of Jordan, making it among the world's least forested countries]]

Over 2,000 plant species have been recorded.{{cite book |last=Cordova |first=Carlos E. |title=Millennial Landscape Change in Jordan: Geoarchaeology and Cultural Ecology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1eWaveyEIlcC&pg=PA47 |year=2007 |publisher=University of Arizona Press |isbn=978-0-8165-2554-6 |pages=47–55 |access-date=15 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128061113/https://books.google.com/books?id=1eWaveyEIlcC&pg=PA47 |archive-date=28 November 2016 |url-status=live }} Many of the flowering plants bloom in the spring after the winter rains and the type of vegetation depends largely on the levels of precipitation. The mountainous regions in the northwest are clothed in forests, while further south and east the vegetation becomes more scrubby and transitions to steppe-type vegetation.{{cite book|last1=Mallon|first1=David P.|last2=Kingswood|first2=Steven Charles|title=Antelopes: North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uFo03Nd2oj8C&pg=PA103|year=2001|publisher=IUCN|isbn=978-2-8317-0594-1|pages=103–104|access-date=31 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128091212/https://books.google.com/books?id=uFo03Nd2oj8C&pg=PA103|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} Forests cover 1.5 million dunums ({{convert|1500000|dunam|km2|disp=out}}), less than 2% of Jordan, making Jordan among the world's least forested countries, the international average being 15%.{{cite news|last=Namrouqa|first=Hana|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/green-cover-increases-15000-dunums-three-years#sthash.lGaoiX1k.aMrxTrjE.dpuf|title=Green cover increases by 15,000 dunums in three years|access-date=11 January 2016|date=10 January 2016|work=The Jordan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111131522/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/green-cover-increases-15000-dunums-three-years#sthash.lGaoiX1k.aMrxTrjE.dpuf|archive-date=11 January 2016|url-status=live}}

Plant species and genera include the Aleppo pine, Sarcopoterium, Salvia dominica, black iris, Tamarix, Anabasis, Artemisia, Acacia, Mediterranean cypress and Phoenecian juniper.{{cite book |last=Cordova |first=Carlos E. |title=Millennial Landscape Change in Jordan: Geoarchaeology and Cultural Ecology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1eWaveyEIlcC&pg=PA47 |year=2007 |publisher=University of Arizona Press |isbn=978-0-8165-2554-6 |pages=47–55 |access-date=18 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128061113/https://books.google.com/books?id=1eWaveyEIlcC&pg=PA47 |archive-date=28 November 2016 |url-status=live }} The mountainous regions in the northwest are clothed in natural forests of pine, deciduous oak, evergreen oak, pistachio and wild olive.{{cite web |url=http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/geo_env2.html |title=Wildlife and vegetation |work=Jordan: Geography and Environment |access-date=18 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020095858/http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/geo_env2.html |archive-date=20 October 2018 |url-status=live }} Mammal and reptile species include, the long-eared hedgehog, Nubian ibex, wild boar, fallow deer, Arabian wolf, desert monitor, honey badger, glass snake, caracal, golden jackal and the roe deer, among others.{{Cite web |url= http://www.jtb.com.jo/brochures/eco_shumari.html |title= Shaumari Wildlife Reserve |publisher= Jordan Tourism Board |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223038/http://www.jtb.com.jo/brochures/eco_shumari.html |archive-date= 3 March 2016 |df= dmy-all }}{{cite book |last1=Mallon |first1=David P. |last2=Kingswood |first2=Steven Charles |title=Antelopes: North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uFo03Nd2oj8C&pg=PA103 |year=2001 |publisher=IUCN |isbn=978-2-8317-0594-1 |pages=103–104 |access-date=18 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128091212/https://books.google.com/books?id=uFo03Nd2oj8C&pg=PA103 |archive-date=28 November 2016 |url-status=live }}{{cite book|first=Mazin B.|last=Qumsiyeh|title=Mammals of the Holy Land|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Amr2oLxnR10C&pg=PA332|year=1996|publisher=Texas Tech University Press|isbn=978-0-89672-364-1|access-date=19 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018104828/https://books.google.com/books?id=Amr2oLxnR10C&pg=PA332|archive-date=18 October 2017|url-status=live}} Bird include the hooded crow, Eurasian jay, lappet-faced vulture, barbary falcon, hoopoe, pharaoh eagle-owl, common cuckoo, Tristram's starling, Palestine sunbird, Sinai rosefinch, lesser kestrel, house crow and the white-spectacled bulbul.{{cite web |url=http://www.rscn.org.jo/content/mujib-biosphere-reserve-1 |title=Mujib Biosphere Reserve |publisher=Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature |access-date=19 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020155345/http://www.rscn.org.jo/content/mujib-biosphere-reserve-1 |archive-date=20 October 2018 |url-status=live }}

Four terrestrial ecoregions lie with Jordan's borders: Syrian xeric grasslands and shrublands, Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests, Mesopotamian shrub desert, and Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert.{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}

{{Main|Politics of Jordan}}

Jordan is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy. Its constitution, adopted in 1952 and amended a number of times since, is the legal framework that governs the monarch, government, bicameral legislature and judiciary.{{cite web|url=http://www.constitutionnet.org/country/constitutional-history-jordan|title=Constitutional history of Jordan|work=Constitutionnet|access-date=5 October 2017|date=28 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004170552/http://www.constitutionnet.org/country/constitutional-history-jordan|archive-date=4 October 2017|url-status=live}} The king retains wide executive and legislative powers from the government and parliament.{{cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2016/jordan|title=Jordan|work=Freedom House|date=1 January 2016|access-date=5 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221010223/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2016/jordan|archive-date=21 February 2017|url-status=live}} The king exercises his powers through the government that he appoints for a four-year term, which is responsible before the parliament that is made up of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The judiciary is independent according to the constitution but in practice often lacks independence.

{{multiple image

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| image1 = King Abdullah II (cropped).jpg

| caption1 = Abdullah II
Monarch since 1999

| image2 = HE Jafar Hassan (cropped).jpg

| caption2 = Jafar Hassan
Prime Minister since 2024

}}

The king is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. He can declare war and peace, ratify laws and treaties, convene and close legislative sessions, call and postpone elections, dismiss the government, and dissolve the parliament. The appointed government can also be dismissed through a majority vote of no confidence by the elected House of Representatives. After a bill is proposed by the government, it must be approved by the House of Representatives then the Senate and becomes law after being ratified by the king. A royal veto on legislation can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in a joint session of both houses. The parliament also has the right of interpellation.

The 65 members of the upper Senate are directly appointed by the king, the constitution mandates that they be veteran politicians, judges and generals who previously served in the government or in the House of Representatives.{{cite web|url=https://portal.cor.europa.eu/arlem/jordan/general-division/Pages/default.aspx|title=General Division of Powers|publisher=Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly|access-date=16 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324014342/https://portal.cor.europa.eu/arlem/jordan/general-division/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=24 March 2016|url-status=live}} The 130 members of the lower House of Representatives are elected through party-list proportional representation in 23 constituencies for a 4-year term.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/house-passes-elections-bill-minor-changes|title=House passes elections bill with minor changes|access-date=1 May 2016|date=23 February 2016|work=The Jordan Times|first=Raed|last=Omari|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601033708/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/house-passes-elections-bill-minor-changes|archive-date=1 June 2016|url-status=live}} Minimum quotas exist in the House of Representatives for women (15 seats, though they won 20 seats in the 2016 election), Christians (9 seats) and Circassians and Chechens (3 seats).{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/sep/23/jordan-election-women-gain-ground-gender-gap|title=Women gain ground in Jordan election despite yawning gender gap|access-date=24 September 2016|date=23 September 2016|first=Olivia|last=Cuthbert|work=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923182151/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/sep/23/jordan-election-women-gain-ground-gender-gap|archive-date=23 September 2016|url-status=live}}

Courts are divided into three categories: civil, religious, and special. The civil courts deal with civil and criminal matters, including cases brought against the government. The civil courts include magistrate courts, courts of first instance, courts of appeal,{{cite web|last=Husseini|first=Rana|title=Jordan|url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/Jordan.pdf|work=Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Progress Amid Resistance|publisher=Freedom House|page=3|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311112153/https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/Jordan.pdf|archive-date=11 March 2016|url-status=live}} high administrative courts which hear cases relating to administrative matters,{{cite web|url=http://www.njq-ip.com/2014-newsletters/september-2014-issue/653-jordan-administrative-courts-replace-high-court-of-justice.html|title=Jordan – Administrative Courts Replace High Court of Justice|access-date=16 June 2016|date=1 September 2014|publisher=NJQ & Associates|archive-date=18 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118011504/http://www.njq-ip.com/2014-newsletters/september-2014-issue/653-jordan-administrative-courts-replace-high-court-of-justice.html|url-status=dead|work=njq-ip.com}} and the constitutional court which was set up in 2012 in order to hear cases regarding the constitutionality of laws.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Oct-07/190450-jordans-king-abdullah-sets-up-constitutional-court.ashx|title=Jordan's King Abdullah sets up constitutional court|access-date=15 October 2015|date=7 October 2012|work=The Daily Star|agency=Agence France Presse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925231331/http://www.dailystar.com.lb//News/Middle-East/2012/Oct-07/190450-jordans-king-abdullah-sets-up-constitutional-court.ashx|archive-date=25 September 2015|url-status=live}} Although Islam is the state religion, the constitution preserves religious and personal freedoms. Religious law only extends to matters of personal status such as divorce and inheritance in religious courts, and is partially based on Islamic sharia law.{{cite web|url=http://www.infoprod.co.il/country/jordan2a.htm|title=Jordan – Legal Information – Judiciary|publisher=Infoprod.co.il|date=25 April 2010|access-date=2 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924034831/http://www.infoprod.co.il/country/jordan2a.htm|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}} The special court deals with cases forwarded by the civil one.{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SHS/pdf/Women_in_Personal_Status_Laws.pdf|title=Women In Personal Status Laws: Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria|publisher=UNESCO|date=July 2005|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010052503/http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SHS/pdf/Women_in_Personal_Status_Laws.pdf|archive-date=10 October 2017|url-status=live}}

File:مجلس النواب جلسة 16-9-2018 (12).jpg during a parliamentary session]]

The monarch, Abdullah II, ascended to the throne in February 1999 after the death of his father King Hussein. Abdullah re-affirmed Jordan's commitment to the peace treaty with Israel and its relations with the United States. He refocused the government's agenda on economic reform during his first year. King Abdullah's eldest son, Prince Hussein, is the Crown Prince of Jordan.{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-40771520090702|title=Jordan's king names son, 15, as crown prince|work=Reuters|access-date=20 March 2016|date=3 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730144525/http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-40771520090702|archive-date=30 July 2017|url-status=dead}} The prime minister is Jafar Hassan who was appointed on 15 September 2024.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/jordans-pm-khasawneh-submits-resignation-days-after-parliamentary-polls-sources-2024-09-15/|title=King Abdullah to appoint Harvard-educated technocrat as PM, sources say|work=Reuters|date=15 September 2024|accessdate=15 September 2024}} Abdullah had announced his intention to move Jordan to a parliamentary system, where the largest bloc in parliament forms a government. However, the underdevelopment of political parties in a country where tribal identity remains strong has hampered the effort.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/stage-not-mature-parliamentary-gov%E2%80%99t-analysts-say-gov%E2%80%99t-says-road-paved|title=Stage not mature for parliamentary gov't, analysts say; gov't says road paved|work=The Jordan Times|access-date=5 October 2017|date=5 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010124114/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/stage-not-mature-parliamentary-gov%E2%80%99t-analysts-say-gov%E2%80%99t-says-road-paved|archive-date=10 October 2017|url-status=live}} Jordan has approximately 50 political parties representing nationalist, leftist, Islamist, and liberal ideologies.{{cite web|url=http://jordantimes.com/news/local/four-new-political-parties-licensed|title=Four new political parties licensed|work=The Jordan Times|access-date=24 September 2016|date=21 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925020107/http://jordantimes.com/news/local/four-new-political-parties-licensed|archive-date=25 September 2016|url-status=live}} Political parties contested one-fifth of the seats in the 2016 elections, the remainder belonging to independent politicians.{{cite web|url=http://jordantimes.com/news/local/preliminary-election-results-announced-legislature-makeup-takes-shape|title=Preliminary election results announced, legislature makeup takes shape|access-date=24 September 2016|date=23 September 2016|first=Laila|last=Azzeh|work=The Jordan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923210648/http://jordantimes.com/news/local/preliminary-election-results-announced-legislature-makeup-takes-shape|archive-date=23 September 2016|url-status=live}}

Freedom House ranked Jordan as "Not Free" in the Freedom in the World 2022 report.{{cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/jordan/freedom-world/2022|title=Jordan country report|work=Freedom House|access-date=29 October 2022|date=2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221029005922/https://freedomhouse.org/country/jordan/freedom-world/2022|archive-date=2022-10-29|url-status=live}} Jordan ranked 94th globally in the Cato Institute's Human Freedom Index in 2021,{{Cite web |url=https://www.cato.org/human-freedom-index/2021 |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=www.cato.org |title=Human Freedom Index: 2021 | Cato Institute |archive-date=29 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221029012708/https://www.cato.org/human-freedom-index/2021 |url-status=live }} and ranked 58th in the Corruption Perceptions Index issued by Transparency International in 2021.{{Cite web |title=2021 Corruption Perceptions Index – Explore Jordan's results |url=https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021 |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=Transparency.org |date=25 January 2022 |language=en |archive-date=19 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619115004/https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021 |url-status=live }} In the 2023 Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Jordan ranked 146 out of 180 countries. The overall score for Jordan was 42.79, based on a scale from 0 (least free) to 105 (most free). The 2015 report noted "the Arab Spring and the Syrian conflict have led the authorities to tighten their grip on the media and, in particular, the Internet, despite an outcry from civil society".{{cite news|title=Jordan drops seven places in press freedom index|work=The Jordan Times|access-date=13 March 2016|date=6 January 2015|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-drops-seven-places-press-freedom-index#sthash.pwss27C3.dpuf|first=Khetam|last=Malkawi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312010819/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-drops-seven-places-press-freedom-index#sthash.pwss27C3.dpuf|archive-date=12 March 2016|url-status=live}} Jordanian media consists of public and private institutions. Popular Jordanian newspapers include Al Ghad and the Jordan Times. Al-Mamlaka, Roya TV and Jordan TV are some Jordanian television channels.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14636310|title=Jordan media profile|date=4 June 2013|access-date=15 June 2016|publisher=BBC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607095020/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14636310|archive-date=7 June 2016|url-status=live}} Internet penetration in Jordan reached 76% in 2015.{{cite news|title=Internet penetration rises to 76 per cent in Q1|access-date=13 March 2016|date=20 June 2015|work=The Jordan Times|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/internet-penetration-rises-76-cent-q1|first=Mohammad|last=Ghazal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312020801/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/internet-penetration-rises-76-cent-q1|archive-date=12 March 2016|url-status=live}}

{{Main|List of cities in Jordan}}The capital city is Amman, located in north-central Jordan.{{cite web |last=Al-Asad |first=Mohammad |date=22 April 2004 |title=The Domination of Amman Urban Crossroads |url=http://www.csbe.org/publications-and-resources/urban-crossroads/the-domination-of-amman/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802171231/http://www.csbe.org/publications-and-resources/urban-crossroads/the-domination-of-amman/ |archive-date=2 August 2016 |access-date=8 June 2016 |publisher=CSBE}}{{Largest cities

| name = Largest cities of Jordan

| country = Jordan

| list_by_pop =

| class = info

| collapsed_state =

| stat_ref = According to the 2015 Census{{cite web|url=http://citypopulation.de/en/jordan/cities/|title=Jordan|work=City Population|access-date=2023-01-29|archive-date=7 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307080652/https://www.citypopulation.de/en/jordan/cities/|url-status=live}}

| div_name = Governorate

| div_link =

|city_1 = Amman

|div_1 = Amman Governorate

|pop_1 = 1,812,059

|img_1 = Amman.jpg

|city_2 = Zarqa

|div_2 = Zarqa Governorate

|pop_2 = 635,160

|img_2 = Qurtobah, Az-Zarqa, Jordan - panoramio (3).jpg

|city_3 = Irbid

|div_3 = Irbid Governorate

|pop_3 = 502,714

|img_3 = Irbid1.jpg

|city_4 = Russeifa

|div_4 = Zarqa Governorate

|pop_4 = 472,604

|img_4 = Ameriyya District-Russeifa10.jpg

|city_5 = Ar-Ramtha

|div_5 = Amman Governorate

|pop_5 = 155,693

|city_6 = Aqaba

|div_6 = Aqaba Governorate

|pop_6 = 148,398

|city_7 = Al-Mafraq

|div_7 = Mafraq Governorate

|pop_7 = 106,008

|city_8 = Madaba

|div_8 = Madaba Governorate

|pop_8 = 105,353

|city_9 = As-Salt

|div_9 = Balqa Governorate

|pop_9 = 99,890

|city_10 = Jerash

|div_10 = Jerash Governorate

|pop_10 = 50,745

}}

Jordan is divided into 12 governorates (muhafazah) informally grouped into three regions: northern, central, southern. The governorates are divided into liwa or districts, which are often further subdivided into qda or sub-districts.{{Cite web|title=Annex B: Analysis of the municipal sector |work=Third Tourism Development Project, Secondary Cities Revitalization Study |date=24 May 2005 |page=4 |publisher=Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan |url=http://www.mota.gov.jo/Documents/Municipal_sector.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419052114/http://mota.gov.jo/Documents/Municipal_sector.pdf |archive-date=19 April 2016 |url-status=live }} Control for each administrative unit is in a "chief town" (administrative centre) known as a nahia.

{{Main|Foreign relations of Jordan}}

File:Queen Rania and King Abdullah II of Jordan, Donald and Melania Trump in the Oval Office, April 2017.jpg and First Lady Melania Trump with King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan at the White House, 2017]]

The kingdom has followed a pro-Western foreign policy and maintained close relations with the United States and the United Kingdom. During the first Gulf War (1990), these relations were damaged by Jordan's neutrality and its maintenance of relations with Iraq. Later, Jordan restored its relations with Western countries through its participation in the enforcement of UN sanctions against Iraq and in the Southwest Asia peace process. After King Hussein's death in 1999, relations between Jordan and the Persian Gulf countries greatly improved.{{cite news|url=http://www.rubincenter.org/2002/06/swaidan-and-nica-2002-06-07/|title=The 1991 Gulf War and Jordan's Economy|access-date=20 March 2016|date=7 June 2002|publisher=Rubin Center Research in International Affairs|first1=Ziad|last1=Swaidan|first2=Mihai|last2=Nica|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402024624/http://www.rubincenter.org/2002/06/swaidan-and-nica-2002-06-07/|archive-date=2 April 2016|url-status=live}}

Jordan is a key ally of the US and UK and, together with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, is one of only three Arab nations to have signed peace treaties with Israel, Jordan's direct neighbour.{{cite news|title=Peace first, normalcy with Israel later: Egypt|work=Al Arabiya News|date=17 August 2009|url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/08/17/82112.html|access-date=16 June 2016|agency=Washington|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603125441/http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/08/17/82112.html|archive-date=3 June 2016|url-status=live}} Jordan views an independent Palestinian state with the 1967 borders as part of the two-state solution and of supreme national interest.{{cite web|last=Azoulay|first=Yuval|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1088343.html|access-date=20 March 2016|title=Israel disavows MK's proposal to turn West Bank over to Jordan|work=Ha'aretz|date=26 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406163238/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1088343.html|archive-date=6 April 2010|url-status=live}} The ruling Hashemite dynasty has had custodianship over holy sites in Jerusalem since 1924, a position reinforced in the Israel–Jordan peace treaty. Turmoil in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque between Israelis and Palestinians created tensions between Jordan and Israel concerning the former's role in protecting the Muslim and Christian sites in Jerusalem.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/israel-jordan-agree-al-aqsa-mosque-surveillance-151025013415209.html|title=Israel and Jordan agree on Al-Aqsa Mosque surveillance|work=Al Jazeera|date=25 October 2015|access-date=12 March 2016|first=Patrick|last=Strickland|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310081913/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/israel-jordan-agree-al-aqsa-mosque-surveillance-151025013415209.html|archive-date=10 March 2016|url-status=live}}

Jordan is a founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and of the Arab League.{{cite web|url=http://iinanews.org/page/public/news_details.aspx?id=152675#|title=Jordan signs new charter of OIC|publisher=IINA|access-date=4 June 2016|date=12 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701182330/http://iinanews.org/page/public/news_details.aspx?id=152675|archive-date=1 July 2016|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NVKsCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA65|title=The Organization of Islamic Cooperation: Politics, Problems, and Potential|first=Turan|last=Kayaoglu|publisher=Routledge|date=22 May 2015|access-date=12 March 2016|page=65|isbn=9781317615231|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128093654/https://books.google.com/books?id=NVKsCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA65|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} It enjoys "advanced status" with the European Union and is part of the European Neighbourhood Policy, which aims to increase links between the EU and its neighbours.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=31315|title=Jordan obtains 'advanced status' with EU |work=The Jordan Times|date=27 October 2010 |access-date=16 June 2016|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220083621/http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=31315 |archive-date=20 February 2011}} Jordan and Morocco tried to join the Gulf Cooperation Council in 2011, but the Gulf countries offered a five-year development aid programme instead.{{cite news|access-date=13 March 2016|date=13 September 2016|work=The National|title=GCC agrees five-year aid plan for Morocco and Jordan|url=http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/gcc-agrees-five-year-aid-plan-for-morocco-and-jordan|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510210855/http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/gcc-agrees-five-year-aid-plan-for-morocco-and-jordan|archive-date=10 May 2016|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Jordanian Armed Forces}}

The first organised army in Jordan was established on 22 October 1920, named the "Arab Legion".{{sfn|Salibi|1998|pp=10, 30, 31, 49, 104}} The Arab Legion grew from 150 men in 1920 to 8,000 in 1946. Jordan's capture of the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War proved that the Arab Legion, known today as the Jordan Armed Forces, was the most effective among the Arab troops involved in the war.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U05OvsOPeKMC&pg=PA662|title=The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf|publisher=ABC-CLIO|date=10 August 2010|first=Spencer|last=Tucker|access-date=13 March 2016|page=662|isbn=9781851099481|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018103019/https://books.google.com/books?id=U05OvsOPeKMC&pg=PA662|archive-date=18 October 2017|url-status=live}} The Royal Jordanian Army, which boasts around 110,000 personnel, is considered to be among the most professional in the region and is particularly well-trained and organised. The Jordanian military enjoys strong support and aid from the United States, the United Kingdom and France. This is due to Jordan's critical position in the Middle East. The development of Special Operations Forces has been particularly significant, enhancing the capability of the military to react rapidly to threats to homeland security, as well as training special forces from the region and beyond.{{cite news|url=http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=7869|title=Jordan trained 2,500 Afghan special forces: minister|agency=AFP|work=Ammonnews|date=13 May 2010|access-date=17 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324230554/http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=7869|archive-date=24 March 2016|url-status=live}} Jordan provides extensive training to the security forces of several Arab countries.{{cite web|url=http://www.menewsline.com/article-4380-Jordan-Trains-GCC-States.aspx|title=Jordan Trains GCC States|work=Middle East News Line|date=19 August 2009|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609184943/http://www.menewsline.com/article-4380-Jordan-Trains-GCC-States.aspx|archive-date=9 June 2016|url-status=dead}}

There are about 50,000 Jordanian troops working with the United Nations in peacekeeping missions across the world. Jordan ranks third internationally in participation in U.N. peacekeeping missions,{{cite web|url=http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20110426042611/Jordan_working_to_achieve_comprehensive_reform_in_all_fields|title=Bakhit highlighted that Jordan ranks third internationally in taking part in UN peacekeeping missions.|publisher=Zawya|access-date=16 June 2016|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119005828/http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20110426042611/Jordan_working_to_achieve_comprehensive_reform_in_all_fields|archive-date=19 January 2012}} with one of the highest levels of peacekeeping troop contributions of all U.N. member states.{{cite web|title=Monthly Summary of Contributors to UN Peacekeeping Operations|url=https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2013/dec13_1.pdf|access-date=16 June 2016|publisher=United Nations|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729221040/http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2013/dec13_1.pdf|archive-date=29 July 2016|url-status=live}} Jordan has dispatched several field hospitals to conflict zones and areas affected by natural disasters across the region.{{cite news|agency=Petra|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/egypt-honours-jordanian-field-hospital-team|title=Egypt honours Jordanian field hospital team|access-date=15 June 2016|date=13 May 2014|work=The Jordan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808103828/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/egypt-honours-jordanian-field-hospital-team|archive-date=8 August 2016|url-status=live}}

In 2014, Jordan joined an aerial bombardment campaign by an international coalition led by the United States against the Islamic State as part of its intervention in the Syrian Civil War.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-confirms-its-planes-joined-strikes-syria|title=Jordan confirms its planes joined strikes on IS in Syria|work=The Jordan Times|date=23 September 2014|access-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317032644/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-confirms-its-planes-joined-strikes-syria|archive-date=17 March 2016|url-status=live}} In 2015, Jordan participated in the Saudi Arabian-led military intervention in Yemen against the Houthis and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was deposed in the 2011 uprising.{{cite web|last=Botelho|first=Greg|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/26/middleeast/yemen-saudi-arabia-airstrikes/|title=Saudis lead air campaign against rebels in Yemen|work=CNN|date=27 March 2015|access-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116051636/http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/26/middleeast/yemen-saudi-arabia-airstrikes/|archive-date=16 November 2017|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Law enforcement in Jordan|Law of Jordan}}

File:Jordanian Police automobile (Audi).JPG City Centre Police patrol vehicle. Jordan's law enforcement was ranked 37th globally by the 2016 World Internal Security and Police Index]]

Law enforcement is under the purview of the Public Security Directorate (which includes approximately 50,000 persons) and the General Directorate of Gendarmerie, both of which are subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. The first police force was organised after the fall of the Ottoman Empire on 11 April 1921. Until 1956 police duties were carried out by the Arab Legion and the Transjordan Frontier Force. After that year the Public Safety Directorate was established.{{cite web|url=http://www.psd.gov.jo/index.php/ar/2015-03-17-07-10-12|title=لمحة عن المركز|language=ar|publisher=Public Security Directorate|date=3 January 2010|access-date=12 March 2016|trans-title=About the Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811003945/http://psd.gov.jo/index.php/ar/2015-03-17-07-10-12|archive-date=11 August 2015|url-status=dead}} The number of female police officers is increasing. In the 1970s, it was the first Arab country to include women in its police force.{{cite news|url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/11/187768.html|title=Women police officers lead the way in Jordan|access-date=15 October 2015|date=11 January 2012|work=Al Arabiya News|first=Noora|last=Faraj|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118011504/http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/01/11/187768.html|archive-date=18 January 2016|url-status=live}} Jordan's law enforcement was ranked 37th in the world and 3rd in the Middle East, in terms of police services' performance, by the 2016 World Internal Security and Police Index.{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/05/jordan-the-last-arab-safe-haven.html|title=Jordan: The Last Arab Safe Haven|work=The Daily Beast|date=5 October 2013|access-date=12 October 2015|first=Christopher|last=Dickey|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930200255/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/05/jordan-the-last-arab-safe-haven.html|archive-date=30 September 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://wispindex.org/#/global-rankings/|title=Global Rankings|work=World Internal Security and Police Index|access-date=15 June 2016|date=1 January 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610053500/http://wispindex.org/#/global-rankings/|archive-date=10 June 2016}}

{{Main|Economy of Jordan}}

File:GDP per capita development of Jordan.svg

Jordan is classified by the World Bank as a lower middle income country.{{cite web |title=Jordan {{!}} Data |url=http://data.worldbank.org/country/jordan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828103610/http://data.worldbank.org/country/jordan |archive-date=28 August 2023 |access-date=31 August 2023 |publisher=The World Bank}} The World Food Programme classified Jordan's economy as upper-middle income, as well as being poor in resources with limited land for agriculture.{{Cite web |title=WFP's Country Brief - October 2022 {{!}} United Nations in Jordan |url=https://jordan.un.org/en/211476-wfp%E2%80%99s-country-brief-october-2022 |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=jordan.un.org |language=en}} Approximately 15.7% of the population lives below the national poverty line as of 2018,{{Cite web |title=Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) - Jordan {{!}} Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.NAHC?locations=JO |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230519205619/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.NAHC?locations=JO |archive-date=2023-05-19 |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=The World Bank}} while almost a third fell below the national poverty line during some time of the year, known as transient poverty.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/third-jordan%E2%80%99s-population-lives-below-poverty-line-some-point-one-year-%E2%80%94-study|title=Third of Jordan's population lives below poverty line at some point of one year — study|access-date=1 January 2017|date=2 July 2014|work=The Jordan Times|first=Omar|last=Obeidat|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101231919/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/third-jordan%E2%80%99s-population-lives-below-poverty-line-some-point-one-year-%E2%80%94-study|archive-date=1 January 2017|url-status=live}} The economy, which has a GDP of $39.453 billion ({{as of|2016|lc=yes}}), grew at an average rate of 8% per annum between 2004 and 2008, and around 2.6% 2010 onwards. GDP per capita rose by 351% in the 1970s, declined 30% in the 1980s, and rose 36% in the 1990s—currently $9,406 per capita by purchasing power parity.{{cite web |author1=International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept |title=Jordan : Technical Assistance Report – Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA) |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2017/12/18/Jordan-Technical-Assistance-Report-Public-Investment-Management-Assessment-PIMA-45461 |website=IMF |language=en |access-date=25 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125115629/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2017/12/18/Jordan-Technical-Assistance-Report-Public-Investment-Management-Assessment-PIMA-45461 |archive-date=25 November 2018 |url-status=live }} The Jordanian economy is one of the smallest economies in the region, and the country's populace suffers from relatively high rates of unemployment and poverty.

The economy is relatively well diversified. Trade and finance combined account for nearly one-third of GDP; transportation and communication, public utilities, and construction account for one-fifth, and mining and manufacturing constitute nearly another fifth.{{cite web|title=Jordan's Economy Surprises|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/jordans-economy-surprises|access-date=9 April 2016|date=29 June 2015|work=Washington Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010122524/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/jordans-economy-surprises|archive-date=10 October 2017|url-status=live}} Net official development assistance to Jordan in 2009 totalled US$761 million; according to the government, approximately two-thirds of this was allocated as grants, of which half was direct budget support.{{cite web |title=Jordan |url=http://www.oecd.org/dac/aideffectiveness/Jordan%203.pdf |date=2012|access-date=20 March 2016|publisher=OECD}}

The official currency is the Jordanian dinar, which is pegged to the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights, equivalent to an exchange rate of {{nowrap|1 US$ ≡}} 0.709 dinar, or approximately {{nowrap|1 dinar ≡}} 1.41044 dollars.{{cite web|access-date=20 March 2016|title=Exchange Rate Fluctuations|url=http://www.pmu.gov.jo/FinanceExcahngeratefulc.htm|publisher=Programme Management Unit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040719135641/http://www.pmu.gov.jo/FinanceExcahngeratefulc.htm|date=1 February 2004|archive-date=19 July 2004}} In 2000, Jordan joined the World Trade Organisation and signed the Jordan–United States Free Trade Agreement, thus becoming the first Arab country to establish a free trade agreement with the United States. Jordan enjoys advanced status with the EU, which has facilitated greater access to export to European markets.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=31315 |title=Jordan obtains 'advanced status' with EU|work=The Jordan Times|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220083621/http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=31315 |archive-date=20 February 2011|date=27 October 2010}} Due to slow domestic growth, high energy and food subsidies and a bloated public-sector workforce, Jordan usually runs annual budget deficits.File:Jamal Abdul Nasser Circle Amman Jordan.jpg|left]]

The Great Recession and the turmoil caused by the Arab Spring have depressed GDP growth, damaging trade, industry, construction and tourism. Tourist arrivals have dropped sharply since 2011.{{cite web|access-date=20 March 2016|title=Harsh blow to Jordanian economy|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7c904b80-a1a8-11e0-b9f9-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2Ii3L4rS7|work=Financial Times|date=28 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021024940/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7c904b80-a1a8-11e0-b9f9-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2Ii3L4rS7|archive-date=21 October 2013|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}} Since 2011, the natural gas pipeline in Sinai supplying Jordan from Egypt was attacked 32 times by Islamic State affiliates. Jordan incurred billions of dollars in losses because it had to substitute more expensive heavy-fuel oils to generate electricity.{{cite news|title=تفجير خط غاز للمرة الـ30 غرب العريش|language=ar|access-date=13 March 2016|date=8 January 2016|work=Al Arabiya|url=http://www.alarabiya.net/ar/arab-and-world/egypt/2016/01/08/%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%B7-%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8030-%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B4.html|trans-title=The bombing of gas pipeline for the 30th time west of El Arish|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307190117/http://www.alarabiya.net/ar/arab-and-world/egypt/2016/01/08/%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%B7-%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8030-%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B4.html|archive-date=7 March 2016|url-status=live}} In 2012, the government cut subsidies on fuel, increasing its price.{{cite web|title=Jordan: Year in Review 2012|access-date=20 March 2016|url=http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/economic_updates/jordan-year-review-2012|publisher=Oxford Business Group|date=20 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905223641/http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/economic_updates/jordan-year-review-2012|archive-date=5 September 2014|url-status=live}} The decision, which was later revoked, caused large scale protests to break out across the country.{{cite web |last=Sharp |first=Jeremy M. |title=Jordan: Background and US Relations |access-date=20 March 2016 |url=https://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/199396.pdf |publisher=Congressional Research Service |pages=7–8 |date=3 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307235140/http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/199396.pdf |archive-date=7 March 2016 |url-status=live }}

Foreign debt in 2011 was $19 billion, representing 60% of its GDP. In 2016, the debt reached $35.1 billion representing 93% of its GDP. This substantial increase is attributed to effects of regional instability causing a decrease in tourist activity, decreased foreign investments, increased military expenditures, attacks on Egyptian pipelines, the collapse of trade with Iraq and Syria, expenses from hosting Syrian refugees, and accumulated interest from loans. According to the World Bank, Syrian refugees have cost Jordan more than $2.5 billion per year, amounting to 6% of the GDP and 25% of the government's annual revenue.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/syrian-refugees-cost-kingdom-25-billion-year-%E2%80%94-report|title=Syrian refugees cost Kingdom $2.5 billion a year — report|work=The Jordan Times|access-date=30 July 2016|date=6 February 2016|first=Khetam|last=Malkawi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612040635/http://jordantimes.com/news/local/syrian-refugees-cost-kingdom-25-billion-year-%E2%80%94-report|archive-date=12 June 2016|url-status=live}} Foreign aid covers only a small part of these costs, 63% of the total costs are covered by Jordan.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/gov%E2%80%99t-readying-refugee-donor-conference|access-date=12 October 2015|date=5 October 2015|work=The Jordan Times|title=Gov't readying for refugee donor conference|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106061021/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/gov%E2%80%99t-readying-refugee-donor-conference|archive-date=6 January 2016|url-status=live}} An austerity programme was adopted by the government which aims to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio to 77 percent by 2021.{{cite web|work=The Jordan Times|access-date=9 March 2017|first=Omar|last=Obeidat|title=IMF programme to yield budget surplus in 2019|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/imf-programme-yield-budget-surplus-2019%E2%80%99|date=21 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170111022238/http://jordantimes.com/news/local/imf-programme-yield-budget-surplus-2019%E2%80%99|archive-date=11 January 2017|url-status=live}} The programme succeeded in preventing the debt from rising above 95% in 2018.{{cite web|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/2018/03/slowing-jordans-slide-into-debt?lang=en|title=Slowing Jordan's Slide Into Debt|access-date=31 May 2018|date=22 March 2018|work=Kirk Sowell|publisher=Carnegie|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525102243/http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/75865|archive-date=25 May 2018|url-status=live}}

The proportion of well-educated and skilled workers is among the highest in the region in sectors such as ICT and industry, due to a relatively modern educational system. This has attracted large foreign investments and has enabled the country to export its workforce to Persian Gulf countries.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IYosBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88|page=88|title=Management and International Business Issues in Jordan|first1=Hamed|last1=El-Said|first2=Kip|last2=Becker|access-date=15 June 2016|date=11 January 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136396366|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128083534/https://books.google.com/books?id=IYosBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} Flows of remittances grew rapidly, particularly during the end of the 1970s and 1980s, and remains an important source of external funding.Al-Assaf, G. and Al-Malki, A., (2014), "Modelling the Macroeconomic Determinants of Workers' Remittances: The Case of Jordan", International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Vol. 4, issue 3, p. 514–526. Remittances were $3.8 billion in 2015, a notable rise compared to 2014 where remittances reached over $3.66 billion, making Jordan the fourth-largest recipient in the region.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-ranks-fourth-region-recipient-remittances#sthash.F8OBJNnd.dpuf|title=Jordan ranks fourth in the region in recipient remittances|access-date=11 January 2016|date=11 January 2016|work=The Jordan Times|first=Khetam|last=Malkawi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111104952/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-ranks-fourth-region-recipient-remittances#sthash.F8OBJNnd.dpuf|archive-date=11 January 2016|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Transport in Jordan}}{{More sources|section|date=April 2025}}File:Queen Alia International Airport Terminal.jpg near Amman was chosen as the best airport in the Middle East for 2014 and 2015 by ASQ]]

Jordan is ranked as having the 35th best infrastructure in the world, one of the highest rankings in the developing world, according to the 2010 World Economic Forum's Index of Economic Competitiveness. This high infrastructural development is necessitated by its role as a transit country for goods and services mainly to Palestine and Iraq.{{cite web|url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010-11.pdf|title=The Global Competitiveness Report 2010–2011|publisher=World Economic Forum|access-date=7 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206104835/http://www3.weforum.org//docs//WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010-11.pdf|archive-date=6 December 2010|url-status=live}}

According to data from the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, {{As of|2011|lc=y}}, the road network consisted of {{convert|2878|km|0|abbr=on}} of main roads; {{convert|2592|km|0|abbr=on}} of rural roads and {{convert|1733|km|0|abbr=on}} of side roads. The Hejaz railway, built during the Ottoman Empire which extended from Damascus to Mecca, will act as a base for future railway expansion plans. Currently, the railway has little civilian activity; it is primarily used for transporting goods. A national railway project is currently undergoing studies and seeking funding sources.{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/overview/moving-forward-well-developed-road-and-air-networks-compensate-weak-rail-system|title=Moving forward: Well-developed road and air networks compensate for a weak rail system|publisher=Oxford Business Group|date=1 March 2012|access-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313115524/http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/overview/moving-forward-well-developed-road-and-air-networks-compensate-weak-rail-system|archive-date=13 March 2016|url-status=live}} Amman has a network of public transportation buses including the Amman Bus and the Amman Bus Rapid Transit and is connected to nearby Zarqa through the Amman-Zarqa Bus Rapid Transit.

Jordan has three commercial airports, all receiving and dispatching international flights. Two are in Amman and the third is in Aqaba, King Hussein International Airport. Amman Civil Airport serves several regional routes and charter flights while Queen Alia International Airport is the major international airport in Jordan and is the hub for Royal Jordanian Airlines, the flag carrier. Queen Alia International Airport expansion was completed in 2013 with new terminals costing $700 million, to handle over 16 million passengers annually.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/queen-alia-airport-launches-second-phase-expansion-project|title=Queen Alia airport launches second phase of expansion project|work=The Jordan Times|date=20 January 2014|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808224831/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/queen-alia-airport-launches-second-phase-expansion-project|archive-date=8 August 2016|url-status=live}} It is considered a state-of-the-art airport and was awarded 'the best airport by region: Middle East' for 2014 and 2015 by Airport Service Quality survey, the world's leading airport passenger satisfaction benchmark programme.{{cite news|title=QAIA maintains ranking as best airport in Middle East|access-date=1 March 2016|date=1 March 2016|work=The Jordan Times|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/qaia-maintains-ranking-best-airport-middle-east|first=Mohammad|last=Ghazal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302053618/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/qaia-maintains-ranking-best-airport-middle-east|archive-date=2 March 2016|url-status=live}}

The Port of Aqaba is the only port in Jordan. In 2006, the port was ranked as being the "Best Container Terminal" in the Middle East by Lloyd's List. The port was chosen because it is a port for other neighbouring countries, its location is between four countries and three continents, it is an exclusive gateway for the local market, and it has been recently improved.{{cite web|url=http://www.arabiansupplychain.com/article-76-top-10-middle-east-ports/4/#.UNdNYLRVjR0|title=Top 10 Middle East Ports|work=Arabian Supply Chain|date=31 October 2006|access-date=31 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118011505/http://www.arabiansupplychain.com/article-76-top-10-middle-east-ports/4/#.UNdNYLRVjR0|archive-date=18 January 2016|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Tourism in Jordan}}

File: Bethany (5).JPG ruins on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River, believed to have been the location of the Baptism of Jesus and the ministry of John the Baptist]]

The tourism sector is considered a cornerstone of the economy and is a large source of employment, hard currency, and economic growth. In 2010, there were 8 million visitors to Jordan. The majority of tourists are from European and Arab countries. Tourism has been severely affected by regional turbulence,{{cite book|pages=212, 308|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VRmR7vr9SboC&pg=PA212|title=Jordan in Transition|first=E. George|last=H. Joffé|access-date=15 October 2015|year=2002|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=9781850654889|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128060645/https://books.google.com/books?id=VRmR7vr9SboC&pg=PA212|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} notably those caused by the Arab Spring. Jordan experienced a 70% decrease in the number of tourists from 2010 to 2016; tourist numbers started to recover in 2017.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Jordan is home to around 100,000 archaeological and tourist sites.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-home-more-100000-archaeological-tourist-sites%E2%80%99|access-date=9 April 2016|date=4 March 2014|work=The Jordan Times|title=Jordan home to more than 100,000 archaeological, tourist sites|agency=Petra|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423044235/http://jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-home-more-100000-archaeological-tourist-sites%E2%80%99|archive-date=23 April 2016|url-status=live}} Some very well preserved historical cities include Petra and Jerash, the former being the most popular tourist attraction and an icon of the kingdom.{{cite news|url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/6/11/surrounded-by-fire-jordans-tourists-scared-away.html|access-date=9 April 2016|date=11 June 2015|title=Surrounded by fire, Jordan's tourists scared away|work=Al Jazeera|first=Michael|last=Pizzi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406123859/http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/6/11/surrounded-by-fire-jordans-tourists-scared-away.html|archive-date=6 April 2016|url-status=live}} As part of the Holy Land, there are numerous biblical sites, including: Al-Maghtas (a traditional location for the Baptism of Jesus), Mount Nebo, Umm ar-Rasas, Madaba and Machaerus.{{cite web|url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/jordans-historical-and-christian-sites-are-worth-a-middle-eastern-journey-106409/|title=Jordan's Historical and Christian Sites Are Worth a Middle Eastern Journey|access-date=9 April 2016|date=3 October 2013|work=The Christian Post|first=Paul|last=Stanely|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424214335/http://www.christianpost.com/news/jordans-historical-and-christian-sites-are-worth-a-middle-eastern-journey-106409/|archive-date=24 April 2016|url-status=live}} Islamic sites include shrines of the prophet Muhammad's companions such as Abd Allah ibn Rawahah, Zayd ibn Harithah and Muadh ibn Jabal.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/over-30000-people-visited-shrines-prophet%E2%80%99s-companions-2014%E2%80%99#sthash.QOJpiypQ.dpuf|title='Over 30,000 people visited shrines of Prophet's companions in 2014'|access-date=9 April 2016|date=4 January 2015|work=The Jordan Times|agency=Petra|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424100225/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/over-30000-people-visited-shrines-prophet%E2%80%99s-companions-2014%E2%80%99#sthash.QOJpiypQ.dpuf|archive-date=24 April 2016|url-status=live}} Ajloun Castle, built by Muslim Ayyubid leader Saladin in the 12th century during his wars with the Crusaders, is also a popular tourist attraction.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tI9L9gepYAUC|pages=173, 408|title=Jordan|first=Matthew|last=Teller|publisher=Rough Guides|year=2002|access-date=9 April 2016|isbn=9781858287409|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530225119/https://books.google.com/books?id=tI9L9gepYAUC|archive-date=30 May 2016|url-status=live}}

File: Dana Reserve 07.jpg in southern Jordan lies along the Jordan Trail, a hiking path that is gaining popularity]]

Modern entertainment, recreation and souqs in urban areas, mostly in Amman, also attract tourists. Recently, the nightlife in Amman, Aqaba and Irbid has started to emerge and the number of bars, discos and nightclubs is on the rise.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7306813/Amman-develops-serious-nightlife.html|title=Amman develops serious nightlife|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=9 April 2016|date=24 February 2010|first=Ahmad|last=Khatib|agency=AFP|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416145439/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7306813/Amman-develops-serious-nightlife.html|archive-date=16 April 2016|url-status=live}} Alcohol is widely available in tourist restaurants, liquor stores and even some supermarkets. Valleys including Wadi Mujib and hiking trails in different parts of the country attract adventurers. Hiking is gaining popularity among tourists and locals. Places such as Dana Biosphere Reserve and Petra offer numerous signposted hiking trails. The Jordan Trail, a {{convert|650|km|abbr=on}} hiking trail stretching the entire country from north to south, crossing several attractions, was established in 2015. The trail aims to revive the tourism sector.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/registration-jordan-trail%E2%80%99s-thru-hike-opens|title=Registration for Jordan Trail's Thru-Hike opens|work=The Jordan Times|date=17 February 2018|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313031746/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/registration-jordan-trail%E2%80%99s-thru-hike-opens|archive-date=13 March 2018|url-status=live}} Moreover, seaside recreation is present on the shores of Aqaba and the Dead Sea through several international resorts.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/aqaba-dead-sea-hotels-fully-booked-eid%E2%80%99|title=Aqaba, Dead Sea hotels fully booked for Eid|access-date=15 June 2016|date=2 October 2014|work=The Jordan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104040314/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/aqaba-dead-sea-hotels-fully-booked-eid%E2%80%99|archive-date=4 November 2016|url-status=live}}

Jordan has been a medical tourism destination in the Middle East since the 1970s. A study conducted by Jordan's Private Hospitals Association found that 250,000 patients from 102 countries received treatment in Jordan in 2010, compared to 190,000 in 2007, bringing over $1 billion in revenue. Jordan is the region's top medical tourism destination, as rated by the World Bank, and fifth in the world overall.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/jordan-launches-medical-tourism-advertising-campaign-in-u-s-1.279922|title=Jordan launches medical tourism advertising campaign in U.S.|work=Ha'aretz|access-date=16 June 2016|date=13 July 2009|agency=The Associated Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613224125/http://www.haaretz.com/news/jordan-launches-medical-tourism-advertising-campaign-in-u-s-1.279922|archive-date=13 June 2016|url-status=live}} The majority of patients come from Yemen, Libya and Syria because of the ongoing civil wars in those countries. Doctors and medical staff have gained experience in dealing with war patients through years of receiving such cases from various conflict zones in the region.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/bill-treating-yemeni-patients-reaches-jd15-million|title=Bill for treating Yemeni patients reaches JD15 million|access-date=16 October 2015|date=15 October 2015|work=The Jordan Times|first=Dana|last=Al Emam|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016224505/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/bill-treating-yemeni-patients-reaches-jd15-million|archive-date=16 October 2015|url-status=live}}

Natural treatment methods can be found in both Ma'in Hot Springs and the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is often described as a 'natural spa'. It contains 10 times more salt than the average ocean, which makes it impossible to sink in. The high salinity of the Dead Sea has been proven therapeutic for many skin diseases.{{cite journal|last1=Proksch|first1=Ehrhardt|last2=Nissen|first2=Hans-Peter|last3=Bremgartner|first3=Markus|last4=Urquhart|first4=Colin|date=February 2005|title=Bathing in a magnesium-rich Dead Sea salt solution improves skin barrier function, enhances skin hydration, and reduces inflammation in atopic dry skin|journal=International Journal of Dermatology|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15689218/|volume=44|issue=2|pages=151–157|doi=10.1111/j.1365-4632.2005.02079.x|pmid=15689218|s2cid=10985045|accessdate=13 December 2022|archive-date=14 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214001436/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15689218/|url-status=live}} The uniqueness of this lake attracts several Jordanian and foreign vacationers, which boosted investments in the hotel sector in the area.{{cite news|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/israel-jordan-palestine-absence-bahrain-canal-project.html|title=Canal project from Dead Sea to Red Sea makes waves|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=15 October 2015|date=9 December 2013|first=Ahmad|last=Melhem|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005070255/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/israel-jordan-palestine-absence-bahrain-canal-project.html|archive-date=5 October 2015}}

{{See also|Energy in Jordan}}{{More sources|section|date=April 2025}}

Jordan is among the most water-scarce nations on Earth. At 97 cubic metres of water per person per year, it is considered to face "absolute water scarcity" according to the Falkenmark Classification.{{Cite journal|last=Barnes|first=Jessica|date=Fall 2020|title=Water in the Middle East: A Primer|url=https://merip.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MERIP-Primer-on-Water-in-the-Middle-East.pdf|journal=Middle East Report|volume=296|pages=1–9|via=Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP)|access-date=19 November 2020|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127140347/https://merip.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/MERIP-Primer-on-Water-in-the-Middle-East.pdf|url-status=live}} Scarce resources to begin with have been aggravated by the massive influx of Syrian refugees, many of whom face issues of access to clean water in informal settlements (see "Immigrants and Refugees" below).{{cite web|title=Jordan world's second water-poorest country|date=1 January 2014|last=Namrouqa|first=Hana|access-date=14 February 2016|work=The Jordan Times|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-world%E2%80%99s-second-water-poorest-country|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219122306/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-world%E2%80%99s-second-water-poorest-country|archive-date=19 February 2016|url-status=live}} Jordan shares both of its two main surface water resources, the Jordan and Yarmuk rivers, with neighbouring countries, adding complexity to water allocation decisions. Water from Disi aquifer and ten major dams historically played a large role in providing fresh water.{{cite journal|last1=Haladin|first1=Nidal|title=Dams in Jordan Current and Future Perspective|journal=Canadian Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences|date=2015|volume=9|issue=1|pages=3279–3290|url=http://www.cjpas.net/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/9/1/12-Nidal-7040%20POK%20Dec%2031%20F.pdf|access-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312124051/http://www.cjpas.net/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/9/1/12-Nidal-7040%20POK%20Dec%2031%20F.pdf|archive-date=12 March 2016|url-status=live}} The Jawa Dam in northeastern Jordan, which dates back to the fourth millennium BC, is the world's oldest dam.Günther Garbrecht: "Wasserspeicher (Talsperren) in der Antike", Antike Welt, 2nd special edition: Antiker Wasserbau (1986), pp.51–64 (52)

File:Aqaba Railway Corporation BW 1.JPG

Natural gas was discovered in 1987; however, the estimated size of the reserve discovered was about 230 billion cubic feet, a minuscule quantity compared with its oil-rich neighbours. The Risha field, in the eastern desert beside the Iraqi border, produces nearly 35 million cubic feet of gas per day, which is sent to a nearby power plant to generate a small amount of Jordan's electricity needs.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/energy-minister-calls-raising-risheh-gas-field-production|title=Energy minister calls for raising Risheh gas field production|work=The Jordan Times|access-date=20 March 2016|date=11 August 2014|agency=Petra|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401125754/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/energy-minister-calls-raising-risheh-gas-field-production|archive-date=1 April 2016|url-status=live}} This led to a reliance on importing oil to generate almost all of its electricity. Regional instability over the decades halted oil and gas supply to the kingdom from various sources, making it incur billions of dollars in losses. Jordan built a liquified natural gas port in Aqaba in 2012 to temporarily substitute the supply, while formulating a strategy to rationalize energy consumption and to diversify its energy sources.

Jordan receives 330 days of sunshine per year, and wind speeds reach over 7 m/s in the mountainous areas, so renewables proved a promising sector.{{cite web|access-date=20 March 2016|url=http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/12/jordan-atomic-energy/|title=Jordan Jumps Forward on Energy Development|last=Balbo|first=Laurie|date=12 December 2011|work=Green Prophet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328205453/http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/12/jordan-atomic-energy/|archive-date=28 March 2016|url-status=live}} King Abdullah inaugurated large-scale renewable energy projects in the 2010s including the 117 MW Tafila Wind Farm, the 53 MW Shams Ma'an, and the 103 MW Quweira solar power plants, with several more projects planned. By early 2019, it was reported that more than 1090 MW of renewable energy projects had been completed, contributing to 8% of Jordan's electricity up from 3% in 2011, while 92% was generated from gas.{{cite web|url=http://www.hala.jo/2019/01/10/1090-ميجاواط-الاستطاعة-الكلية-لمشاريع-ال|title=1090 MW produced from renewable energy|work=Hala Akhbar|access-date=10 January 2019|date=10 January 2019|language=ar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112201123/http://www.hala.jo/2019/01/10/1090-%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84/|archive-date=12 January 2019|url-status=live}} After having initially set the percentage of renewable energy, Jordan aimed to generate by 2020 at 10%, the government announced in 2018 that it sought to beat that figure and aim for 20%.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-23/jordan-eyes-power-storage-as-next-step-in-green-energy-drive|title=Jordan Eyes Power Storage as Next Step in Green Energy Drive|first=Brian|last=Parkin|access-date=23 April 2018|date=23 April 2018|work=Bloomberg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423232548/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-23/jordan-eyes-power-storage-as-next-step-in-green-energy-drive|archive-date=23 April 2018|url-status=live}}

Jordan has the fifth largest oil-shale reserves in the world, which could be commercially exploited in the central and northwestern regions.{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/business/21605928-second-shale-revolution-may-be-coming-squeezing-out-yet-more-oil-flaming-rocks|title=Flaming rocks|newspaper=The Economist|date=28 June 2014|access-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311212007/http://www.economist.com/news/business/21605928-second-shale-revolution-may-be-coming-squeezing-out-yet-more-oil-flaming-rocks|archive-date=11 March 2016|url-status=live}} Official figures estimate reserves at more than 70 billion tonnes. Attarat Power Plant, its first oil-shale power plant, was commissioned in 2023, with a 470 MW capacity.{{cite news|url=http://jordantimes.com/news/local/all-set-building-oil-shale-fired-power-plant|title=All set for building oil shale-fired power plant|access-date=17 March 2017|date=16 March 2017|work=The Jordan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316234009/http://jordantimes.com/news/local/all-set-building-oil-shale-fired-power-plant|archive-date=16 March 2017|url-status=live}} Jordan also aims to benefit from its large uranium reserves by tapping nuclear energy. The original plan involved constructing two 1,000 MW reactors but has been scrapped because of financial constraints.{{cite web|url=http://jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-replace-planned-nuclear-plant-smaller-cheaper-facility|title=Jordan to replace planned nuclear plant with smaller, cheaper facility|date=26 May 2018|access-date=27 May 2018|work=The Jordan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527015408/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-replace-planned-nuclear-plant-smaller-cheaper-facility|archive-date=27 May 2018|url-status=live}} Currently, the Atomic Energy Commission is considering building small modular reactors instead, whose capacities hover below 500 MW and can provide water sources through desalination. In 2018, the commission announced that Jordan was in talks with multiple companies to build its first commercial nuclear plant, a helium-cooled reactor that is scheduled for completion by 2025.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-china-serious-talks%E2%80%99-build-gas-cooled-1b-reactor|title=Jordan, China in 'serious talks' to build gas-cooled $1b reactor|first=Mohammad|last=Ghazal|work=The Jordan Times|date=28 April 2018|access-date=8 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507101738/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-china-serious-talks%E2%80%99-build-gas-cooled-1b-reactor|archive-date=7 May 2018|url-status=live}} Phosphate mines in the south have made Jordan one of the largest producers and exporters of the mineral in the world.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQb4l-C9zs0C&pg=PA64|page=64|title=Economic Policy and Performance in the Arab World|access-date=15 June 2016|first=Paul|last=Rivlin|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|year=2001|isbn=9781555879327|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128100803/https://books.google.com/books?id=yQb4l-C9zs0C&pg=PA64|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}}

File:Aqaba.jpg in the southernmost city of Aqaba, Jordan's only coastal outlet]]

The industrial sector, which includes mining, manufacturing, construction, and power, accounted for approximately 26% of the GDP in 2004 (including manufacturing, 16.2%; construction, 4.6%; and mining, 3.1%). More than 21% of the labor force was employed in industry in 2002. In 2014, industry accounted for 6% of the GDP.{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/jordan-2015/industry-retail|title=Jordan's industry and retail|access-date=9 April 2016|date=1 January 2015|publisher=Oxford Business Group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416093738/http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/jordan-2015/industry-retail|archive-date=16 April 2016|url-status=live}} The main industrial products are potash, phosphates, cement, clothes, and fertilisers. The most promising segment of this sector is construction. Petra Engineering Industries Company, which is considered to be one of the main pillars of Jordanian industry, has gained international recognition with its air-conditioning units reaching NASA.{{cite web|title=Remarks at Middle East Commercial Center Leadership Dinner|access-date=15 October 2015|date=8 December 2014|publisher=U.S. Department of State|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/12/234830.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121034724/https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/12/234830.htm|archive-date=21 January 2017|url-status=live}} Jordan is now considered to be a leading pharmaceuticals manufacturer in the MENA region, led by Hikma.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/hikma-pharmaceuticals-founder-remembered-man-who-believed-invested-jordan|title=Hikma Pharmaceuticals founder remembered as man who believed, invested in Jordan|first=Omar|last=Obeidat|work=The Jordan Times|access-date=6 August 2016|date=16 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819022605/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/hikma-pharmaceuticals-founder-remembered-man-who-believed-invested-jordan|archive-date=19 August 2016|url-status=live}}

The military industry thrived after the Jordan Design and Development Bureau defence company was established by King Abdullah II in 1999, to provide an indigenous capability for the supply of scientific and technical services to the Jordanian Armed Forces, and to become a global hub in security research and development. It manufactures all types of military products, many of which are presented at the bi-annually held international military exhibition SOFEX. In 2015, the company exported $72 million worth of industries to over 42 countries.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/kaddb-become-main-provider-army%E2%80%99s-weapons-defence-equipment%E2%80%99|access-date=16 June 2016|date=28 April 2015|title=KADDB to become main provider of army's weapons, defence equipment|work=The Jordan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103221216/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/kaddb-become-main-provider-army%E2%80%99s-weapons-defence-equipment%E2%80%99|archive-date=3 November 2016|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Science and technology in Jordan}}

File:Tafila Wind Farm 2.jpg in southern Jordan is the first and largest commercial wind farm in the Middle East{{cite web|url=http://www.petra.gov.jo/Public_News/Nws_NewsDetails.aspx?Site_Id=1&lang=2&NewsID=285654|title=Masdar appoints IFC to oversee funding of Jordan's largest solar power project|work=Petra News Agency|access-date=18 January 2017|date=18 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131185448/http://www.petra.gov.jo/Public_News/Nws_NewsDetails.aspx?Site_Id=1&lang=2&NewsID=285654|archive-date=31 January 2017|url-status=dead}}]]

Science and technology is the fastest developing economic sector. This growth is occurring across multiple industries, including information and communications technology (ICT) and nuclear technology. Jordan contributes 75% of the Arabic content on the Internet. In 2014, the ICT sector accounted for more than 84,000 jobs and contributed to 12% of the GDP. More than 400 companies are active in telecom, information technology, and video game development. 600 companies are operating in active technologies and 300 start-up companies.{{cite web|url=https://photos.state.gov/libraries/jordan/444376/pdf/2014CCGFinal.pdf|title=Doing Business in Jordan|access-date=14 October 2015|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce|date=1 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714023814/http://photos.state.gov/libraries/jordan/444376/pdf/2014CCGFinal.pdf|archive-date=14 July 2015|url-status=live}} Jordan was ranked 73rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.{{Cite web |title=Global Innovation Index 2024 : Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=www.wipo.int |language=en}}

Nuclear science and technology are also expanding. The Jordan Research and Training Reactor, which was commissioned in 2016, is a 5 MW training reactor located at the Jordan University of Science and Technology in Ar Ramtha. The facility is the first nuclear reactor in the country and will provide Jordan with radioactive isotopes for medical usage and provide training to students to produce a skilled workforce for the country's planned commercial nuclear reactors.{{cite web|title=Korean soft loan to fund safety features of nuclear research reactor|access-date=15 June 2016|date=28 October 2015|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/korean-soft-loan-fund-safety-features-nuclear-research-reactor|work=The Jordan Times|first=Dana|last=Al Emam|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422043442/http://jordantimes.com/news/local/korean-soft-loan-fund-safety-features-nuclear-research-reactor|archive-date=22 April 2016|url-status=live}}

Jordan also hosts the Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME) facility, which is the only particle accelerator in the Middle East, and one of only 60 synchrotron radiation facilities in the world. SESAME, supported by UNESCO and CERN, was opened in 2017 and allows for collaboration between scientists from various rival Middle Eastern countries.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/science/sesame-institute-jordan-synchrotron.html|title=A Light for Science, and Cooperation, in the Middle East|work=The New York Times|first=Dennis|last=Overbye|access-date=16 May 2017|date=14 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512221423/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/science/sesame-institute-jordan-synchrotron.html|archive-date=12 May 2017|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Demographics of Jordan}}

{{see also|List of cities in Jordan}}

{{Historical populations

|title = Historical populations

|source = Department of Statistics{{cite web|title=2015 census report|publisher=Government of Jordan, Department of statistics|access-date=15 June 2016|date=1 January 2016|url=http://census.dos.gov.jo/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/02/Census_results_2016.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328114309/http://census.dos.gov.jo/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/02/Census_results_2016.pdf|archive-date=28 March 2016}}

|percentages = pagr

|1920 |200000

|1922 |225000

|1948 |400000

|1952 |586200

|1961 |900800

|1979 |2133000

|1994 |4139500

|2004 |5100000

|2015 |9531712

|2018 |10171480

}}The 2015 census showed a population of 9,531,712 (female: 47%; males: 53%). Around 2.9 million (30%) were non-citizens, a figure including refugees and illegal immigrants. There were 1,977,534 households in 2015, with an average of 4.8 persons per household (compared to 6.7 persons per household for the census of 1979). The population of Amman was 65,754 in 1946, but exceeded 4 million by 2015.

Arabs make up about 98% of the population. The remaining 2% consist largely of peoples from the Caucasus including Circassians, Armenians, and Chechens, along with smaller minority groups. About 84.1% of the population live in urban areas.

{{More sources|section|date=April 2025}}

Jordan was home to 2,175,491 Palestinian refugees as of December 2016; most of them had been granted Jordanian citizenship. The first wave of Palestinian refugees arrived during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and peaked in the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1990 Gulf War. In the past, Jordan had given many Palestinian refugees citizenship, however recently citizenship is given only in rare cases. 370,000 of these Palestinians live in UNRWA refugee camps.{{cite web|date=1 December 2015|url=http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/jordan|title=Jordan|publisher=UNRWA|access-date=14 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331181426/https://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/jordan|archive-date=31 March 2019|url-status=live}} Following the capture of the West Bank by Israel in 1967, Jordan revoked the citizenship of thousands of Palestinians to thwart any attempt to permanently resettle from the West Bank to Jordan. West Bank Palestinians with family in Jordan or Jordanian citizenship were issued yellow cards guaranteeing them all the rights of citizenship if requested.{{cite news|last1=Abu Toameh|first1=Khaled|title=Amman revoking Palestinians' citizenship|url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Amman-revoking-Palestinians-citizenship|access-date=13 March 2016|work=Jerusalem Post|date=20 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314055827/http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Amman-revoking-Palestinians-citizenship|archive-date=14 March 2016|url-status=live}}

File:An Aerial View of the Za'atri Refugee Camp.jpg which contains a population of 80,000 Syrian refugees, the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world]]

Up to 1,000,000 Iraqis moved to Jordan following the Iraq War in 2003,{{cite news|last=Leyne|first=Jon|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6293807.stm|title=Doors closing on fleeing Iraqis|publisher=BBC|date=24 January 2007|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403063927/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6293807.stm|archive-date=3 April 2019|url-status=live}} and most of them returned; by 2015 their number was 130,911. Many Iraqi Christians (the vast majority of whom being ethnic Assyrians) however settled temporarily or permanently in Jordan.{{cite web|url=http://www.catholiccourier.com/cc/index.cfm/news/world-nation/iraqi-refugees-in-jordan-are-guests-with-few-privileges|title=Iraqi refugees in Jordan are 'guests' with few privileges|access-date=20 March 2016 |last=Pattison|first=Mark|work=Catholic Courier|date=29 September 2010|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723023721/http://www.catholiccourier.com/cc/index.cfm/news/world-nation/iraqi-refugees-in-jordan-are-guests-with-few-privileges/ |archive-date=23 July 2013}} Immigrants also include 15,000 Lebanese who arrived following the 2006 Lebanon War.{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/664362|title=The Impact of the Summer 2006 War on Migration in Lebanon: Emigration, Re-Migration, Evacuation, and Returning|publisher=Lebanese Emigration Research Center|year=2006|access-date=16 June 2016|first=Guita|last=Hourani|page=231|archive-date=13 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713121132/https://www.academia.edu/664362|url-status=live}} Since 2010, over 1.4 million Syrian refugees have fled to Jordan to escape the violence in Syria, the largest population being in the Zaatari refugee camp. The kingdom has continued to demonstrate hospitality, despite the substantial strain the flux of Syrian refugees places on Jordanian communities, as the vast majority of Syrian refugees do not live in camps. The refugee crisis effects include competition for job opportunities, water resources and other state provided services, along with the strain on the national infrastructure.

In 2007 there were up to 150,000 Assyrian Christians; most are Eastern Aramaic speaking refugees from Iraq.{{cite news|last1=Ireland|first1=Michael|title=Assyrian and Chaldean Christians Flee Iraq to Neighboring Jordan|url=http://www.christianheadlines.com/news/assyrian-and-chaldean-christians-flee-iraq-to-neighboring-jordan-11542438.html|access-date=15 March 2016|work=Christian Headlines|date=29 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315112811/http://www.christianheadlines.com/news/assyrian-and-chaldean-christians-flee-iraq-to-neighboring-jordan-11542438.html|archive-date=15 March 2016|url-status=live}} Kurds number some 30,000, and like the Assyrians, many are refugees from Iraq, Iran and Turkey.{{cite journal|last1=Al-Khatib|first1=Mahmoud A.|last2=Al-Ali|first2=Mohammed N.|title=Language and Cultural Shift Among the Kurds of Jordan|journal=SKY Journal of Linguistics|date=2010|volume=23|pages=7–36}} Descendants of Armenians that sought refuge in the Levant during the 1915 Armenian genocide number approximately 5,000 persons, mainly residing in Amman.{{cite web|title=مئة عام على مجزرة الأرمن: ما بقي للأحفاد|url=http://7iber.com/2015/04/photos-stories-armenian-genocide-centennial/|work=7iber|access-date=16 June 2016|date=23 April 2015|language=ar|trans-title=One hundred years after the Armenian Genocide: what is left for the descendants|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817002043/http://7iber.com/2015/04/photos-stories-armenian-genocide-centennial/|archive-date=17 August 2016|url-status=live}} A small number of ethnic Mandeans also reside in Jordan, again mainly refugees from Iraq.{{citation|url=http://www.genocidewatch.org/images/Syria_09_11_xx_Mandaean_human_rights_annual_report.pdf|title=Mandaean Human Rights Annual Report|access-date=16 July 2016|date=1 November 2009|work=Mandaean Human Rights Group|page=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026193629/http://www.genocidewatch.org/images/Syria_09_11_xx_Mandaean_human_rights_annual_report.pdf|archive-date=26 October 2016|url-status=live}} Around 12,000 Iraqi Christians have sought refuge in Jordan after the Islamic State took the city of Mosul in 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/mosul-christian-exiles-hope-return-161031083345637.html|title=Mosul's Christian exiles have little hope of return|access-date=5 November 2016|work=Aljazeera|date=4 November 2016|first=Alisa|last=Reznick|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104151037/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/mosul-christian-exiles-hope-return-161031083345637.html|archive-date=4 November 2016|url-status=live}} Several thousand Libyans, Yemenis and Sudanese have also sought asylum to escape instability and violence in their respective countries. The 2015 census recorded 1,265,000 Syrians, 636,270 Egyptians, 634,182 Palestinians, 130,911 Iraqis, 31,163 Yemenis, 22,700 Libyans and 197,385 from other nationalities residing in the country.

There are around 1.2 million illegal and 500,000 legal migrant workers and expatriates in the kingdom.{{cite news |url=http://jordantimes.com/jordan-faces-challenge-of-meeting-migrants-health-demands----study |title=Jordan faces challenge of meeting migrants' health demands –– study|work=The Jordan Times|date=28 August 2012 |access-date=16 June 2016|last=Malkawi|first=Khetam |url-status=dead|archive-date=30 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430080659/http://jordantimes.com/jordan-faces-challenge-of-meeting-migrants-health-demands----study}} Thousands of foreign women, mostly from the Middle East and Eastern Europe, work in nightclubs, hotels and bars across the kingdom.{{cite book |last=Zaqqa |first=Nadim |title=Economic Development and Export of Human Capital – a Contradiction? |access-date=20 March 2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mbhHcOzn32EC&pg=PA11 |year=2006 |publisher=Kassel University Press |isbn=978-3-89958-205-5 |page=11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412171218/https://books.google.com/books?id=mbhHcOzn32EC&pg=PA11 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|last=Abimourched|first=Rola |url=http://www.womendialogue.org/magazine/conditions-domestic-workers-middle-east|title=The conditions of domestic workers in the Middle East|publisher=WoMen Dialogue|date=26 November 2010|access-date=16 June 2016|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009191849/http://www.womendialogue.org/magazine/conditions-domestic-workers-middle-east|archive-date=9 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=11349|title=3% of Nightclub women are Jordanian|work=Ammonnews|date=19 January 2011|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430050157/http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=11349|archive-date=30 April 2016|url-status=live}} American and European expatriate communities are concentrated in the capital, as the city is home to many international organisations and diplomatic missions.

{{Main|Religion in Jordan}}

Sunni Islam is the dominant religion. Muslims make up about 95% of the population; in turn, 93% of those self-identify as Sunnis.{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/|title=Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation|publisher=Pew Research Center|work=The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity|date=9 August 2012|access-date=26 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226113158/http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/|archive-date=26 December 2016|url-status=live}} There are also a small number of Ahmadi Muslims{{cite web|url=https://www.alislam.org/library/history/ahmadiyya/56.html|title=Propagation of Islam|work=Al Islam|first=Ahmad|last=Kurshid|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513024917/https://www.alislam.org/library/history/ahmadiyya/56.html|archive-date=13 May 2016|url-status=live}} and some Shiites. Many Shia are Iraqi and Lebanese refugees.{{cite news|url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/live_from_the_arab_spring/article/shiites_in_jordan_maintained_low_profile_while_marking_ashura_observance|title=Shiites in Jordan maintained low profile while marking Ashura observance|access-date=16 March 2016|date=27 November 2012|work=The Jewish Journal|first=Adam|last=Nicky|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325000103/http://www.jewishjournal.com/live_from_the_arab_spring/article/shiites_in_jordan_maintained_low_profile_while_marking_ashura_observance|archive-date=25 March 2016|url-status=live}} Muslims who convert to another religion as well as missionaries from other religions face societal and legal discrimination.{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/238674.pdf|publisher=U.S. Department of State|title=Jordan 2014 International Religious Freedom Report|date=1 January 2014|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328070414/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/238674.pdf|archive-date=28 March 2017|url-status=live}}

{{multiple image

|width1 = 200

|width2 = 200

|image1 = Aqaba Mosque.jpg

|caption1 = Marsa Zayed mosque in Aqaba

|image2 = Orthodox church in Amman1.jpg

|caption2 = An eastern Orthodox church during a snowstorm in Amman

}}

Jordan contains some of the oldest Christian communities in the world, dating as early as the 1st century AD after the crucifixion of Jesus.{{cite web|url=http://www.ucc.org/news_middle_east_delegation_refugee_families_04292015|title=Four refugee families living in Jordan share their stories with Mid-East delegation|first=Anthony|last=Moujaes|publisher=United Church of Christ|access-date=27 July 2016|date=29 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924072503/http://www.ucc.org/news_middle_east_delegation_refugee_families_04292015|archive-date=24 September 2016}} Christians today make up about 4% of the population, down from 20% in 1930, though their absolute number has grown.{{cite news |last=Vela |first=Justin |date=14 February 2015 |title=Jordan: The safe haven for Christians fleeing ISIL |work=The National |url=http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/jordan-the-safe-haven-for-christians-fleeing-isil#full |url-status=live |access-date=12 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930153700/http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/jordan-the-safe-haven-for-christians-fleeing-isil#full |archive-date=30 September 2015}} This is due to high immigration rates of Muslims into Jordan, higher emigration rates of Christians to the West, and higher birth rates for Muslims.{{cite news |first=Jeffrey |last=Fleishman |title=For Christian enclave in Jordan, tribal lands are sacred |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-tribal-catholic10-2009may10-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=10 May 2009 |access-date=10 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184643/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/10/world/fg-tribal-catholic10 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=live }} Christians number around 250,000, all of whom are Arabic-speaking, according to a 2014 estimate by the Orthodox Church, though the study excluded minority Christian groups and the thousands of Western, Iraqi and Syrian Christians residing in Jordan.{{cite web|title=الأب د. حنا كلداني: نسبة الأردنيين المسيحيين المقيمين 3.68%|first=Hanna|last=Kildani|publisher=Abouna.org|access-date=17 July 2016|date=8 July 2015|url=http://www.abouna.org/holylands/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%A8-%D8%AF-%D8%AD%D9%86%D8%A7-%D9%83%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86-368-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%81%D9%88%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%83|language=ar|trans-title=Father Hanna Kildani: the percentage of Christians residing in Jordan is 3.68%|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005230434/http://www.abouna.org/holylands/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%A8-%D8%AF-%D8%AD%D9%86%D8%A7-%D9%83%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86-368-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%81%D9%88%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%83|archive-date=5 October 2016|url-status=dead}} Christians are well integrated in society and enjoy a high level of freedom.{{cite journal|last=Miller|first=Duane Alexander|title=The Episcopal Church in Jordan: Identity, Liturgy, and Mission|journal=Journal of Anglican Studies|date=November 2011|volume=9|issue=2|pages=134–153|url=https://www.academia.edu/1482555|access-date=16 June 2016|doi=10.1017/S1740355309990271|s2cid=144069423|archive-date=13 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713085729/https://www.academia.edu/1482555|url-status=live}} Christians are also influential in the media.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/07/world/jordan-s-christian-arabs-a-small-minority-play-a-major-role.html|title=Jordan's Christian Arabs, A Small Minority, Play A Major Role|work=The New York Times|date=7 January 1987|access-date=9 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526214650/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/07/world/jordan-s-christian-arabs-a-small-minority-play-a-major-role.html|archive-date=26 May 2016|url-status=live}}

Smaller religious minorities include Druze, Baháʼís and Mandaeans. Most Druze live in Azraq, some villages on the Syrian border, and in Zarqa, while most Jordanian Baháʼís live in Adassiyeh bordering the Jordan Valley.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S5mRxprCL9MC&pg=PA135|title=Minority Rights in the Middle East|access-date=12 October 2015|date=25 April 2013|first1=Joshua|last1=Castellino|first2=Kathleen A.|last2=Cavanaugh|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=135|isbn=9780199679492|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516201435/https://books.google.com/books?id=S5mRxprCL9MC&pg=PA135|archive-date=16 May 2016|url-status=live}} It is estimated that 1,400 Mandaeans live in Amman; they came from Iraq after the 2003 invasion fleeing persecution.{{cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/jordan-s-mandaean-minority-fear-returning-to-post-isis-iraq-1.738337|title=Jordan's Mandaean minority fear returning to post-ISIS Iraq|work=The National|access-date=9 June 2018|date=9 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142228/https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/jordan-s-mandaean-minority-fear-returning-to-post-isis-iraq-1.738337|archive-date=12 June 2018|url-status=live}}

The official language is Modern Standard Arabic, a literary language taught in the schools.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMZm0w0k1c4C&pg=PA1921|page=1921|title=Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society|access-date=15 June 2016|year=2006|publisher=Ulrich Ammon|first=Walter|last=de Gruyter|isbn=9783110184181|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128110448/https://books.google.com/books?id=LMZm0w0k1c4C&pg=PA1921|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} Most Jordanians natively speak one of the non-standard Arabic dialects known as Jordanian Arabic. Jordanian Sign Language is the language of the deaf community. English, though without official status, is widely spoken throughout the country and is the de facto language of commerce and banking, as well as a co-official status in the education sector; almost all university-level classes are held in English, and almost all public schools teach English along with Standard Arabic. Chechen, Circassian, Armenian, Tagalog, and Russian are popular among their communities.{{cite book|page=45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dm7Ups_zsbcC&pg=PA45|access-date=12 October 2015|year=2007|title=Culture and Customs of Jordan|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|first=John|last=Shoup|isbn=9780313336713|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603020705/https://books.google.com/books?id=dm7Ups_zsbcC&pg=PA45|archive-date=3 June 2016|url-status=live}} French is offered as an elective in many schools, mainly in the private sector. German is an increasingly popular language; it has been introduced at a larger scale since the establishment of the German Jordanian University in 2005.{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/german-language-becoming-opportunity-professional-development%E2%80%99|title=German language becoming opportunity for professional development|work=The Jordan Times|date=12 February 2015|access-date=7 March 2016|first=Sascha|last=Luebbe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322073423/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/german-language-becoming-opportunity-professional-development%E2%80%99|archive-date=22 March 2016|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Health in Jordan|Education in Jordan}}

File:Young girls reading - Government primary school in Amman, Jordan.jpg

Life expectancy was around 74.8 years in 2017. The leading cause of death is cardiovascular diseases, followed by cancer.{{cite news|title=Cancer second most common cause of death in Jordan|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/cancer-second-most-common-cause-death-jordan%E2%80%99|access-date=13 March 2016|date=14 March 2015|work=The Jordan Times|first=Khetam|last=Malkawi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522185351/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/cancer-second-most-common-cause-death-jordan%E2%80%99|archive-date=22 May 2016|url-status=live}} Childhood immunisation rates have increased steadily over the past 15 years; by 2002 immunisations and vaccines reached more than 95% of children under five. In 1950, water and sanitation was available to only 10% of the population; in 2015, it reached 98% of Jordanians.{{cite web|url=http://www.wssinfo.org/documents/?tx_displaycontroller[type]=country_files|title=Jordan: estimates on the use of water sources and sanitation facilities (1980–2015)|access-date=17 June 2016|date=1 June 2015|publisher=World Health Organization|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930232903/http://www.wssinfo.org/documents/?tx_displaycontroller|archive-date=30 September 2015}}

Health services are some of the best in the region.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14631981|title=Jordan profile – Overview|publisher=BBC|date=18 November 2012|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161211063859/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14631981|archive-date=11 December 2016|url-status=live}} Qualified medics, a favourable investment climate, and economic stability have contributed to the success of this sector.{{cite news|title=Sector leaders highlight potential for further growth in medical tourism|access-date=13 March 2016|date=30 May 2015|work=The Jordan Times|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/sector-leaders-highlight-potential-further-growth-medical-tourism#sthash.yz9kdu6B.dpuf|first=Khetam|last=Malkawi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313030324/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/sector-leaders-highlight-potential-further-growth-medical-tourism#sthash.yz9kdu6B.dpuf|archive-date=13 March 2016|url-status=live}} The health care system is divided between public and private institutions. On 1 June 2007, Jordan Hospital (as the biggest private hospital) was the first general specialty hospital to gain the international accreditation JCAHO.{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Jordan.pdf |title=Jordan country profile |work=US Library of Congress |access-date=17 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616000931/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Jordan.pdf |archive-date=16 June 2015 |url-status=live }} The King Hussein Cancer Centre is a leading cancer treatment centre.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eIiECgAAQBAJ|page=640|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society|access-date=13 October 2015|date=11 August 2015|publisher=SAGE Publications|first=Graham|last=Colditz|isbn=9781506316635|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128080327/https://books.google.com/books?id=eIiECgAAQBAJ|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} 66% of Jordanians have medical insurance.

The educational system comprises 2 years of pre-school education, 10 years of compulsory basic education, and two years of secondary academic or vocational education, after which the students sit for the General Certificate of Secondary Education Exam (Tawjihi) exams.{{Cite web|url=http://www.moe.gov.jo/en/MenuDetails.aspx?MenuID=32|title=المملكة الاردنية الهاشمية – وزارة التربية و التعليم Ministry of Education – Hashemit Kingdom of Jordan|website=www.moe.gov.jo|access-date=13 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213141843/http://www.moe.gov.jo/en/MenuDetails.aspx?MenuID=32|archive-date=13 February 2018|url-status=live}} Primary education is free.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ak35WB7jX8IC&pg=PA61|title=The Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East: Self and Other in Textbooks and Curricula|last1=Alayan|first1=Samira|last2=Rohde|first2=Achim|last3=Dhouib|first3=Sarhan|date=15 June 2015|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=9780857454614|page=61|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128080225/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ak35WB7jX8IC&pg=PA61|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} Scholars may attend either private or public schools. According to the UNESCO, the literacy rate in 2015 was 98.01% and is considered to be the highest in the Middle East and the Arab world, and one of the highest in the world. UNESCO ranked Jordan's educational system 18th out of 94 nations for providing gender equality in education.{{cite web|url=http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/200910213278/Culture/education-system-in-jordan-scoring-well.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729054824/http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/200910213278/Culture/education-system-in-jordan-scoring-well.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 July 2012|title=Education system in Jordan scoring well|date=21 October 2009|publisher=Global Arab Network|access-date=15 June 2016}} Jordan has the highest number of researchers in research and development per million people among all the 57 countries that are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. There are 8,060 researchers per million people, while the world average is 2,532 per million.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sesric.org/files/article/394.pdf|title=Research and Scientific Development in OIC Countries|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808043707/http://www.sesric.org/files/article/394.pdf|archive-date=8 August 2019|url-status=live}}

Jordan has 10 public universities, 19 private universities and 54 community colleges, of which 14 are public, 24 private and others affiliated with the Jordanian Armed Forces, the Civil Defence Department, the Ministry of Health and UNRWA.{{cite web |url=http://www.ameinfo.com/225199.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301103617/http://www.ameinfo.com/225199.html|archive-date=1 March 2010|title=Jordan raises admission scores for private universities|work=AMEinfo.com|access-date=15 June 2016}} There are over 200,000 students enrolled in universities each year. An additional 20,000 pursue higher education abroad primarily in the United States and Europe.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JPEWDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT45|page=45|title=Youth and Education in the Middle East: Assessing the Performance and Practice of Urban Environments|access-date=16 June 2016|date=27 January 2011|publisher=I.B.Tauris|first=Daniele|last=Cantini|isbn=9780857729378|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128063240/https://books.google.com/books?id=JPEWDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT45|archive-date=28 November 2016|url-status=live}} According to the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, the top-ranking universities in the country are the University of Jordan (UJ) (1,220th worldwide), Jordan University of Science & Technology (JUST) (1,729th) and Hashemite University (2,176th).{{cite web|title=Jordan|url=http://www.webometrics.info/en/aw/Jordan|publisher=Ranking Web of Universities|access-date=6 March 2018|date=1 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112171528/http://www.webometrics.info/en/aw/Jordan|archive-date=12 November 2017|url-status=live}} UJ and JUST occupy 8th and 10th between Arab universities.{{cite web|url=http://www.iu.qs.com/arab-region-rankings|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118032549/http://www.iu.qs.com/arab-region-rankings/|archive-date=18 November 2014 |url-status=dead|title=2014 QS University Rankings – Arab Region|date=1 January 2016|access-date=13 March 2016}}

{{Main|Culture of Jordan}}

File:Pipers jordaniens (Jerash) (6949582694).jpg in Jerash]]

Many institutions aim to increase cultural awareness of Jordanian art and to represent artistic movements in fields such as paintings, sculpture, graffiti and photography.{{cite web|url=http://culture.gov.jo/new/%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A|title=الفن التشكيلي|language=ar|access-date=16 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715045842/http://culture.gov.jo/new/%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B4%D9%83%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A|archive-date=15 July 2014|work=Jordan Ministry of Culture|trans-title=Fine Arts}} The art scene has been developing in the past few years,{{cite news|title=Jordanian artists seeks to connect local, int'l art scenes|work=The Jordan Times|date=24 February 2015|first=Saeb|last=Rawashdeh|access-date=13 March 2016|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordanian-artist-seeks-connect-local-int%E2%80%99l-art-scenes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312020833/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordanian-artist-seeks-connect-local-int%E2%80%99l-art-scenes|archive-date=12 March 2016|url-status=live}} and Jordan has been a haven for artists from surrounding countries.{{cite news|last1=Boarini|first1=Silvia|title=Jordan a 'haven' for regional artists|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2015/04/jordan-haven-regional-artists-150429061445164.html|access-date=15 March 2016|work=Al Jazeera|date=24 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315100159/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2015/04/jordan-haven-regional-artists-150429061445164.html|archive-date=15 March 2016|url-status=live}} In January 2016, for the first time ever, a Jordanian film called Theeb was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/theeb%E2%80%99-becomes-first-jordanian-film-receive-oscar-nod|title='Theeb' becomes first Jordanian film to receive Oscar nod|work=The Jordan Times|agency=Agencies|date=14 January 2016|access-date=18 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417080114/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/theeb%E2%80%99-becomes-first-jordanian-film-receive-oscar-nod|archive-date=17 April 2016|url-status=live}}

The largest museum is The Jordan Museum. It contains much of the valuable archaeological findings in the country, including some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Neolithic limestone statues of 'Ain Ghazal and a copy of the Mesha Stele.{{cite web|url=http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/scrolling-through-the-millennia-at-the-new-jordan-museum-in-amman|title=Scrolling through the millennia at the new Jordan Museum in Amman|access-date=25 September 2015|date=13 March 2014|work=The National|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926083840/http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/scrolling-through-the-millennia-at-the-new-jordan-museum-in-amman|archive-date=26 September 2015|url-status=live}} Most museums are located in Amman including The Children's Museum Jordan, The Martyr's Memorial and Museum and the Royal Automobile Museum. Museums outside Amman include the Aqaba Archaeological Museum. The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts is a major contemporary art museum located in Amman.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KcGcDdi20SwC&pg=PA122|title=Jordan|first=Carole|last=French|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|year=2012|pages=122, 35, 81|access-date=15 October 2015|isbn=9781841623986|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603014622/https://books.google.com/books?id=KcGcDdi20SwC&pg=PA122|archive-date=3 June 2016|url-status=live}}

Music in Jordan is developing a lot of new bands and artists who are popular in the Middle East. Artists such as Omar Al-Abdallat, Toni Qattan, Diana Karazon and Hani Mitwasi have increased the popularity of Jordanian music. The Jerash Festival is an annual music event that features popular Arab singers.{{cite web|url=http://www.albawaba.com/entertainment/stars-come-out-jordans-jerash-festival-720188|access-date=15 June 2016|date=16 July 2016|title=The stars come out for Jordan's Jerash Festival|work=Al Bawaba|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504115943/http://www.albawaba.com/entertainment/stars-come-out-jordans-jerash-festival-720188|archive-date=4 May 2016|url-status=live}} Pianist and composer Zade Dirani has gained wide international popularity.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/06/19/pianist-finds-positano-enchanting/|title=Pianist finds Positano enchanting|access-date=14 June 2016|date=19 June 2010|work=Chicago Tribune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809081917/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-19/travel/sc-trav-0615-celeb-20100615_1_favorite-weekend-getaways-positano-amalfi-coast|archive-date=9 August 2016|url-status=live}} There is also an increasing growth of alternative Arabic rock bands, who are dominating the scene in the Arab world, including: El Morabba3, Autostrad, JadaL, Akher Zapheer and Aziz Maraka.{{cite news|url=http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/culture/the-promise-of-ammans-independent-music-scene_32052|title=The promise of Amman's independent music scene|first=Madeline|last=Edwards|access-date=23 September 2015|work=Your Middle East|date=13 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923055934/http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/culture/the-promise-of-ammans-independent-music-scene_32052|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=live}}

Jordan unveiled its first underwater military museum off the coast of Aqaba. Several military vehicles, including tanks, troop carriers and a helicopter are in the museum.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49102824|title=Jordan unveils underwater military museum|date=24 July 2019|access-date=2 August 2019|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726120812/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49102824|archive-date=26 July 2019|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Jordanian cuisine}}

File:Préparation du mansaf-Jordanie (8).jpg, the traditional dish of Jordan, originates from Bedouin life and is a symbol of Jordanian hospitality.]]

As the eighth-largest producer of olives in the world, olive oil is the main cooking oil in Jordan.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-among-world%E2%80%99s-top-10-producers-olive-olive-oil%E2%80%99|title=Jordan among world's top 10 producers of olive, olive oil|work=The Jordan Times|access-date=18 June 2016|date=21 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421035637/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-among-world%E2%80%99s-top-10-producers-olive-olive-oil%E2%80%99|archive-date=21 April 2016|url-status=live}} A common appetizer is hummus, which is a puree of chickpeas blended with tahini, lemon, and garlic. Ful medames is another well-known appetiser. A typical worker's meal, it has since made its way to the tables of the upper class. A typical meze often contains koubba maqliya, labaneh, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, olives and pickles.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zG1H75z0EYYC&pg=PA269|access-date=13 October 2015|title=Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia|date=25 May 2012|first=Ken|last=Albala|publisher=ABC-CLIO|pages=269, 273|isbn=9780313376276|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603021656/https://books.google.com/books?id=zG1H75z0EYYC&pg=PA269|archive-date=3 June 2016|url-status=live}} Meze is generally accompanied by the Levantine alcoholic drink arak, which is made from grapes and aniseed and is similar to ouzo, rakı and pastis. Jordanian wine and beer are also sometimes used. The same dishes, served without alcoholic drinks, can also be termed "muqabbilat" (starters) in Arabic.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5x2pJuvWeOQC&pg=PA77|title=Jordan|access-date=13 October 2015|first1=Anthony|last1=Ham|first2=Paul|last2=Greenway|publisher=Lonely Planet|pages=26, 76|year=2003|isbn=9781740591652|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118011504/https://books.google.com/books?id=5x2pJuvWeOQC&pg=PA77|archive-date=18 January 2016|url-status=live}}

The most distinctive dish is mansaf, the national dish of Jordan. The dish is a symbol for hospitality and is influenced by the Bedouin culture. Mansaf is eaten on different occasions such as funerals, weddings and on religious holidays. It consists of a plate of rice with meat that was boiled in thick yogurt, sprinkled with pine nuts and sometimes herbs. As an old tradition, the dish is eaten using one's hands, but the tradition is not always used. Simple fresh fruit is often served towards the end of a meal, but there is also dessert, such as baklava, hareeseh, knafeh, halva and qatayef, a dish made specially for Ramadan. Drinking coffee and tea flavoured with na'na or meramiyyeh is commonplace.{{cite web|url=http://www.alghad.com/articles/879262-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%81%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1|title=الحلويات في رمضان.. متعة ما بعد الإفطار|language=ar|work=Al-Ghad|date=30 June 2015|access-date=16 June 2016|trans-title=Sweets in Ramadan .. what fun after breakfast|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026183115/http://www.alghad.com/articles/879262-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%81%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1|archive-date=26 October 2016|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Sport in Jordan}}

While both team and individual sports are widely played, the kingdom has enjoyed its biggest international achievements in taekwondo. The highlight came at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games when Ahmad Abughaush won Jordan's first ever medal{{Cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/news/jordan-s-first-ever-olympic-champion-ahmad-abughaush-looks-forward-to-tokyo-2020|title=Jordan's first ever Olympic champion Ahmad Abughaush looks forward to Tokyo 2020 – Olympic News|date=8 April 2019|website=International Olympic Committee|language=en|access-date=3 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603231445/https://www.olympic.org/news/jordan-s-first-ever-olympic-champion-ahmad-abughaush-looks-forward-to-tokyo-2020|archive-date=3 June 2019|url-status=live}} of any colour at the games by taking gold in the −67 kg weight.{{Cite web|url=https://www.beinsports.com/ar/other-sports/%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88/%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%88-2016-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86%D9%8A/320133|title=ريو 2016 – تايكواندو: الأردني أحمد أبوغوش يحرز الميدالية الذهبية في وزن 68 كغ|website=beIN SPORTS|language=ar|access-date=3 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709183815/http://www.beinsports.com/ar/other-sports/%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88/%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%88-2016-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86%D9%8A/320133|archive-date=9 July 2018|url-status=live}} Medals have continued to be won at world and Asian level in the sport since to establish taekwondo as the kingdom's favourite sport alongside football and basketball.{{Cite web|url=https://www.joc.jo/en/federations/jordan-basketball-federation/|title=Jordan Basketball Federation|website=Jordan Olympic Committee|access-date=3 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603231458/https://www.joc.jo/en/federations/jordan-basketball-federation/|archive-date=3 June 2019|url-status=live}}

Football is the most popular sport.{{Cite web|url=https://www.topendsports.com/world/countries/jordan.htm|title=Sport in Jordan|website=Topend Sports|access-date=3 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603231447/https://www.topendsports.com/world/countries/jordan.htm|archive-date=3 June 2019|url-status=live}} The national football team came within a play-off of reaching the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil,{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/25027589|title=World Cup 2014: Uruguay clinch final spot with Jordan win|date=21 November 2013|access-date=3 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603231445/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/25027589|archive-date=3 June 2019|url-status=live}} but lost the two-legged tie against Uruguay.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/sports/jordan-remains-82nd-spot-fifa-world-rankings#sthash.jQnvTJE1.dpuf|title=Jordan remains in 82nd spot in FIFA World Rankings|last=Bannayan|first=Aline|date=5 March 2016|access-date=13 March 2016|work=The Jordan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313111319/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/sports/jordan-remains-82nd-spot-fifa-world-rankings#sthash.jQnvTJE1.dpuf|archive-date=13 March 2016|url-status=live}} They previously reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup in 2004 and 2011, and lost in the final against Qatar in 2023.{{cite news |url=https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc_asian_cup/news/afif_stars_as_qatar_defeat_jordan_to_retain_title.html |title=Afif stars as Qatar defeat Jordan to retain title |date=10 February 2024 |access-date=10 February 2024 |publisher=Asian Football Confederation |archive-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219062450/https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/afc_asian_cup/news/afif_stars_as_qatar_defeat_jordan_to_retain_title.html |url-status=live }}

Jordan has a strong policy for inclusive sport and invests heavily in encouraging girls and women to participate in all sports. The women's football team gaining reputation,{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/jordan-giant-strides-women-football-150623122130302.html|title=Jordan taking giant strides in women's football|last=El-Shamayleh|first=Nisreen|date=23 June 2015|access-date=13 March 2016|work=Al Jazeera|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312003804/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/jordan-giant-strides-women-football-150623122130302.html|archive-date=12 March 2016|url-status=live}} and in March 2016 ranked 58th in the world.{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/women|title=Fifa world ranking for women|date=1 March 2016|publisher=FIFA|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220063018/https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/women/|archive-date=20 February 2019|url-status=live}} In 2016, Jordan hosted the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, with 16 teams representing six continents. The tournament was held in four stadiums in the three Jordanian cities of Amman, Zarqa and Irbid. It was the first women's sports tournament in the Middle East.{{cite news|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/sports/2014/04/21/Women-s-football-increasingly-popular-in-Jordan.html|title=Women's football increasingly popular in Jordan|last=Omari|first=Raed|date=1 January 2014|access-date=8 March 2016|work=Al Arabiya|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309015004/http://english.alarabiya.net/en/sports/2014/04/21/Women-s-football-increasingly-popular-in-Jordan.html|archive-date=9 March 2016|url-status=live}}

Basketball is another sport that Jordan continues to excel in, having qualified to the FIBA 2010 World Basketball Cup and more recently reaching the 2019 World Cup in China.{{Cite book|date=2017|publisher=Francis Academic Press|doi=10.25236/iclla.2017.43|isbn=9781912407064|doi-access=free |chapter=Transmission Strategy of the Competition -2017 FIBA 3X3 U18 Basketball World Cup |title=2017 4th International Conference on Literature, Linguistics and Arts (ICLLA 2017) }} Jordan came within a point of reaching the 2012 Olympics after losing the final of the 2010 Asian Cup to China, 70–69, and settling for silver instead. The national basketball team participates in various international and Middle Eastern tournaments. Local basketball teams include: Al-Orthodoxi Club, Al-Riyadi, Zain, Al-Hussein and Al-Jazeera.{{cite news|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/sports/jordan-counts-down-asian-basketball-tourney|title=Jordan counts down to Asian basketball tourney|last=Bannayan|first=Aline|date=14 September 2015|access-date=15 October 2015|work=The Jordan Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118011504/http://www.jordantimes.com/news/sports/jordan-counts-down-asian-basketball-tourney|archive-date=18 January 2016|url-status=live}}

Boxing, karate, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and ju-jitsu are also popular. Less common sports are also gaining popularity. Rugby is increasing in popularity, a rugby union is recognised by the Jordan Olympic Committee which supervises three national teams.{{cite news|url=http://www.albawaba.com/sport/jordan-rugby-dubai-sevens-619023|title=Against all odds, Jordan's rugby greats are set to storm the Dubai Sevens|access-date=9 April 2016|date=4 November 2014|work=Al Bawaba|first=Jack|last=Eastwood|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026154217/http://www.albawaba.com/sport/jordan-rugby-dubai-sevens-619023|archive-date=26 October 2015|url-status=live}} Although cycling is not widespread, the sport is developing as a lifestyle and a new way to travel especially among the youth.{{cite web|url=http://www.alghad.com/articles/575226-%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B9-%D8%A8%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B9-%D9%87%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%84%D9%85%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%87|title=مشروع "بسكليتات المدينة الرياضية" يجمع هواة الدراجات لممارسة الرياضة والترفيه|language=ar|access-date=16 July 2016|work=Al-Ghad|date=30 September 2013|trans-title="Project" Bisklitat Sports City "brings together amateur cycling for exercise and recreation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520050951/http://www.alghad.com/articles/575226-%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B9-%D8%A8%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%B9-%D9%87%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%84%D9%85%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%87|archive-date=20 May 2016|url-status=live}} In 2014, a NGO Make Life Skate Life completed construction of the 7Hills Skatepark, the first skatepark in the country located in Downtown Amman.{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2015/02/volunteers-open-jordan-skate-park-150206102827914.html|title=Volunteers open Jordan's first skate park|date=12 February 2015|work=Al Jazeera|access-date=30 September 2015|first1=Zab|last1=Mustefa|first2=Alisa|last2=Reznick|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001071615/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2015/02/volunteers-open-jordan-skate-park-150206102827914.html|archive-date=1 October 2015|url-status=live}}

• Index of Jordan-related articles
• Outline of Jordan

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last1=Salibi |first1=Kamal S. .|author-link=Kamal Salibi|title=The Modern History of Jordan |date=1998 |publisher=I. B. Tauris |location=London |isbn=978-1860643316}}
• {{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Jane|title=Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FcAoBq4_EnEC|year=2001|publisher=I. B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-86064-508-2}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|ref=none|last=Ashton|first=Nigel|title=King Hussein of Jordan: A Political Life|publisher=Yale University Press|date=2008}} [https://www.amazon.com/King-Hussein-Jordan-Political-Life-ebook/dp/B001IDZMA6/ref=sr_1_1?Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.x=0&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.y=0&qid=1585749018&refinements=p_28%3AKing+Hussein+of+Jordan%3A+A+Political+Life&s=books&sr=1-1&unfiltered=1 excerpt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308203913/https://www.amazon.com/King-Hussein-Jordan-Political-Life-ebook/dp/B001IDZMA6/ref=sr_1_1?Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.x=0&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.y=0&qid=1585749018&refinements=p_28%3AKing+Hussein+of+Jordan%3A+A+Political+Life&s=books&sr=1-1&unfiltered=1 |date=8 March 2021 }}
• {{cite book|ref=none |last1=El-Anis |first1=Imad H. |title=Jordan and the United States : the political economy of trade and economic reform in the Middle East |date=2011 |publisher=Tauris Academic Studies |location=London |isbn=9781848854710}} case studies of trade in textiles, pharmaceuticals, and financial services.
• Goichon, Amélie-Marie. Jordanie réelle. Paris: Desclée de Brouwer (1967–1972). 2 vol., ill.
• {{cite book|ref=none |last1=Robins |first1=Philip |title=A history of Jordan |date=2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780521598958}}
• {{cite book|ref=none |last1=Ryan |first1=Curtis R. |title=Jordan in transition : from Hussein to Abdullah |date=2002 |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers |location=Boulder, CO |isbn=9781588261038}}
• {{cite book|ref=none |last1=Teller |first1=Matthew |title=The Rough Guide to Jordan |date=1998 |publisher=Rough Guides |location=London}} Sixth edition 2016.

{{refend}}

{{Library resources box}}

• [https://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=JO Key Development Forecasts for Jordan] from International Futures

• [https://jordan.gov.jo Jordan Portal] – gateway to government sites
• [https://kingabdullah.jo/en King Abdullah II] – official website of the king of Jordan
• [https://www.pm.gov.jo Prime Minister] – official website of the prime minister of Jordan
• [https://dosweb.dos.gov.jo Statistics] – official website of Department of Statistics

• [http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/history.html "History"] – Jordanian History at the website of King Hussein

• [https://visitjordan.com Visit Jordan] – Jordan's official tourism portal

• {{Wikiatlas}}
• {{Osmrelation-inline|184818}}

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