Top Exports |
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Knit Sweaters |
Calcium Phosphates |
Chemical Fertilizers |
Packaged Medicaments |
Potassic Fertilizers |
Top Imports |
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Packaged Medicaments |
Gold |
Cars |
Crude petroleum |
Refined petroleum |
Jordan, officially The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab kingdom in Western Asia, on the East Bank of the Jordan River. Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east and south, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north, Israel, Palestine and the Dead Sea to the west and the Red Sea in its extreme south-west. Jordan is strategically located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe. The capital, Amman, is Jordan's most populous city as well as the country's economic, political and cultural center.
Jordan is classified as a country of "high human development" with an "upper middle income" economy. The Jordanian economy is attractive to foreign investors based upon a skilled workforce. The country is a major tourist destination, and also attracts medical tourism due to its well-developed health sector. Nonetheless, a lack of natural resources, a large flow of refugees and regional turmoil have crippled economic growth.
People around the world are becoming more receptive to the idea that Islamic banking, more so than traditional banking, is a safe and ethical option. With approximately 400 banks spread across 60 countries, Islamic banking is fast filtering into the mainstream, and commentators are confident that the sector will continue to flourish in the months and years ahead.
Proof of Islamic banking’s recent success lies in the fact that the total number of assets under management, as of 2014, numbered around $2trn, having grown 10 to 20 percent in each of the past five years, and the figure is forecast to reach an impressive $3.25trn by 2020. Clearly, the demand for Islamic banking is on the rise, and observers needn’t look much farther than Jordan for proof of its ability to improve economic and social wellbeing.
Speaking at the Administrative Governance of Islamic Financial Institutions, Sheikh Saleh Kamel, Chairman of the Council of Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, said: “Islamic finance has become a major pillar of economic systems, and continues to achieve success and geographic expansion. Taking the economic message of Islam based on the principles of justice and fairness to the new industrial wheels for development and progress.”
Agriculture | wheat, meat, vegetables and nuts. |
Manufacture | Clothing, Phosphate Mining, Fertilizers, Pharmaceuticals, Petroleum Refining, Cement, Potash, Inorganic Chemicals, Light Manufacturing, Tourism. |
Agriculture | 2.7% |
Industry | 20% |
Services (Including financial) | 77.4% (2007 estimate) |
Company | Industry |
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ArcelorMittal | Iron, Steel |
Tenaris | Oil |
RTL Group | Broadcasting, cable |
SES | Broadcasting, cable |
Ternium | Iron, Steel |
Millicom International | Telecommunications |
Brasserie Nationale | Brewery |
Cargolux | Cargo airliner |
Ceratizit | Hard metals |
ROTAREX Group | Medical equipment |
Top Exports |
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Knit Sweaters |
Calcium Phosphates |
Chemical Fertilizers |
Packaged Medicaments |
Potassic Fertilizers |
Top Imports |
---|
Packaged Medicaments |
Gold |
Cars |
Crude petroleum |
Refined petroleum |
Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) is a stock exchange private institution in Jordan. It is named "Amman" after the country's capital city, Amman.
The ASE was established in March 1999 as a non-profit, private institution with administrative and financial autonomy. It is authorized to function as an exchange for the trading of securities. The exchange is governed by a seven-member board of directors. A chief executive officer oversees day-to-day responsibilities and reports to the board. The members of ASE are Jordan's 68 brokerage firms.
The ASE is committed to the principles of fairness, transparency, efficiency, and liquidity. The exchange seeks to provide a strong and secure environment for its listed securities while protecting and guaranteeing the rights of its investors. To provide this transparent and efficient market, the ASE has implemented internationally recognized directives regarding market divisions and listing criteria.
To comply with international standards and best practices, the ASE works closely with the Jordan Securities Commission JSC on surveillance matters and maintains strong relationships with other exchanges, associations, and international organizations. The exchange is an active member of the Arab Federation of Exchanges, Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS) and a full member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE).
The ASE is charged with: providing enterprises with a means of raising capital by listing on the Exchange, encouraging an active market in listed securities based on the effective determination of prices and fair and transparent trading, providing modern and effective facilities and equipment for trading the recording of trades and publication of prices, monitoring and regulating market trading, coordination with the JSC as necessary, to ensure compliance with the law, a fair market and investor protection, setting out and enforcing a professional code of ethics among its member directors and staff, Ensuring the provision of timely and accurate information of issuers to the market and disseminating market information to the public.
Like some of the Arabic countries, Jordan, which is a small Arabic country located in the Middle East, is characterized by possessing a small industrial base. Strikingly, its economy is among the smallest in the region because of the scarcity of its natural resources. Furthermore, the country is known for high standards of unemployment among its educated and uneducated citizens, especially the youth. Despite these facts, there has been steady growth in the economy. It is noted that the Jordanian economy has mainly grown increasingly over the past 20 years. A great deal of significant economic reforms have been carried out by King Abdullah II Since he has been in power in 1999, these included opening the trade regime, privatizing state-owned companies, and abolishment of most fuel subsidies. Hence, these critical reforms have been the primary motivator for foreign investment in the kingdom in the last few years. The economic growth has improved increasingly as a result of the foreign investment which naturally has led to creating more job opportunities. Undeniably, the rate of unemployment has declined considerably despite the sweeping global financial crisis which cast its light on the whole region.
It is taken-by-granted that Jordan was affected by the financial crisis; there was an imbalance in the level of imports and exports, I.e. Jordan had to pay more for basic commodities and energy products including oil. Despite the challenges, the country has moved on in implementing the significant reforms, therefore, the economic growth increased constantly. It is understood that any country must prioritize the annual economic growth by implementing strategic economic plans that would be ready to face any sudden or undesirable economic imbalances.
Jordan's economy is mainly dependent on exports, tourism, and overseas Jordanian employees' remittances. Any imbalances in these economic resources will affect the rate of employment and unemployment in the kingdom. By nature of things, as the rate of unemployment increases more, the rate of poverty will rise in Jordan. Noticeably, now the rate of poverty in Jordan has reached 14.5% according to the official statistical estimates. However, the rate is higher based on nongovernmental institutions – estimated at 27%, (European Economy, 2009).On the other hand, Like some underdeveloped countries, Jordan has been suffering greatly from " brain drain"; there are approximately 600,000 Jordanians working abroad, nearly 50 % of them have workplaces in the Gulf region, and their remittances are up to 20% of the Jordanian GDP, (European Commission, 2009).In other words, remittances are recognized as an important national income in the country. It is agreed that, among the huge number of Jordanians working overseas, there are a big number of academic, skilled and professional people. This undoubtedly, despite the advantageous benefits, negatively affects the country since Jordan needs to make up the shortage by depending on alternative foreign manpower from Egypt and Syria. Consequently, this leads to the transfer of huge amounts of foreign currency outside the country; cash outflow. The point is that the foreign laborers from the Arab neighboring countries are not as professional as the Jordanians; the vast majority of them work in the field of construction.
Considerably, the Jordanian economy is very service-oriented and heavily dependent on foreign grants which have affected the kingdom depending on the magnitude of these grants. According to Jordan's ministry of finance, the grants increased by 102% (from $484 million to $980 million). In the same context, the budget deficit is another huge challenge to the Jordanian government, which forces the government to continue depending on foreign grants and assistance.
It is inferred that, in the light of the recent global economic crisis, Jordan has faced several challenges due to the impact of the global downturn on its financial resources.
What is now Jordan has been inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period. Three stable kingdoms emerged there at the end of the Bronze Age: Ammon, Moab and Edom. Later rulers include the Nabataean Kingdom, the Roman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. After the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in 1916 during World War I, the Ottoman Empire was partitioned by Britain and France. The Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921 by the then Emir Abdullah I and became a British protectorate. In 1946, Jordan became an independent state officially known as The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. Jordan captured the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and the name of the state was changed to The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1949. Jordan is a founding member of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and is one of two Arab states to have signed a peace treaty with Israel. The country is a constitutional monarchy, but the king holds wide executive and legislative powers.
Jordan is a relatively small semi-arid almost landlocked country with a population numbering at 9.5 million. Sunni Islam, practiced by around 92% of the population, is the dominant religion in Jordan. It coexists with an indigenous Christian minority. Jordan is considered to be among the safest of Arab countries in the Middle East, and has avoided long-term terrorism and instability. In the midst of surrounding turmoil, it has been greatly hospitable, accepting refugees from almost all surrounding conflicts as early as 1948, with most notably the estimated 2.1 million Palestinians and the 1.4 million Syrian refugees residing in the country. The kingdom is also a refuge to thousands of Iraqi Christians fleeing the Islamic State. While Jordan continues to accept refugees, the recent large influx from Syria placed substantial strain on national resources and infrastructure.
Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein (King of Jordan) | Noor (widow Queen) |
The dinar is the currency of Jordan. The dinar is divided into 10 dirham, 100 qirsh (also called piastres) or 1000 fulus.
The Jordanian dinar continued to be used in the West Bank along with Israeli pound after Israel took control of it in 1967. During Israel's hyperinflation in the 1970s and 1980s, the Jordanian dinar provided stability. Outside of Jordan, the Jordanian dinar is currently used alongside the Israeli shekel in the West Bank area.
From 1927 to 1950, the Palestine Currency Board issued the Palestine pound as the official currency in both Palestine and the Trans-Jordan Emirate. After Jordan became an independent kingdom on 25 May 1946, the idea of issuing a national currency arose and led to the passing of the Provisional Act No. 35 of 1949. Under this Act, the Jordan Currency Board was formed, which became the sole authority entitled to issue Jordanian currency in the kingdom. The London-based entity consisted of a president and four members. As of 1 July 1950, the Jordanian dinar became the kingdom’s official currency, and use of the Palestine pound ceased in the kingdom on 30 September 1950. Although issued by the Jordan Currency Board, the notes bear the name of The Hashemite Kingdom of the Jordan.
Until 1992, coins were denominated in Arabic using fils, qirsh, dirham, and dinar but in English only in fils and dinar. Since 1992, the fils and dirham are no longer used in the Arabic denominations and the English denominations are given in dinar and either qirsh or piastres.
National Song | "Al-salam Al-malaki Al-urdoni" |
Currency | Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Languages | Arabic |
Population | 6.976 Millions |
GDP / GDP Rank | 85.649 Billion USD |
GDP Growth Rate | 2.5 Percent |
GDP Per Captial | $12278.21 (PPP) |
Size | 89,342 km² |
Inflation | -0.778 Percent |
Time Zone | UTC+02:00 |
Interest Rate | 4.75% |
Religion | 2.2% Christians 97.2% Muslims < 1.0% Hindus < 1.0% Buddhists < 1.0% Jews < 1.0% Other Religions |
Ethnic Group | Arab 98% Circassian 1% Armenian 1% |
Government | Constitutional Monarchy King – Abdullah II Prime Minister – Omar Razzaz |
Website | Go to the web |
Driving Side | RIGHT |
Public Debt | 94.991 Percent |
Import | $18.12 Billion |
Export | $7.734 Billion |
Unemployment Rate | 13.241 Percent |
Labor Force | 1898000 |
Labor Force (Occupation) | - |
Culture | - |