an:Geography

Location: Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates: 31 00 N, 36 00 E

Map references: Middle East

Area:
total: 89,213 sq km
land: 88,884 sq km
water: 329 sq km

Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries:
total: 1,619 km
border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 728 km,
Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km

Coastline: 26 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)

Terrain: mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great
Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Jabal Ram 1,754 m

Natural resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil

Land use:
arable land: 4%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 9%
forests and woodland: 1%
other: 85% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 630 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment-current issues: limited natural fresh water resources;
deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Environment-international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

@Jordan:People

Population: 4,434,978 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 985,211; female 935,982)
15-64 years: 54% (male 1,224,595; female 1,160,915)
65 years and over: 3% (male 64,406; female 63,869) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.54% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 35.18 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 3.91 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 33.29 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.84 years
male: 70.96 years
female: 74.84 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.79 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Jordanian(s)
adjective: Jordanian

Ethnic groups: Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%

Religions: Sunni Muslim 96%, Christian 4% (1997 est.)

Languages: Arabic (official), Englis