Short facts about the economy in Jordan

Economy - overview:

Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. The Persian Gulf crisis, which began in August 1990, aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the government to stop most debt payments and suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker remittances, and trade revenues contracted. Refugees flooded the country, producing serious balance-of-payments problems, stunting GDP growth, and straining government resources. The economy rebounded in 1992, largely due to the influx of capital repatriated by workers returning from the Gulf. After averaging 9% in 1992-95, GDP growth averaged only 1.5% during 1996-99. In an attempt to spur growth, King ABDALLAH has undertaken limited economic reform, including partial privatization of some state-owned enterprises and Jordan's entry in January 2000 into the World Trade Organization (WTrO). Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental ongoing economic problems.

GDP:	purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

2% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture:  3% industry:  25% services:  72% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line:

30% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%:  2.4% highest 10%:  34.7% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

0.7% (2000 est.)

Labor force:

1.15 million note:  in addition, at least 300,000 workers are employed abroad (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52% (1992)

Unemployment rate:

15% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (1999 est.)

Budget:

revenues:  $2.8 billion expenditures:  $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries:

phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:

3.8% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:

6.657 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel:  99.79% hydro:  0.21% nuclear:  0% other:  0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:

6.594 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:

4 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:

407 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:

wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry

Exports:

$2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities:

phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures

Exports - partners:

India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE, Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Ethiopia

Imports:

$4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities:

crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods

Imports - partners:

Iraq, Germany, US, Japan, UK, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia, Syria, China

Debt - external:

$8 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:

ODA, $850 million (1996 est.)

Currency:

Jordanian dinar (JOD)

Currency code:

JOD

Exchange rates:

Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.7090 (1996-present ) note:  since May 1989, the Jordanian dinar has been pegged to a group of currencies

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Source: World Factbook