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Middle East

Jordan

Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the west) and Iraq.

Muslim population97.1%of the population

Population11.9 millionpeople (current)

CapitalAmmanUTC+3

Currency0.71 = $1Jordanian dinars (JOD) (2024)

Country basics

Jordan is a constitutional monarchy in Western Asia, with a short outlet onto the Red Sea.

Jordan is a kingdom with Amman as its capital and Arabic as its official language, bordering Israel, the West Bank, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The dinar is pegged to the United States dollar, and phosphates, potash and tourism support the economy.

Official name

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Region

Asia · Western Asia

Government

Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+03:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+962

Currency

Jordanian dinar (JOD, د.ا)

Member of

Arab League; UN

Website

https://www.pm.gov.jo

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim 97.1% (official; predominantly Sunni), Christian 2.1% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), Buddhist 0.4%, Hindu 0.1%, Jewish <0.1%, folk <0.1%, other <0.1%, unaffiliated <0.1%

Languages

Arabic

People and cities

Population

11.9 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

25.4 years (2025)

Living in cities

92% (2023)

Largest cities

Amman (capital) 2.232 million

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

0.71 Jordanian dinars (JOD) per US dollar (2024)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$9,500 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

1.6% (2024)

Unemployment

18% (2024)

Spent on foodShare of an average household’s spending

25% (2023)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

76.5 years (2024)

Doctors

2.85 per 1,000 people (2022)

Hospital beds

1.4 per 1,000 people (2021)

Safe drinking water

99% of people (2022)

Electricity

100% of people (2022)

Internet users

93% of people (2023)

Literacy

94.8% of adults (2023)

Land and climate

Climate

Mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)

SizeAbout three-quarters the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Indiana

89,342 sq km

Natural hazards

Droughts; periodic earthquakes; flash floods

National holiday

Independence Day, 25 May (1946)