Economy - overview Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental problems, but King ABDALLAH since assuming the throne in 1999 has undertaken some broad economic reforms in a long-term effort to improve living standards. Amman in the past three years has signed on to an IMF agreement, practiced careful monetary policy, and made significant headway with privatization. The government also has liberalized the trade regime sufficiently to secure Jordan's membership in the WTrO, an association agreement with the EU, and a free trade accord with US. These measures have helped improve productivity and have put Jordan on the foreign investment map. Ongoing challenges include fiscal adjustment to reduce the budget deficit and broader investment incentives to promote job-creating ventures.

GDP purchasing power parity - $21.6 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 2.8% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 3.7%
industry: 26%
services: 70.3% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line 30% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1997)

Distribution of family income - Gini index 36.4 (1997)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1.5% (2001 est.)

Labor force 1.26 million
note: in addition, at least 300,000 workers are employed abroad (2001)

Labor force - by occupation services 82.5%, industry 12.5%, agriculture 5% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate 16% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (2001 est.)

Budget
revenues: $2.9 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate 3.9% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production 6.932 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 99.44%
hydro: 0.56%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 7.092 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 5 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 650 million kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry

Exports $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

Exports - commodities phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures, pharmaceuticals

Exports - partners India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, US, Indonesia, UAE, Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Ethiopia

Imports $4.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

Imports - commodities crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods

Imports - partners Iraq, Germany, US, Saudi Arabia, Japan, UK, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia, Syria, China

Debt - external $7.9 billion (2001 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

NOTE: The information regarding Jordan on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Jordan Economy 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Jordan Economy 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.