Jordan (2008) | Tokelau (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, 'Amman, At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33% (male 1,018,934/female 977,645)
15-64 years: 63% (male 2,037,550/female 1,777,361) 65 years and over: 4% (male 117,279/female 124,424) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives; sheep, poultry, stone fruits, strawberries, dairy | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 17 (2007) | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 92,300 sq km
land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the UK received a mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain separated out a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s, and the area gained its independence in 1946; it adopted the name of Jordan in 1950. The country's long-time ruler was King HUSSEIN (1953-99). A pragmatic leader, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, despite several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he reinstituted parliamentary elections and gradual political liberalization; in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, the son of King HUSSEIN, assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and undertaken an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2000, and began to participate in the European Free Trade Association in 2001. Municipal elections were held in July 2007 under a system in which 20% of seats in all municipal councils were reserved by quota for women. Parliamentary elections were held in November 2007 and saw independent pro-government candidates win the vast majority of seats. In November 2007, King Abdallah instructed his new prime minister to focus on socioeconomic reform, developing a healthcare and housing network for civilians and military personnel, and improving the educational system. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 20.69 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.999 billion
expenditures: $6.449 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $430,830
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
Capital | name: Amman
geographic coordinates: 31 57 N, 35 56 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Thursday in March; ends last Friday in September |
none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
Climate | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 26 km | 101 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1952; amended many times | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 |
Country name | conventional long form: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
conventional short form: Jordan local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah local short form: Al Urdun former: Transjordan |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | - | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 2.68 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.483 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Alan MISENHEIMER
embassy: Abdun, Amman mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; Unit 70200, Box 5, APO AE 09892-0200 telephone: [962] (6) 590-6000 FAX: [962] (6) 592-0121 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador ZEID Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein, Prince
chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664 FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan; 2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $752 million (2005 est.) | from New Zealand about $4 million annually |
Economy - overview | Jordan is a small Arab country with insufficient supplies of water, oil, and other natural resources. Poverty, unemployment, and inflation are fundamental problems, but King ABDALLAH II, since assuming the throne in 1999, has undertaken some broad economic reforms in a long-term effort to improve living standards. Since Jordan's graduation from its most recent IMF program in 2002, Amman has continued to follow IMF guidelines, practicing careful monetary policy, making substantial headway with privatization, and opening the trade regime. Jordan's exports have significantly increased under the free trade accord with the US and Jordanian Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ), which allow Jordan to export goods duty free to the US. In 2006, Jordan reduced its debt-to-GDP ratio significantly. These measures have helped improve productivity and have made Jordan more attractive for foreign investment. Before the US-led war in Iraq, Jordan imported most of its oil from Iraq. Since 2003, however, Jordan has been more dependent on oil from other Gulf nations. The government ended subsidies for petroleum and other consumer goods in 2008 in an effort to control the budget. The main challenges facing Jordan are reducing dependence on foreign grants, reducing the budget deficit, attracting investments, and creating jobs. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.49 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 4 million kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - imports | 741 million kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production | 9.074 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Jabal Ram 1,734 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1% | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.709 (2007), 0.709 (2006), 0.709 (2005), 0.709 (2004), 0.709 (2003) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.154 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Prince HUSSEIN (born 1994), eldest son of King ABDALLAH II, is considered to be first in line to inherit the throne
head of government: Prime Minister Nader al-DAHABI (since 25 November 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Lindsay WATT (since NA March 1993)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Pio TUIA (since NA 2002) cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) |
Exports - commodities | clothing, pharmaceuticals, potash, phosphates, fertilizers, vegetables, manufactures | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | US 25.2%, Iraq 16.9%, India 8%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, Syria 4.7% (2006) | NZ (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), representing the Abbassid Caliphate, white, representing the Ummayyad Caliphate, and green, representing the Fatimid Caliphate; a red isosceles triangle on the hoist side, representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, and bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations; design is based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.7%
industry: 10.5% services: 85.8% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 31 00 N, 36 00 E | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 30.6% (2003) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | 106,400 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, textile fabrics, machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 23.2%, Germany 8.3%, China 8%, US 5.3% (2006) | NZ (2000) |
Independence | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.7% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | clothing, phosphate mining, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing, tourism | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 16.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.4% (2007 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | SPC, UNESCO (associate), WHO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 750 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Court of Cassation; Supreme Court (court of final appeal) | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 1.563 million (2007 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 5%
industry: 12.5% services: 82.5% (2001 est.) |
- |
Land boundaries | total: 1,635 km
border countries: Iraq 181 km, Israel 238 km, Saudi Arabia 744 km, Syria 375 km, West Bank 97 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.32%
permanent crops: 1.18% other: 95.5% (2005) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on Islamic law and French codes; judicial review of legislative acts in a specially provided High Tribunal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | New Zealand and local statutes |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, also called the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (55 seats; members appointed by the monarch from designated categories of public figures to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies, also called the House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (110 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms; note - six seats are reserved for women and are allocated by a special electoral panel if no women are elected)
elections: Chamber of Deputies - last held 20 November 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - IAF 5.5 %, independents and other 94.5%; seats by party - IAF 6, independents and other 104; note - seven women will serve in the next Assembly - six of whom filled women's quota seats and one was directly elected |
unicameral General Fono (48 seats; members chosen by each atoll's Council of Elders or Taupulega to serve three-year terms); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.55 years
male: 76.04 years female: 81.22 years (2007 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: 68 years female: 70 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.9% male: 95.1% female: 84.7% (2003 est.) |
NA |
Location | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 30 ships (1000 GRT or over) 410,472 GRT/564,643 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 11, container 3, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 15 (UAE 15) registered in other countries: 15 (Bahamas 2, Panama 11, Syria 2) (2007) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF): Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal Jordanian Navy, Royal Jordanian Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Malakiya al-Urduniya), Special Operations Command (Socom); Public Security Directorate (normally falls under Ministry of Interior, but comes under JAF in wartime or crisis situations) (2006) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 8.6% (2006) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 May (1946) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Jordanian(s)
adjective: Jordanian |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | droughts; periodic earthquakes | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | phosphates, potash, shale oil | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 6.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 426 km; oil 49 km (2007) | - |
Political parties and leaders | al-Ahd Party; Arab Islamic Democratic Movement [Yusuf ABU BAKR]; Arab Land Party [Dr. Ayishah Salih HIJAZAYN]; Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Taysir al-HIMSI]; Ba'th Arab Progressive Party [Fu'ad DABBUR]; Freedom Party; Future Party; Islamic Action Front or IAF [Zaki Sa'ed BANI IRSHEID]; Islamic Center Party [Marwan al-FAURI]; Jordanian Arab Ansar Party; Jordanian Arab New Dawn Party; Jordanian Arab Party; Jordanian Citizens' Rights Movement; Jordanian Communist Party [Munir HAMARINAH]; Jordanian Communist Workers Party; Jordanian Democratic Left Party [Musa MA'AYTEH]; Jordanian Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id Dhiyab Ali MUSTAFA]; Jordanian Generations Party [Muhammad KHALAYLEH]; Jordanian Green Party [Muhammad BATAYNEH]; Jordanian Labor Party [Dr. Mazin Sulayman Jiryis HANNA]; Jordanian Peace Party; Jordanian People's Committees Movement; Jordanian People's Democratic Party (Hashd) [Ahmad YUSUF]; Jordanian Rafah Party; Jordanian Renaissance Party; Mission Party; Nation Party [Ahmad al-HANANDEH]; National Action Party (Haqq) [Tariq al-KAYYALI]; National Constitutional Party [Abdul Hadi MAJALI]; National Popular Democratic Movement [Mahmud al-NUWAYHI]; Progressive Party [Fawwaz al-ZUBI] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Anti-Normalization Committee [Ali Abu SUKKAR, president vice chairman]; Jordan Bar Association [Hussein Mujalli, chairman]; Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF, president]; Muslim Brotherhood [Salem AL-FALAHAT, controller general] | none |
Population | 6,053,193 (July 2007 est.) | 1,418 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 14.2% (2002) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.412% (2007 est.) | 0.01% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 31 (2007) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
Railways | total: 505 km
narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2001 est.) | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.146 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.943 male(s)/female total population: 1.102 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
NA (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: service has improved recently with increased use of digital switching equipment; microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; growing mobile-cellular usage in both urban and rural areas is reducing use of fixed-line services; internet penetration remains modest and slow-growing
domestic: 1995 telecommunications law opened all non-fixed-line services to private competition; in 2005, monopoly over fixed-line services terminated and the entire telecommunications sector was opened to competition; mobile-cellular usage is increasing rapidly and teledensity is approaching 75 per 100 persons international: country code - 962; landing point for the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides links to Asia, Middle East, Europe; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals; fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria; participant in Medarabtel |
general assessment: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 614,000 (2006) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.343 million (2006) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 22 (2007) | - |
Terrain | mostly desert plateau in east, highland area in west; Great Rift Valley separates East and West Banks of the Jordan River | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 2.55 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 13.5% official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | none |