Jordan:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Jordan:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


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. After a two-year delay, parliamentary and municipal elections took place in the summer of 2003. The prime minister appointed in November 2005 stated the government would focus on political reforms, improving conditions for the poor, and fighting corruption.

Location	Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates	31 00 N, 36 00 E
Map references	Middle East
Area	total: 92,300 sq km land: 91,971 sq km water: 329 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Indiana
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
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 1,734 m
Natural resources	phosphates, potash, shale oil
Land use	arable land: 3.32% permanent crops: 1.18% other: 95.5% (2005)
Irrigated land	750 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards	droughts; periodic earthquakes
Environment - current issues	limited natural fresh water resources; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
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
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