Population The Population Of Jordan example essay topic

Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of I. INTRODUCTION Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of (Arabic Al Mamlakah al Urdunniyah al Hashimiyah), kingdom in southwestern Asia, bounded on the north by Syria, on the east by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, on the south by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf of Aqaba, and on the west by Israel and the West Bank, an area previously held by Jordan that has been occupied by Israel since 1967. The area of Jordan is 89,556 sq km (34,578 sq mi). Amman is the capital and largest city of Jordan. II. LAND AND RESOURCES The principal geographical feature of Jordan is an arid plateau that thrusts abruptly upward on the eastern shores of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, reaching a height of about 610 to 915 m (about 2,000 to 3,000 ft), then sloping gently downward toward the Syrian Desert in the extreme east of the country. The Jordan Valley is in the deep depression of the Great Rift Valley, which is 209 m (686 ft) below sea level in the area of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) and 408 m (1,340 ft) below sea level at the Dead Sea, the world's lowest point.

Deep canyons and mountainous outcroppings with elevations of approximately 1,500 m (approximately 4,900 ft) and more characterize the Arabian Plateau in the southern portion of the country. The Jordan River, forming the country's border with Israel and the West Bank, is the heart of the country's drainage system. A. Climate The climate of Jordan is marked by sharp seasonal variations in both temperature and precipitation. Temperatures below freezing are not unknown in January, the coldest month, but the average winter temperature is above 7^0 C (45^0 F). In the Jordan Valley summer temperatures may reach 49^0 C (120^0 F) in August, the hottest month, but the average summer temperature in Amman is 26^0 C (78^0 F). Precipitation is confined largely to the winter season and ranges from about 660 mm (about 26 in) in the northwestern corner to less than 127 mm (less than 5 in) in the extreme east. B. Vegetation and Animal Life Because much of Jordan consists of desert and steppe, plant life is not abundant. Grassland and wooded areas are found in the Jabal Alun district between Amman and the Syrian border.

In these regions the trees include willow, oleander and tamarisk along the lower Jordan River valley and also ilex, olive, Aleppo pine, and palm. Wildlife includes the hyena, hyrax, gazelle, ibex, fox, partridge, mongoose, and mole rat; birds are also well-represented. C. Mineral Resources Except for potash and phosphate deposits, Jordan has few known mineral resources that are large enough for commercial exploitation.. POPULATION The population of Jordan is almost entirely Arab. The only sizable racial minorities in the country are the Circassians and the Armenians; each group accounts for less than 1 percent of the population. Jordan is 74 percent urban; nomads and semi nomads make up perhaps 5 percent of the population. A. Population Characteristics The population of Jordan (2001 estimate), is 5,153,378, yielding an average population density of 58 persons per sq km (149 per sq mi). B. Principal Cities Amman, the capital and largest city of Jordan, grew in population from a census estimate of 321,000 in 1966 to nearly 648,000 at the 1979 census, largely because of the influx of refugees from the West Bank area in the wake of the Six-Day War with Israel in 1967; in 1995 the city had an estimated 1.2 million inhabitants. Other important cities include Az Zarqa' (population, 1994 estimate, 421,000) and Irbid (281,000).

Al 'Aqaba h, the only seaport, had an estimated population of 41,900 in 1989. C. Religion and Language The great majority of the Jordanian people are Sunni Muslims. Shiite Muslims form a small minority. Christians, about one-third of whom belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, make up about 5 percent of the population. Islam is the state religion and Arabic the official language (see Arabic Language). D. Education Jordan has made significant strides in education in recent decades, despite the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees and the very large share of the national budget assigned to the armed forces. Public education is free and compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15. At the secondary level, about 80 percent of the male children and 78 percent of the female children go to school.

Some 100 percent of the Jordanian population age 15 or older was literate in 2001. In the 1997-1998 school year 1.1 million pupils attended elementary schools in Jordan, another 155,000 students attended secondary schools, and 113,000 students were enrolled in institutions of higher education. The country has two major universities: the University of Jordan (1962) in Amman, and Yarmuk University (1976), in Irbid. Other facilities for higher education in Jordan include the Statistical Training Center and institutes for the study of agriculture, banking, social work, and public administration..