Jordan - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Jordan. 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; the Dead Sea, the lowest point in Asia and the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lac Assal in Djibouti), lies on Jordan's western border with Israel and the West Bank; Jordan is almost landlocked but does have a 26 km southwestern coastline with a single port, Al 'Aqabah (Aqaba). Mother's mean age at first birth is 24.6 years (2017/18 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 41 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Geographical data of Jordan
| Location | Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the west) and Iraq |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 31 00 N, 36 00 E |
| Map references | Middle East |
| Tarrain | mostly arid desert plateau; a great north-south geological rift along the west of the country is the dominant topographical feature and includes the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Jordanian Highlands |
| Natural Resources | phosphates, potash, shale oil |
| Natural Hazards | droughts; periodic earthquakes; flash floods |
| Irrigated Land | 833 sq km (2020) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | Arabian Aquifer System |
| Land Boundaries | 1,744 km |
| Border Countries | Iraq 179 km; Israel 307 km; Saudi Arabia 731 km; Syria 379 km; West Bank 148 km |
| Coastline | 26 km |
| Climate | mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April) |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 88,802 sq km |
| Water Area | 540 sq km |
| comparative Area | about three-quarters the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Indiana |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 3 nm |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Jabal Umm ad Dami 1,854 m |
| Lowest point | Dead Sea -431 m |
| Mean elevation | 812 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 11.4% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 2% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 1% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 8.4% (2018 est.) |
| Forest | 1.1% (2018 est.) |
| Other | 87.5% (2018 est.) |
Population Distribution
Population heavily concentrated in the west, and particularly the northwest, in and around the capital of Amman; a sizeable, but smaller population is located in the southwest along the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba
People and Society
In Jordan, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Jordanian 69.3%, Syrian 13.3%, Palestinian 6.7%, Egyptian 6.7%, Iraqi 1.4%, other 2.6% (2015 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 0.78% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 22.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 3.5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | 7.5% of GDP (2020) |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 1.5 beds/1,000 population (2017) |
| Total fertility rate | 2.87 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 1.39 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 51.8% (2017/18) |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 55.6% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 3.2% of GDP (2021 est.) |
| Net Migration rate | -10.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Jordanian | Jordanian(s) |
| Languages | |
| 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% (2020 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 30.9% (male 1,771,840/female 1,678,178) |
| 15-64 years | 64.9% (male 3,844,575/female 3,409,164) |
| 65 years and over | 4.2% (2024 est.) (male 228,564/female 241,703) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 57.1 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 51.2 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 5.8 |
| Potential support ratio | 17.1 (2021 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 25 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 25.5 years |
| Female | 24.4 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 92% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 0.98% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 2.232 million AMMAN (capital) (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1.13 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.95 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 1.1 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 13.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 12.1 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 76.5 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 75 years |
| Female | 78.1 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 99.2% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 97.9% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 99.1% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0.8% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 2.1% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0.9% of population (2020 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 98.8% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 97.8% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 98.7% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 1.2% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 2.2% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 1.3% of population (2020 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 0.25 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 0.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 34.8% (2020 est.) |
| Male | 56.8% (2020 est.) |
| Female | 12.8% (2020 est.) |
| Child marriage | |
| Women married by age 15 | 1.5% |
| Women married by age 18 | 9.7% |
| Men married by age 18 | 0.1% (2018 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Jordan
Want to know more about Jordan? Check all different factbooks for Jordan below.
