ECONOMICS

 

Main Crops: wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry

Natural Resources: phosphates, potash, shale oil

Major Industries: phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing

Jordan's economy is among the smallest in the Middle East, with insufficient supplies of water, oil, and other natural resources, underlying the government's heavy reliance on foreign assistance. Other economic challenges for the government include chronic high rates of unemployment and underemployment, budget and current account deficits, and government debt.

King ABDALLAH, during the first decade of the 2000s, implemented significant economic reforms, such as expanding foreign trade and privatizing state-owned companies that attracted foreign investment and contributed to average annual economic growth of 8% for 2004 through 2008. The global economic slowdown and regional turmoil contributed to slower growth from 2010 to 2017 - with growth averaging about 2.5% per year - and hurt export-oriented sectors, construction/real estate, and tourism. Since the onset of the civil war in Syria and resulting refugee crisis, one of Jordan’s most pressing socioeconomic challenges has been managing the influx of approximately 660,000 UN-registered refugees, more than 80% of whom live in Jordan’s urban areas. Jordan’s own official census estimated the refugee number at 1.3 million Syrians as of early 2016.

Jordan is nearly completely dependent on imported energy—mostly natural gas—and energy consistently makes up 25-30% of Jordan’s imports. To diversify its energy mix, Jordan has secured several contracts for liquefied and pipeline natural gas, developed several major renewables projects, and is currently exploring nuclear power generation and exploitation of abundant oil shale reserves. In August 2016, Jordan and the IMF agreed to a $723 million Extended Fund Facility that aims to build on the three-year, $2.1 billion IMF program that ended in August 2015 with the goal of helping Jordan correct budgetary and balance of payments imbalances.

 

 

 

	1990	2000	2010	2020
GNI, Atlas method (current US$) (billions)	4.55	8.57	25.59	43.96
GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$)	1,270	1,670	3,520	4,310
GNI, PPP (current international $) (billions)	14.83	30.74	68.16	105.34
GNI per capita, PPP (current international $)	4,160	6,000	9,390	10,320
GDP (current US$) (billions)	4.16	8.46	27.13	43.7
GDP growth (annual %)	-0.3	4.2	2.3	-1.6
Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %)	14.2	-0.4	8.1	-0.3
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP)	7	2	4	5
Industry (including construction), value added (% of GDP)	24	22	26	24
Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)	60	42	47	24
Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)	90	69	67	42
Gross capital formation (% of GDP)	31	22	31	16
Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP)	25.3	25.1	22.1	20.1
Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP)	-3.4	-2	-4.9	-7
States and markets
Time required to start a business (days)	..	80	13	13
Domestic credit provided by financial sector (% of GDP)	..	..	..	..
Tax revenue (% of GDP)	18	19	15.5	16
Military expenditure (% of GDP)	7.8	6.3	5.9	5
Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people)	0	7.6	91.2	68.5
Individuals using the Internet (% of population)	0	2.6	27.2	66.1
High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports)	..	..	3	2
Statistical Capacity Score (Overall Average) (scale 0 - 100)	..	..	77	78
Global links
Merchandise trade (% of GDP)	88	77	83	58
Net barter terms of trade index (2000 = 100)	94	100	86	76
External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) (millions)	8,333	11,063	16,894	38,016
Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income)	24.4	20.1	5.8	27.6
Net migration (thousands)	412	-94	1,057	51
Personal remittances, received (current US$) (millions)	499	1,845	3,623	3,902
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) (millions)	38	913	1,688	718
Net official development assistance received (current US$) (millions)	951.7	554.2	954.8	3,114.00