Jordan Economy
Is Jordan a wealthy country?
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.
Jordan Economy Data
What is the GDP of Jordan?
| Currency Name and Code | Jordanian Dollar (JOD) |
| GDP - Gross Domestic Product (PPP) | $100,160,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - official exchange rate | $38,210,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.9% |
| GDP Per Capita | $12,400.00 (USD) |
| GDP by Sector- agriculture | 3.8% |
| GDP by Sector- Industry | 29.9% |
| GDP by Sector- services | 66.3% |
| GDP - composition, by end use |
household consumption: 78.9% government consumption: 23.1% investment in fixed capital: 28% investment in inventories: 0.2% exports of goods and services: 36.8% imports of goods and services: -67% |
| Population Below Poverty Line | 14.2% |
| Inflation Rate | 4.4% |
| Labor Force | 1,719,000 |
| Labor Force By Occupation- agriculture | 2.7% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- industry | 20% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- services | 77.4% |
| Unemployment Rate | 13.4% |
| Unemployment - note | official rate; unofficial rate is approximately 30% |
| Fiscal Year | calendar year |
| Annual Budget | $6,269,000,000 (USD) |
| Budget Surplus or Deficit - percent of GDP | -11.3% |
| Public Debt (% of GDP) | 77.7% |
| Taxes and other revenues - percent of GDP | 20.2% |
| Major Industries | phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, tourism |
| Industrial Growth Rate | 2.7% |
| Agriculture Products | wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry |
| Exchange Rate per US Dollar | Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
| Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate | 8.9% |