Economy of Jordan:
        The current economy in Jordan is turning for the worst. Over a
 long period of time the country of Jordan has been dependent on foreign
 aid  ( aid from other Arab countries and some western countries such as
 the United States) to solve most its economic problems. In the late
 eighties  this aid has decreased due to low oil revenues. Jordan has a
 foreign debt around seven billion dollars American.  This dependency on
 foreign funds means that Jordan can not be totally financially
 independent and can be influenced by the wishes of other foreign entities.
        Other than foreign aid Jordan has a large workforce that lives
 and works outside the country ( about 75% working in Iraq ).  In and
 around one billion  dollars was remitted back into the country by these
 workers who lived abroad. Unfortunately, because of The Gulf War in
 1990-91, many of these Jordanians were forced to return home and
 unemployment rates shot up, and Jordan        The total annual GNP of 
Jordan  is in and around eleven billion
 dollars, and about three thousand dollars per capita. Jordan products  
include crops of food stuffs, mining of ores ( such as
 phosphate). This domestic products still can not make the population of
 Jordan self-sufficient so much of the needed resources are imported into
 the country.
        As stated before Jordanfirst because of the decreases in foreign 
aid and second rise in
 unemployment ( mostly because of The Gulf War ). These two factors make
 Jordan of Jordan had power among his people, but with the current trends 
King
 Hussein is finding it harder to keep control of the masses. In order to
 keep some of the heat of the economic recession from hurting him he made
 many domestic polices aimed at establishing political parties and a
 parliament for the people.
        Social Structure:
        The nation of Jordan has about four million people, ninety
 percent are Muslim ( mostly Sunnis Muslim ) and the rest are Christian.
 Palestinians make up a good sixty percent of the residentry. About
 seventy percent of the population are literate.
        The country is headed by King Hussein who is supported by the
 military and a democratically elected National Assembly that also hears
 matters of state. Political parties have been recently allowed ( made
 possible by a new national charter signed into existence in 1991).
        The most opposition and competition has come in the form of the
 PLO during the Jordanian civil war. But since then the relationship of
 the PLO and Jordan has mellowed out.
        Military:
        Jordan has a decent sized army that is supplied from many western 
countries ( mostly the U.S. and some from Great Britain ). The make up of
the Army relies on mostly Bedouin tribesmen that hold key positions in
 the military. King Hussein has made it a point to keep in good contact
 with them.
        Ruling Coalition:
        Currently King Hussein and a National assembly with a multi-party
 system is in place. With the current system of government, King Hussein
 has promoted participation by the people in the populace. This also means
 they can not make him the sole one to blame for the country         The 
native Jordanians are the main supporters of the King
 Hussein. The native Palestinians are the main agitators of King Hussein.
 They are not necessarily opposed to King Hussein, but their point of view
 is different from that of the King        Foreign Policy:
        King Hussein is an outstanding diplomat. Because of his
 geographical position and because of his economic conditions, King
 Hussein has strove forward to help make a peace pact with Israel and to
 set up an autonomous Palestine. In 1988 he renounced the west bank as
 part of Jordan, and giving it up to his opposition  , the PLO. This
 situation altered the environment of the Middle-East, because in turn the
 PLO recognized U.N. proposition 242 , and entered talks with Israel. He
 has also hosted many diplomatic initiatives among the Arab states and
 with Israel.
        After ending the tension between Jordan and Israel he was on the
 good side of many western countries. Foreign aid increased from the 
United States  to Jordan and much of the debt that Jordan had with the
 U.S. was also forgiven with out pay back.
        King Hussein is viewed at this point as a peaceful go between in
 the Middle-East peace process. He is respected among many countries
 leader standing. Right now, they are in a economical recession, and with out
 stability in the region how can they attract businesses or other sources
 of revenue?


 References: The Middle East, Congretional Quarterly, copy right 1994 .

 End of Jordan Team Profile

(by Brook Cavell)