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Arab Culture & Civilization
Explore this exemplary library of articles and resources on Arab societies and culture. This site was originally created by the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE).
The political story of Jordan is largely the story of the Hashemite family. King Hussein, who ruled the country from 1953 until his death in 1999 and his son, King Abdullah, who has ruled from 1999 until the present, have ensured that Jordan has become one of the more progressive states in the Middle East. It is one of the few to have cooperative relations with Israel, while negotiating intense external and internal pressures. In 1989 King Hussein instituted a program of political liberalization. In 2000, King Abdullah ushered in a period of economic reform. Municipal elections were held in July 2007 under a system in which 20% of seats in all municipal councils were reserved by quota for women. Parliamentary election held in November of 2007 say the election of many independent pro-government candidates.
Jordan, a country of just over 6 million that is slightly smaller than Indiana, has almost no natural resources of its own. Until 2003, for instance, Jordan relied on Iraq for most of its oil, although it now purchases its supplies from other Middle Eastern nations. Since King Abdullah instituted economic reforms, Jordan has made substantial headway towards economic stability. In 2008 Jordan reduced government subsidies on petroleum and consumer goods in an effort to control the budget. The main economic challenges facing Jordan are reducing dependence on foreign grants, reducing the budget deficit, attracting investments, and creating jobs.
Population: In July 2000 the population of Jordan was estimated to be 4,998,564. The country has a very young population, of which 41 percent are under the age of 20.
Education: Jordan has made great strides in reducing illiteracy, the rate of which declined from 68% in 1961 to 13.5% in 1995. Adult illiteracy rates for the year 2000 were estimated at 10.2% (males, 5.1%; females, 15.6%). Education is compulsory between the ages of 6–15. Ten years are devoted to primary education, followed by two years at the secondary stage. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Jordan-EDUCATION.html
Health: Medical services are concentrated in the main towns, but in recent decades the government has attempted to bring at least a minimum of modern medical care to rural areas. Village clinics are staffed by trained nurses, with regular visits by government physicians. As modern medicine has spread to the more remote areas, traditional methods have been dying out. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Jordan-HEALTH.html
Ethnic Groups: Most of the population is Arab (approximately 98% in 2002), but, except for the Bedouin nomads and seminomads of the desert and steppe areas, this element is overlain by the numerous peoples that have been present in Jordan for millennia, including Greek, Egyptian, Persian, European, and Negroid strains. The Palestinian Arabs now resident in Jordan tend to be sedentary and urban. Perhaps 1% of the population is Armenian, and another 1% is Circassian. There are also small Kurd, Druze, and Chechen minorities. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Jordan-ETHNIC-GROUPS.html
Religion: Islam is the state religion, although all are guaranteed religious freedom. Most Jordanians (about 95%) are Sunni Muslims. Of the racial minorities, the Turkomans and Circassians are Sunni Muslims, but the Druzes are a heterodox Muslim sect. Christians constitute about 4% of the population and live mainly in 'Amman or the Jordan Valley; most are Greek Orthodox or Roman Catholic. Other officially recognized denominations include Melkite, Armenian Orthodox, Maronite, Assyrian, Anglican, Lutheran, Seventh-Day Adventist, United Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Baptist, Free Evangelical, Nazarene, and Assembly of God. The Baha'is are mainly of Persian stock. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Jordan-RELIGIONS.html
Population In July 2000 the population of Jordan was estimated to be 4,998,564, increasing on average by 3.1 percent a year. The country has a very young population, of which 41 percent are under the age of 20. Only 3 percent of Jordanians are over the age of 65. In 2000 the birth rate stood at 26.24 births per 1,000 while the death rate stood at 2.63 per 1,000. With a projected annual population growth rate of 3 percent, the population is expected to reach approximately 7.5 million by the year 2015.
The Jordanian population is almost entirely Arab except for pockets of people from Armenia, Chechnya, and a very small community of Circassians (the oldest indigenous people of North Caucasus). Although there are no accurate figures to date, it is estimated that up to 75 percent of the Jordanian population is Palestinian. The Palestinian people have been flooding into Jordan since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, when they were either forced to leave their homes or subjected to such economic, cultural, and political hardship that they felt compelled to leave. There are existing tensions between the Jordanians who inhabited the country before 1948 and the refugees and immigrants who have since settled. The former group are known as the "East Bankers" and the latter group known as "West Bankers." Despite these tensions, the 2 communities are deeply inter-linked socially and economically. Many Palestinians living in Jordan refer to themselves as Jordanians, and it is hard to generalize about the loyalty and identity of the Palestinian population. In addition, there are 1 million foreign workers in the kingdom mainly from Egypt, Syria, and Iraq who perform menial, physical, and in some cases managerial jobs. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Jordan.html
This page on Jordan from the al-Bab website provides several pages with information about Jordanian culture, food, politics, economics, history, news, and travel.
This website provides information on the Jordanian culture. Topics include history, urbanism, food, economy, social structure, gender roles, government, marriage, arts, medicine, and religion.
This website provides lists and provides a brief background of the museums in Jordan. Museums include the Jordan Archaeological Museum, the Jordan Folklore Museum, the Jordanian Museum of Popular Traditions, University of Jordan’s museums, the National Gallery of Fine Arts, the Numismatics Museum Central Bank of Jordan, the Exhibition of Arab Heritage and Recent Discoveries, and the Royal Automobile Museum.
This page from the Visit Jordan website provides information on Jordan’s ecosystems and protected habitats. Included are links to pages on each individual nature reserve which include photographs.
As part of a larger online teaching unit from the University of Pennsylvania Middle East Center called Marhaba, this is a short unit on the history and geography of Jordan.
This website discusses the historical site of Petra in Southern Jordan. Petra flourished for over 400 years around the time of Rome and is considered a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
This short video clip, “Adventures in Jordan” from the Visit Jordan website takes the viewer through several different historical sites and outdoor adventures that are available in Jordan.
