Demographics of Jordan

Definition

The territory of Jordan can be defined by the history of its creation after the end of World War I, the League of Nations and redrawing of the borders of the Eastern Mediterranean littoral. The ensuing decisions, most notably the Sykes–Picot Agreement, which created the Mandatory Palestine. In September 1922, Transjordan was formally identified as a subdivision of the Mandate Palestine after the League of Nations approved the British Transjordan memorandum which stated that the Mandate east of the Jordan River would be excluded from all the provisions dealing with Jewish settlement west of the Jordan River.

Fertility Rate (The Demographic Health Survey)

Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and CBR (Crude Birth Rate):

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (01.10.2004) (Census)

Structure of the population (31.12.2013) (Estimates) (Excluding foreigners, including registered Palestinian): refugees. :

Arabs

Native Jordanians are either descended from Bedouins (of which, 6% live a nomadic lifestyle), or from the many deeply rooted non bedouin communities across the country, most notably Al-Salt city west of Amman which was at the time of Emirate the largest urban settlement east of the Jordan River. Along with indigenous communities in Al Husn, Aqaba, Irbid, Al Karak, Madaba, Jerash, Ajloun, Fuheis and Pella.

In Jordan, there is no official census data for how many inhabitants have Palestinian roots but they are estimated to constitute half of the population, which in 2008 amounted to about 3 million. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics put their number at 3.24 million in 2009. There are more than two million registered Palestinian refugees in Jordan as of January 2012.

Around 58,000 Iraqis are estimated to live in Jordan as of January 2015.

There are a few thousand residents of Lebanese origin who came to Jordan when civil strife and war broke out in their native country. They primarily reside in Amman.

Armenians

There were an estimated 5,000 Armenians living within the country in 2009. An estimated 4,500 of these are members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and predominantly speak the Western dialect of the Armenian language. This population makes up the majority of non-Arab Christians in the country.

Assyrians

There is an Assyrian refugee population in Jordan. Many Assyrians have arrived in Jordan as refugees since the invasion of Iraq, making up a large part of the Iraqi refugees.

Circassians

Circassians obtained Ottoman citizenships since 1887, immigrated to Jordan and they selected Amman. They settled in several cities such as Jerash and Zarqa, and established their own village, Wadi as-Ser.

The Circassians played a role in the history of Transjordan era, and are famous for their loyalty to Abdullah I of Jordan and his family, obtaining the Transjordan citizenship in the law of citizenship that was issued in 1928, while other tribes obtained their citizenship in 1930 or later.

Over the years, various Circassians have served in distinguished roles in Jordan, including the first ever Mayor of Amman Ismael Babouk, a prime minister Sa`id al-Mufti, ministers, high-ranking officers, etc. Circassians form the Hashemites honor guard at the royal palaces, and represented Jordan in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2010, joining other honor guards such as The Airborne Ceremonial Unit.

The Circassians are Sunni Muslims and are estimated to number 120,000 persons, or 2% of Jordanian population, while accounting for 5% of Amman's residents.

Chechens

There are about 10,000 Chechens estimated to reside in Jordan.

Mandaeans

Until recently, most Mandaeans were Iraqi, but this religious minority fled the country in the face of this violence, and the Mandaeans community in Iraq faces extinction. Out of the over 60,000 Mandaeans in Iraq in the early 1990s, only about 5,000 to 7,000 remain there; as of early 2007, over 80% of Iraqi Mandaeans were refugees in Syria and Jordan as a result of the Iraq War.

Education

The era of king Hussein of Jordan saw increased school enrollment rates, which resulted in a rapid rise in the literacy rate in Jordan. At the beginning of his reign in 1952 the literacy rate was 33% and grew to 85% in 1996; according to the 2009 estimate, it is now 94% of the total population.

Population demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Total population

6,508,887 (July 2012 est.) 8,117,564 (July 2015 est.) - Including Refugees of the Syrian Civil War

Gender ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15–24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 25–54 years: 1 male(s)/female 55–64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 35.42% (male 1,474,464/female 1,400,926) 15-24 years: 20.25% (male 840,714/female 803,237) 25-54 years: 36.12% (male 1,468,388/female 1,463,452) 55-64 years: 4.3% (male 169,857/female 179,275) 65 years and over: 3.91% (male 149,207/female 168,044) (2015 est.)

Median age

total: 22 years male: 21.7 years female: 22.4 years (2015 est.)

Population growth rate

2.338% (2008 est.) 0.83% (2015 est.)

Birth rate

25.37 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)

Death rate

3.79 deaths/1,000 population (July 2015 est.)

Net migration rate

5.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.) -13.24 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 83.7% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 3.79% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Maternal mortality rate

58 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

Infant mortality rate

14.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 80.18 years male: 78.82 years female: 81.61 years (2012 est.) total population: 74.35 years male: 73 years female: 75.78 years (2015 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.36 children born/woman (2012 est.) 3.17 children born/woman (2015 est.)

Health expenditures

7.2% of GDP (2013)

Physicians density

2.56 physicians/1,000 population (2010)

Hospital bed density

1.8 beds/1,000 population (2012)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

28.1% (2014)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

3% (2012)

Languages

Arabic is the official language of Jordan. English is widely understood among the educated and the upper and middle classes.

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6%
male: 95.8%
female: 93% (2010 est.)