Jordan has a population of more than 11.1 million inhabitants as of 2023.[1] Jordanians (Arabic: أردنيون) are the citizens of Jordan. Around 94% of Jordanians are Arabs, while the remaining 6% belong to other ethnic minorities, including Circassians, Chechens, Armenians and Kurds.[2] Around 2.9 million inhabitants are non-citizens, a figure including refugees, legal and illegal immigrants.[3] Jordan's annual population growth rate stands at 3.05% as of 2023, with an average birth rate of 2.8. There were 1,977,534 households in Jordan in 2015, with an average of 4.8 persons per household.[3]
The official language is Arabic, while English is the second most widely spoken language by Jordanians. It is also widely used in commerce and government. In 2016, about 84% of Jordan's population live in urban towns and cities.[2] Many Jordanians and people of Jordanian descent live across the world, mainly in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries, United States, Canada and Turkey.[citation needed]
In 2016, Jordan was named as the largest refugee hosting country per capita in the world, followed by Turkey, Pakistan and Lebanon.[4] Jordan hosts refugees mainly from the Palestinian territories, Syria, and Iraq, as well as smaller communities from other nations. There are also hundreds of thousands of workers from Egypt, Indonesia and South Asia, who work as domestic and construction workers.
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.[5]
Arab Jordanians are mostly either descended from families and clans who were living in the cities and towns in Transjordan prior to the 1948 war, most notably in the governorates of Jerash, Ajlun, Balqa, Irbid, Madaba, Al Karak, Aqaba, Amman and some other towns in the country, or from the Palestinian families who sought refuge in Jordan in different times in the 20th century, mostly during and after the wars of 1948 and 1967. Many Christians are natives especially in towns such as Fuhies, Madaba, Al Karak, Ajlun, or have Bedouin origins, and a significant number came in 1948 and 1967 mainly from Jerusalem, Jaffa, Lydda, Bethlehem, and other Palestinian and Israeli cities.
Druze
The Druze people are believed to constitute about 0.5% of the total population of Jordan, around 32,000 people.[7] The Druze, who refer to themselves as al-Muwahhideen, or "believers in one God," are concentrated in the rural, mountainous areas west and north of Amman. Even though the faith originally developed out of Ismaili Islam, most Druze do not identify as Muslims,[8][9][10][11][12] and they do not accept the five pillars of Islam.[13]
Bedouin Arabs
The other group of Jordanians is descended from Bedouins (of which, less than 1% live a nomadic lifestyle). Bedouin settlements are concentrated in the south and east of the country.
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.
By the end of the 19th century, the Ottoman Authorities directed the Circassian immigrants to settle in Jordan. The Circassians are Sunni Muslims and are estimated to number 100,000 to 170,000 people.
Jordan is a home to 2,175,491 registered Palestinian refugees.[17] Out of those 2,175,491 refugees, 634,182 have not been given Jordanian citizenship.[18] Jordan also hosts around 1.4 million Syrian refugees who fled to the country due to the Syrian Civil War since 2011. About 31,163 Yemenis and 22,700 Libyan refugees live in Jordan as of January 2015.[3] There are thousands of Lebanese refugees who came to Jordan when civil strife and war and the 2006 war broke out in their native country. Up to 1 million Iraqis came to Jordan following the Iraq War in 2003.[19] In 2015, their number was 130,911. About 2,500 Iraqi Mandaean refugees have been resettled in Jordan.
Genetics
Bahri et al. (2011) observed that the Jordanians were consistently Arabian Semitic despite the succession of several civilizations in Jordan. They have a common origin in Mesopotamia and are not too genetically dissimilar from the peoples of the United Arab Emirates and North Africa, who respectively have a common origin in Arabia and North Africa. [20]
Zanetti et al. (2014) discovered significant genetic differentiation between general Jordanians and Bedouin Arabs. General Jordanians were more similar to other Middle Eastern populations whilst Bedouin Arabs were more similar to North Africans. However, the Bedouin Arabs played a significant role in the "peopling" of Jordan, both in the past and present. [21]
Jordan prides itself on its health services, some of the best in the region.[23] Qualified medics, favourable investment climate and Jordan's stability have contributed to the success of this sector.[24]
Jordan has a very advanced education system. The school education system comprises 2 years of pre-school education, 10 years of compulsory basic education, and two years of secondary academic or vocational education, after which the students sit for the General Certificate of Secondary Education Exam (Tawjihi).[25] Scholars may attend either private or public schools.
Access to higher education is open to holders of the General Secondary Education Certificate, who can then choose between private Community Colleges, public Community Colleges or universities (public and private). The credit-hour system, which entitles students to select courses according to a study plan, is implemented at universities. The number of public universities has reached (10), besides (17) universities that are private, and (51) community colleges. Numbers of universities accompanied by significant increase in number of students enrolled to study in these universities, where the number of enrolled students in both public and private universities is estimated at nearly (236) thousand; (28) thousand out of the total are from Arab or foreign nationalities.[26]
Structure of the population (Census 01.X.2004) (Excluding data for Jordanian territory under occupation since June 1967 by Israeli military forces. Including registered Palestinian refugees and Jordanians abroad.):
Age Group
Male
Female
Total
%
Total
2 626 287
2 477 352
5 103 639
100
0-4
333 216
317 115
650 331
12.74
5-9
329 133
313 738
642 871
12.60
10-14
313 083
297 046
610 129
11.95
15-19
287 693
272 145
559 838
10.97
20-24
279 600
260 593
540 193
10.58
25-29
239 774
216 487
456 261
8.94
30-34
207 178
191 991
399 169
7.82
35-39
167 737
155 689
323 426
6.34
40-44
123 945
117 455
241 400
4.73
45-49
87 098
83 358
170 456
3.34
50-54
64 607
63 633
128 240
2.51
55-59
55 765
57 956
113 721
2.23
60-64
52 084
46 703
98 787
1.94
65-69
37 095
34 728
71 823
1.41
70-74
23 467
23 353
46 820
0.92
75-79
12 651
11 617
24 268
0.48
80+
10 137
11 923
22 060
0.43
80-84
6 144
7 441
13 585
0.27
85-89
2 444
2 588
5 032
0.10
90-94
1 012
1 304
2 316
0.05
95-99
537
590
1 127
0.02
Age group
Male
Female
Total
Percent
0-14
975 432
927 899
1 903 331
37.29
15-64
1 565 481
1 466 010
3 031 491
59.40
65+
83 350
81 621
164 971
3.23
unknown
2 024
1 822
3 846
0.08
Structure of the population (31.12.2013) (Estimates) (Excluding data for Jordanian territory under occupation since June 1967 by Israeli military forces. Excluding foreigners, including registered Palestinian refugees.):
Age Group
Male
Female
Total
%
Total
3 366 000
3 174 000
6 530 000
100
0-4
427 485
405 300
832 785
12.75
5-9
422 095
400 880
822 975
12.60
10-14
401 900
379 680
781 580
11.97
15-19
368 915
347 720
716 635
10.97
20-24
358 485
333 170
691 655
10.59
25-29
307 650
276 855
584 505
8.95
30-34
265 915
245 520
511 435
7.83
35-39
215 425
199 015
414 440
6.35
40-44
158 875
149 975
308 850
4.73
45-49
111 750
106 630
218 380
3.34
50-54
82 805
81 320
164 125
2,51
55-59
71 360
74 040
145 400
2.23
60-64
66 645
59 800
126 445
1.94
65-69
47 485
44 280
91 765
1.41
70-74
30 040
29 785
59 825
0.92
75-79
16 195
14 815
31 010
0.48
80-84
7 865
9 495
17 360
0.27
85-89
3 130
3 300
6 430
0.10
90-94
1 295
1 665
2 960
0.05
95+
685
755
1 440
0.02
Age group
Male
Female
Total
Percent
0-14
1 251 480
1 185 860
2 437 340
37.33
15-64
2 007 825
1 874 045
3 881 870
59.45
65+
106 695
104 095
210 790
3.23
Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 30.XI.2015) (Excluding data for Jordanian territory under occupation since June 1967 by Israeli military forces.): [33]
^Pintak, Lawrence (2019). America & Islam: Soundbites, Suicide Bombs and the Road to Donald Trump. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 86. ISBN9781788315593.
^Jonas, Margaret (2011). The Templar Spirit: The Esoteric Inspiration, Rituals and Beliefs of the Knights Templar. Temple Lodge Publishing. p. 83. ISBN9781906999254. [Druze] often they are not regarded as being Muslim at all, nor do all the Druze consider themselves as Muslim
^J. Stewart, Dona (2008). The Middle East Today: Political, Geographical and Cultural Perspectives. Routledge. p. 33. ISBN9781135980795. Most Druze do not consider themselves Muslim. Historically they faced much persecution and keep their religious beliefs secrets.
^Yazbeck Haddad, Yvonne (2014). The Oxford Handbook of American Islam. Oxford University Press. p. 142. ISBN9780199862634. While they appear parallel to those of normative Islam, in the Druze religion they are different in meaning and interpretation. The religion is considered distinct from the Ismaili as well as from other Muslims belief and practice... Most Druze consider themselves fully assimilated in American society and do not necessarily identify as Muslims..
^De McLaurin, Ronald (1979). The Political Role of Minority Groups in the Middle East. Michigan University Press. p. 114. ISBN9780030525964. Theologically, one would have to conclude that the Druze are not Muslims. They do not accept the five pillars of Islam. In place of these principles the Druze have instituted the seven precepts noted above..
^ abLearning, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong (2017-09-08). "Effective Literacy Programmes". litbase.uil.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
