CIA – The World Factbook: Jordan
Posted By admin on May 12, 2015
Introduction :: JORDAN
Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain demarcated a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s. The area gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country's long-time ruler, King HUSSEIN (1953-99), successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population. Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. King HUSSEIN in 1988 permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank; in 1994 he signed a peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II, King HUSSEIN's eldest son, assumed the throne following his father's death in 1999. He implemented modest political and economic reforms, but in the wake of the "Arab Revolution" across the Middle East, Jordanians continue to press for further political liberalization, government reforms, and economic improvements. In January 2014, Jordan assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014-15 term.
Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the west) and Iraq
31 00 N, 36 00 E
Middle East
total: 89,342 sq km
land: 88,802 sq km
water: 540 sq km
about three-quarters the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Indiana
total: 1,744 km
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CIA - The World Factbook: Jordan
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