FAX: (6) 5920121

FAX: (202) 966-3110

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
William J. BURNS

embassy: Abdoum, Amman

mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; APO AE 09892-0200

telephone: (6) 5920101

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top, the Abbassid Caliphate of Islam), white (the Ummayyad Caliphate of Islam), and green (the Fatimid Caliphate of Islam) with a red isosceles triangle (representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916) based on the hoist side bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations

Jordan Economy

Economy - overview: Jordan is a small Arab country with inadequate supplies of water and other natural resources such as oil. The Persian Gulf crisis, which began in August 1990, aggravated Jordan's already serious economic problems, forcing the government to stop most debt payments and suspend rescheduling negotiations. Aid from Gulf Arab states, worker remittances, and trade revenues contracted. Refugees flooded the country, producing serious balance-of-payments problems, stunting GDP growth, and straining government resources. The economy rebounded in 1992, largely due to the influx of capital repatriated by workers returning from the Gulf. After averaging 9% in 1992-95, GDP growth averaged only 1.5% during 1996-99. In an attempt to spur growth, King ABDALLAH has undertaken limited economic reform, including partial privatization of some state-owned enterprises and Jordan's entry in January 2000 into the World Trade Organization (WTrO). Debt, poverty, and unemployment are fundamental ongoing economic problems.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,500 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3%

industry: 25%

services: 72% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: 30% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.4%

highest 10%: 34.7% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.7% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 1.15 million

note: in addition, at least 300,000 workers are employed abroad (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: industry 11.4%, commerce, restaurants, and hotels 10.5%, construction 10%, transport and communications 8.7%, agriculture 7.4%, other services 52% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 15% official rate; actual rate is 25%-30% (1999 est.)

Budget: revenues: $2.8 billion

expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries: phosphate mining, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 3.8% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 6.657 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 99.79%

hydro: 0.21%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 6.594 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 4 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 407 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, citrus, tomatoes, melons, olives; sheep, goats, poultry

Exports: $2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: phosphates, fertilizers, potash, agricultural products, manufactures

Exports - partners: India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, Indonesia, UAE,
Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Ethiopia

Imports: $4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: crude oil, machinery, transport equipment, food, live animals, manufactured goods

Imports - partners: Iraq, Germany, US, Japan, UK, Italy, Turkey,
Malaysia, Syria, China

Debt - external: $8 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $850 million (1996 est.)

Currency: Jordanian dinar (JOD)

Currency code: JOD

Exchange rates: Jordanian dinars per US dollar - 0.7090 (1996-present )

note: since May 1989, the Jordanian dinar has been pegged to a group of currencies

Fiscal year: calendar year

Jordan Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 403,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 11,500 (1995)

Telephone system: general assessment: service has improved recently with the increased use of digital switching equipment, but better access to the telephone system is needed in the rural areas and easier access to pay telephones is needed by the urban public

domestic: microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; considerable use is made of mobile cellular systems; Internet service is available

international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals; fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link with Egypt and Syria; connection to international submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); participant in MEDARABTEL; international links total about 4,000

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1999)

Radios: 1.66 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 20 (plus 96 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 500,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .jo

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 5 (2000)

Internet users: 87,500 (2000)

Jordan Transportation

Railways: total: 677 km

narrow gauge: 677 km 1.050-m gauge (2000)

Highways: total: 8,000 km

paved: 8,000 km

unpaved: 0 km (2000 est.)

Waterways: none

Pipelines: crude oil 209 km; note - may not be in use

Ports and harbors: Al 'Aqabah

Merchant marine: total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 40,919
GRT/57,777 DWT

ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, container 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 18 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 15

over 3,047 m: 7

2,438 to 3,047 m: 6

914 to 1,523 m: 1

under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 3

under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)

Jordan Military

Military branches: Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF; includes Royal
Jordanian Land Force, Royal Naval Force, and Royal Jordanian Air
Force); Ministry of the Interior's Public Security Force (falls
under JAF only in wartime or crisis situations)

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,458,571 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,034,109 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 57,131 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $608.9 million (FY98/99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 7.8% (FY98/99)

Jordan Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

@Juan de Nova Island

Juan de Nova Island Introduction

Background: Named after a famous 15th century Spanish navigator and explorer, the island has been a French possession since 1897. It has been exploited for its guano and phosphate. Presently a small military garrison oversees a meteorological station.

Juan de Nova Island Geography

Location: Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about one-third of the way between Madagascar and Mozambique

Geographic coordinates: 17 03 S, 42 45 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 4.4 sq km

land: 4.4 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: about seven times the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 24.1 km

Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical

Terrain: low and flat

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

highest point: unnamed location 10 m

Natural resources: guano deposits and other fertilizers

Land use: arable land: 0%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 90%

other: 10%

Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)

Natural hazards: periodic cyclones

Environment - current issues: NA

Geography - note: wildlife sanctuary

Juan de Nova Island People

Population: no indigenous inhabitants

note: there is a small French military garrison (July 2001 est.)

Juan de Nova Island Government

Country name: conventional long form: none

conventional short form: Juan de Nova Island

local long form: none

local short form: Ile Juan de Nova

Dependency status: possession of France; administered by a high commissioner of the Republic, resident in Reunion

Legal system: the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (possession of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (possession of France)

Flag description: the flag of France is used

Juan de Nova Island Economy

Economy - overview: Up to 12,000 tons of guano are mined per year.

Juan de Nova Island Communications

Communications - note: 1 meteorological station

Juan de Nova Island Transportation

Railways: total: NA km; short line going to a jetty

Waterways: none

Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only

Airports: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1

914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Juan de Nova Island Military

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France

Juan de Nova Island Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: claimed by Madagascar

@Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan Introduction

Background: Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants (mostly Russians, but also some other deported nationalities) skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Independence has caused many of these newcomers to emigrate. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; and continuing to strengthen relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers.

Kazakhstan Geography

Location: Central Asia, northwest of China

Geographic coordinates: 48 00 N, 68 00 E

Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area: total: 2,717,300 sq km

land: 2,669,800 sq km

water: 47,500 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly less than four times the size of Texas

Land boundaries: total: 12,012 km

border countries: China 1,533 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,051 km, Russia 6,846 km, Turkmenistan 379 km, Uzbekistan 2,203 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked); note - Kazakhstan borders the Aral
Sea, now split into two bodies of water (1,070 km), and the Caspian
Sea (1,894 km)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid and semiarid

Terrain: extends from the Volga to the Altai Mountains and from the plains in western Siberia to oases and desert in Central Asia

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Vpadina Kaundy -132 m

highest point: Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995 m

Natural resources: major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium

Land use: arable land: 12%

permanent crops: 11%

permanent pastures: 57%

forests and woodland: 4%

other: 16% (1996 est.)

Irrigated land: 22,000 sq km (1996 est.)

Natural hazards: earthquakes in the south, mudslides around Almaty

Environment - current issues: radioactive or toxic chemical sites associated with its former defense industries and test ranges are found throughout the country and pose health risks for humans and animals; industrial pollution is severe in some cities; because the two main rivers which flowed into the Aral Sea have been diverted for irrigation, it is drying up and leaving behind a harmful layer of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then picked up by the wind and blown into noxious dust storms; pollution in the Caspian Sea; soil pollution from overuse of agricultural chemicals and salination from poor infrastructure and wasteful irrigation practices

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: landlocked; Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome

Kazakhstan People

Population: 16,731,303 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 26.73% (male 2,271,866; female 2,200,078)

15-64 years: 66.03% (male 5,358,535; female 5,688,550)

65 years and over: 7.24% (male 412,761; female 799,513) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.03% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 17.3 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female

total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 59.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63.29 years

male: 57.87 years

female: 68.97 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.07 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.04% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 3,500 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Kazakhstani(s)

adjective: Kazakhstani

Ethnic groups: Kazakh (Qazaq) 53.4%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 3.7%,
Uzbek 2.5%, German 2.4%, Uighur 1.4%, other 6.6% (1999 census)

Religions: Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%

Languages: Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 40%, Russian (official, used in everyday business) 66%

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 98%

male: 99%

female: 96% (1989 est.)

Kazakhstan Government

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Kazakhstan

conventional short form: Kazakhstan

local long form: Qazaqstan Respublikasy

local short form: none

former: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type: republic

Capital: Astana; note - the government moved from Almaty to Astana in December 1998

Administrative divisions: 14 oblystar (singular - oblysy) and 3
cities (qala, singular - qalasy)*; Almaty, Almaty*, Aqmola (Astana),
Aqtobe, Astana*, Atyrau, Batys Qazaqstan (Oral), Bayqongyr*,
Mangghystau (Aqtau; formerly Shevchenko), Ongtustik Qazaqstan
(Shymkent), Pavlodar, Qaraghandy, Qostanay, Qyzylorda, Shyghys
Qazaqstan (Oskemen; formerly Ust'-Kamenogorsk), Soltustik Qazaqstan
(Petropavl), Zhambyl (Taraz; formerly Dzhambul)

note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses); in 1995 the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia entered into an agreement whereby Russia would lease for a period of 20 years an area of 6,000 sq km enclosing the Baykonur space launch facilities and the city of Bayqongyr (Baykonyr, formerly Leninsk)

Independence: 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National holiday: Republic Day, 25 October (1990)

Constitution: adopted by national referendum 30 August 1995; first post-independence constitution was adopted 28 January 1993

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV (chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 22 February 1990, elected president 1 December 1991)

head of government: Prime Minister Kazymzhomart TOKAYEV (since 2 October 1999)

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 10 January 1999, a year before it was previously scheduled (next to be held NA 2006); note - President NAZARBAYEV's previous term had been extended to 2000 by a nationwide referendum held 30 April 1995; prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president

election results: Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV 81.7%, Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN 12.1%, Gani KASYMOV 4.7%, other 1.5%

note: President NAZARBAYEV expanded his presidential powers by decree: only he can initiate constitutional amendments, appoint and dismiss the government, dissolve Parliament, call referenda at his discretion, and appoint administrative heads of regions and cities

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (47 seats; 7 senators are appointed by the president; other members are popularly elected, two from each of the former oblasts and the former capital of Almaty, to serve six-year terms) and the Majilis (67 seats; the addition of 10 "Party List" seats brings the total to 77; members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms); note - with the oblasts being reduced to 14, the Senate will eventually be reduced to 37; a number of Senate seats come up for reelection every two years

elections: Senate - (indirect) last held 17 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2001); Majilis - last held 10 and 24 October and 26 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)

election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 16 seats up for election in 1999, candidates nominated by local councils; Majilis - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Otan 23, Civic Party 13, Communist Party 3, Agrarian Party 3, People's Cooperative Party 1, independents 34; note - most independent candidates are affiliated with parastatal enterprises and other pro-government institutions

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (44 members); Constitutional Council (7 members)

Political parties and leaders: Agrarian Party [Romin MADENOV]; Alash
[Soverkazhy AKATAYEV]; AZAMAT Movement [Petr SVOIK, Murat AUEZOV,
and Galym ABILSIITOV, cochairmen]; Civic Party [Azat PERUASHEV,
first secretary]; Communist Party or KPK [Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN,
first secretary]; Forum of Democratic Forces [Nurbulat MASANOV,
Deputy Chairman of the Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan
(RNPK); Amirzhan KOSANOV, RNPK activist; Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM,
Orleu Movement; cochairmen]; Labor and Worker's Movement [Madel
ISMAILOV, chairman]; Orleu Movement [Seidakhmet KUTTYKADAM]; Otan
[Sergei TERESCHENKO, chairman]; Pensioners Movement or Pokoleniye
[Irina SAVOSTINA, chairwoman]; People's Congress of Kazakhstan of
NKK [Olzhas SULEIMENOV, chairman]; People's Cooperative Party
[Umirzak SARSENOV]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Nursultan A.
NAZARBAYEV]; Republican People's Party of Kazakhstan or RNPK
[Akezhan KAZHEGELDIN]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Kazakhstan International
Bureau on Human Rights [Yevgeniy ZHOVTIS, executive director]

International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC,
EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Kanat SAUDABAYEV

chancery: 1401 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone: (202) 232-5488