FM 31 (2007)

Radios:

1.66 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

22 (2007)

Televisions:

500,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.jo

Internet hosts:

21,150 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

5 (2000)

Internet users:

1.127 million (2007)

Transportation
Jordan

Airports:

17 (2007)

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 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2007)

Heliports:

1 (2007)

Pipelines:

gas 426 km; oil 49 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 505 km narrow gauge: 505 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 7,694 km paved: 7,694 km (2006)

Merchant marine:

total: 21 by type: cargo 8, container 1, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 13 (UAE 13) registered in other countries: 24 (Algeria 7, Bahamas 2, Panama 13, Syria 2) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Al 'Aqabah

Military
Jordan

Military branches:

Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF): Royal Jordanian Land Force, Royal
Jordanian Navy, Royal Jordanian Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya
al-Malakiya al-Urduniya, RJAF), Special Operations Command (Socom);
Public Security Directorate (normally falls under Ministry of
Interior, but comes under JAF in wartime or crisis) (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

17 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription at age 18 was suspended in 1999, although all males under age 37 are required to register; women not subject to conscription, but can volunteer to serve in non-combat military positions (2004)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 1,812,551 females age 16-49: 1,559,155 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 1,546,766 females age 16-49: 1,339,366 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 68,067 female: 65,512 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

8.6% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues
Jordan

Disputes - international:

approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan; 2004 Agreement settles border dispute with Syria pending demarcation

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 1,835,704 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)); 500,000 (Iraq) IDPs: 160,000 (1967 Arab-Israeli War) (2007)

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Jordan is a destination and transit country for women and men from South and Southeast Asia trafficked for the purpose of forced labor; Jordan is also a destination for women from Eastern Europe and Morocco for prostitution; women from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines migrate willingly to work as domestic servants, but some are subjected to conditions of forced labor, including unlawful withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Jordan is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2007, particularly in the area of law enforcement against trafficking for forced labor; the government made minimal efforts to investigate or prosecute numerous allegations related to exploitation of foreign domestic workers; Jordan failed for a second year to criminally prosecute and punish those who committed acts of forced labor; Jordan also continues to lack victim protection services; Jordan has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Kazakhstan

Introduction
Kazakhstan

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 in 1991 caused many of these newcomers to emigrate. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian states combined, largely due to the country's vast natural resources and a recent history of political stability. Current issues include: developing a cohesive national identity; expanding the development of the country's vast energy resources and exporting them to world markets; achieving a sustainable economic growth; diversifying the economy outside the oil, gas, and mining sectors; enhancing Kazakhstan's competitiveness; and strengthening relations with neighboring states and other foreign powers.

Geography
Kazakhstan

Location:

Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural
River in eastern-most Europe

Geographic coordinates: