About Jordan

The System of Government

The system government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a royal monarchy. The king is the head of state. He is the supreme commander of the armed forces. He is the protector of the constitution. The political system in the kingdom separates the three authorities: The Executive is represented by the Government appointed by the King and exercised its powers through the Council of Ministers and State officials; The Legislative authority is represented by the Parliament in its two parts: House of Representatives and Senate; it is responsible for legislation and accountability of the government; The Judiciary, an independent authority characterized by its just cause, justice among citizens and safeguarding their rights

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Basic facts

Population:

The population of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is estimated at 9.53 million (estimated by 2015

Location:

Jordan is located in the heart of the Middle East to the northwest of Saudi Arabia and southern Syria, to the southwest of Iraq and to the east of the occupied West Bank. Jordan has access to the Red Sea through the Gulf of Aqaba to the south of the Kingdom

Geographical coordinates:

Jordan is located between latitudes 59 to 31 east and between latitudes 52. 34 to 15. 39 North.

Area:

The area of Jordan is 89.213 km² (34.445 mi²)
Land area: 88.884 km² (34.318 mi²)
Water areas: 329 km (127 mi²)

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Terrain

Most of the Jordan's surface is composed of a desert plateau in the east and high lands in the west. The Great Grotto Valley is separated between the two banks: the eastern and the western parts of the Jordan River. The Jordan surface consists of three regions: the Jordan Valley low-pitched groove, mountain heights, and Al-Badia desert plateau.

Climate and geographical structure

The climate of Jordan is a combination of both climates: the Mediterranean basin and arid desert, where the Mediterranean climate prevails in the north and west of the country, while the desert climate prevails in most of the country. All in all, the weather is hot and dry in the summertime and mild and humid in the winter. There is a climatic diversity in Jordan, where the dry tropical climate prevails in the Jordan Valley, while the warm steppes climate in the mountainous highlands, the Mediterranean climate in the mountainous highlands, and the cold Mediterranean climate prevailing in the high mountain peaks such as Ajloun, Steppes climate on the eastern slopes, and dry desert climate in the eastern Badia.

Annual temperatures range between 12-25 ° C (54-77 ° F), and are highest in the summer to fourties (105- 115 ° F) in desert areas. Rainfall ranges from 50 mm (1.97 inches) per year in the desert around 580 mm (22.8 inches) in the northern highlands. Snow falls at low intervals on most of the mountainous highlands in the north, central and southern kingdom, and is very abundant and sometimes accumulated.

Language

All Jordanians speak Arabic regardless of race or religion, which is also the official language of the Kingdom. The Arabic language in Jordan is found in three forms: Ancient Arabic, the language of the Quran, the literary language developed from ancient Arabic and known as the classical Arabic language, and the local dialects. There is a dialect that distinguishes every region of Jordan from other regions. The dialect of the people of the north (the villages of Irbid, Ajloun, Jerash, Suf and Ramtha) is similar to the nomadic dialect, although there are similar terms and expressions. The regions of southern and eastern Jordan are characterized by a dialect that is closer to the Bedouin but at the same time distinct and different from the dialects of the Gulf States. Amman and Zarqa use a hybrid dialect of Sham dialects and its sophistication close to the dialect of the people of Jerusalem, where many residents of these cities are of Palestinian origin.

English is widely used in foreign government transactions, especially in foreign trade. French is also taught in some private schools. Some minorities, such as Circassians, Armenians, Chechens and Kurds, use their native languages in their own environment.

Official currency and exchange rate

The official currency of the country is the Jordanian dinar, which is equal to 1000 fils (or 100 piasters). It is available in the form of a paper currency of 50 dinars, 20 dinars, ten dinars, five dinars, one dinar. Coins are also available in: (Half a dinar, one quarter of a dinar, 100 fils, 50 fils and ten fils, and the rate of exchange is US $ 1.42 per JD.

Working hours

Government departments, offices, banks and most other offices are shutting down on Fridays and Saturdays every week. The working hours for the remaining five days (Sunday - Thursday) are from 8.00 am to 3.00 pm. (The official working hours of the Customs Department will start from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm).

Administrative Divisions

The largest urban areas:

City	Population
Amman	2,367,000
Irbid	1,088,100
Az-Zarqa	910,800
Al-Salt	409,500
Al-Mafraq	287,300
Al-Karak	238,400
Madaba	152,900
Jerash	183,400
Ajlun	140,600
Aqaba	133,200
Ma’an	116,200
Al-Tafilah	85,600

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Eids and official holidays

Date	Occasion	Hijri / AD	Duration / Notes
Religious Holidays
1 January	New Year’s Day	AD	One day
Rabia' al-Awwal 12	The birthday of the Prophet Muhammad	Hijri	One day
Dhul-Hijjah 10	Eid Al-Adha	Hijri	5 days
1 Shawwal	Eid Al-Fitr	Hijri	4 days
1 Moharram	Hijri New Year’s Day	Hijri	One day
December 25	Christmas	AD	One day
National holidays:
1 May	World Labor Day	AD	One day
25 May	Independence Day	AD	One day
Religious and national holidays are celebrated without disruption:
27 Rajab	The anniversary of Isra and Mi'raj	Hijri	Working day
30 January	Anniversary of the birth of King Abdullah II	AD	Working day
9 June	Anniversary of the Coronation Day of King Abdullah II	AD	Working day
10 June	The Great Arab Revolt Day	AD	Working day
10 June	Army Day	AD	Working day
14 November	Anniversary of the birth of King Hussein bin Talal	AD	Working day

Timing

Time in Jordan is more than Greenwich Mean Time of two hours in winter (winter time) and three hours in summer (summer timing), and more than seven hours of the eastern timing of the United States. Summer time is applied in the Kingdom from the beginning of April until the end of October of each year.

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