Jordan profile

Demography and Health

Jordan’s population stood at about 11.56 million in 2024, indicating continued scale as a small-to-medium country in the region. The population base is complemented by a fairly high birth rate of 20.6 births per 1,000 people (2023), signaling ongoing natural population growth even as international migration flows shape the demographic profile. Life expectancy at birth is 77.8 years (2023), which points to solid health outcomes relative to some peers in the region, while the under-5 mortality rate sits at 13.2 per 1,000 live births (2023), suggesting room for further infant and child health improvements. The crude death rate is low at 3.05 per 1,000 (2023), consistent with an aging but still youthful population in many respects.

Unemployment is notably high at 16.6% (2023), underscoring labor market tightness and potential youth unemployment challenges even as other indicators of human development fare reasonably well. In health financing, current health expenditure accounts for 6.83% of GDP (2022), and per-capita government health spending (in PPP terms) is about 280 international dollars (2022), indicating a considerable public role in health financing but with substantive room to expand access and quality. Health system capacity shows 1.38 hospital beds per 1,000 people (2021), a modest level by international standards that may constrain service delivery under stress or surge conditions. Notably, Jordan has broad digital connectivity, with 92.5% of the population using the Internet (2023), a positive enabler for health information, telemedicine, and e-services. Chronic nutrition challenges are evident: 17.9% of the population is undernourished (2022), highlighting the vulnerability of food security amid external shocks and refugee pressures. Overall, health outcomes appear solid but the system faces capacity and access constraints that warrant continued investment and reform.

Other indicators suggest a mixed environment for human development: life expectancy remains robust even as under-5 mortality points to targeted improvement opportunities; internet penetration is strong, which can support education and health digitalization; and water and energy pressures will increasingly influence public health and service delivery. The healthcare ecosystem operates within a governance environment where government effectiveness is moderate and corruption controls show room for improvement, shaping how health investments translate into outcomes.

Economy

Jordan’s economy exhibits a modest level of income per person, with GDP per capita at about $4,618 (current US$, 2024) and a GDP per capita based on PPP of around $10,821 (2024). This places Jordan in the lower end of middle-income economies, reflecting structural constraints and external dependencies. The country’s external accounts show a current account deficit of 3.74% of GDP (2023), signaling that more goods, services, and capital are imported than exported on average, which aligns with the heavy import reliance discussed in trade data. Inflation remains subdued at 1.56% (2024), contributing to price stability and predictable planning for households and firms, albeit against a backdrop of other macro fragilities. Unemployment at 16.6% (2023) underscores significant labor-market slack and potential social and political sensitivities, particularly among youth and graduates seeking entry into formal employment.

Jordan’s export profile shows goods and services exports making up 42.6% of GDP (2024), while imports account for 57.1% of GDP (2024). This indicates a relatively open economy but with a trade balance oriented toward a notable reliance on external inputs and commodities, consistent with a development path characterized by import-intensive consumption and investment. FDI inflows amount to 1.65% of GDP (2023), reflecting moderate external capital participation but not a strong acceleration of investment or technology transfer. The inflation picture, while stable, must be weighed alongside energy import dependence and external demand conditions. The environmental and climate context—such as renewable energy consumption at 11.5% of final energy consumption (2021)—also shapes long-run growth potential, given the country’s need to diversify energy supply and reduce vulnerability to external price shocks. Jordan’s greenhouse gas emissions per capita stand at 2.92 t CO2e (2023), a moderate level that aligns with sectors such as energy and transport, and points to opportunities for decarbonization as the economy evolves.

In sum, Jordan’s economy combines open trade with persistent macro fragilities, including a sizable current-account deficit and unemployment. The fiscal and monetary policy environment appears to support stability, but private-sector dynamism and diversification—particularly in high-value-added manufacturing or services—remain critical for sustainable growth and resilience in the face of regional volatility and demographic pressures.

Trade and Investment

Trade openness is evident in Jordan’s export and import structure. Exports of goods and services account for 42.6% of GDP in 2024, while imports of goods and services constitute 57.1% of GDP, signaling a trade regime that relies on cross-border exchange to sustain domestic demand and production. High-technology exports, while not dominant in scale, reach 177.7 million US$ (2023) and are ranked 77th in the relevant comparative set, indicating a presence of advanced sectors but limited scale for now. This suggests potential for upgrading within the tech content of exports, supported by improvements in innovation ecosystems and intellectual property activity—though patent applications by residents are modest (25 in 2021), hinting at a need to strengthen local R&D capabilities and commercialization pathways.

Foreign direct investment net inflows stand at 1.65% of GDP (2023), reflecting a moderate level of investor confidence and resource inflows but not a surge of capital toward transformative projects. The external sector is further characterized by a current account deficit (−3.74% of GDP, 2023), underscoring a structural reliance on external financing and the importance of maintaining credible macroeconomic policies and stable energy and trade relationships. The balance of payments context aligns with Jordan’s strategic position: a relatively open economy that benefits from trade integration and aid flows while remaining vulnerable to external shocks and energy-price volatility. The presence of digital connectivity (Internet users at 92.5% of the population, 2023) and emerging technology exports hints at an opportunity to leverage services and knowledge-intensive sectors to broaden export bases and attract technology-driven investment.

In the medium term, strengthening domestic innovation ecosystems, improving regulatory certainty, and enhancing protection of intellectual property could help attract higher-quality investments and accelerate technology-led growth, complementing the country’s relatively diversified import needs and ongoing energy-transition efforts.

Governance and Institutions

Jordan’s governance indicators reveal a mixed institutional landscape. Political stability and absence of violence/terrorism score at −0.203 (2023), signaling vulnerabilities to security shocks or regional dynamics that could affect investor confidence and policy continuity. Regulatory quality is 0.218, and the rule of law is 0.258, suggesting that formal rules and judiciary processes exist, but there remains room to strengthen consistency, predictability, and the efficiency of public administration. Control of corruption stands at 0.0887, indicating institutional challenges in reducing petty and systemic corruption, though not offset by uniformly weak effectiveness. Government effectiveness is higher, at 0.386, pointing to a functional administrative apparatus capable of implementing policies, albeit within a framework that can still benefit from reforms to streamline processes and reduce red tape. Taken together, these numbers imply that Jordan enjoys a workable governance baseline with room for targeted reforms to improve business climate, enforce property rights, and reduce governance frictions that hamper private investment and service delivery.

In policy terms, these signals emphasize the need for continued governance reforms focused on anticorruption, regulatory simplification, and strengthening the independence and capacity of institutions. The overall environment supports macro stability and the potential for policy-driven improvements in governance outcomes, which would in turn bolster investor confidence, public service delivery, and resilience to external shocks. The data do not suggest existential governance collapse; rather, they imply incremental reform as a practical path forward to unlock higher growth and inclusive development.

Infrastructure and Technology

Digital infrastructure stands out as a relative strength: the percentage of individuals using the Internet is very high at 92.5% (2023), underscoring broad digital inclusion and a favorable base for e-government, e-commerce, and online services. Yet physical and human-capital infrastructure reveals constraints: hospital beds stand at 1.38 per 1,000 people (2021), indicating limited inpatient capacity relative to population size and potential vulnerabilities during health shocks or outbreaks. The high-technology exports figure, while meaningful (about 177.7 million US$ in 2023), points to a developing but not yet large-scale tech export sector. Patent activity is modest (25 resident patent applications in 2021), which suggests opportunities to expand research, development, and innovation ecosystems to convert digital capabilities into tangible competitive advantages.

Jordan’s energy and environmental technology frontier shows renewable energy contributing 11.5% of total final energy consumption (2021). While this marks progress toward diversification, it also indicates substantial reliance on fossil or other energy sources, reinforcing the need for continued investment in solar, wind, and other renewables. The combination of strong digital penetration with limited physical health and innovation infrastructure implies a growth path anchored in expanding ICT-enabled services, targeted capacity-building in health and education, and the gradual modernization of industrial bases to compete in higher-value-added niches. The governance indicators discussed earlier will shape how effectively these technology and infrastructure investments translate into outcomes.

Environment and Sustainability

Jordan faces pronounced environmental and natural-resource pressures. The level of water stress, measured as freshwater withdrawal relative to available resources, is 103.0 in 2021, with a high regional rank (17), signaling severe water scarcity and a structural dependence on imports, desalination, and efficiency measures. This status constrains agriculture, industry, and household resilience, making water-management reforms and transboundary cooperation critical for long-run stability. Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita are 2.92 t CO2e per person (2023), situating Jordan in a moderate emissions tier that aligns with energy import dependence and transportation dynamics. The share of renewable energy in total final energy consumption at 11.5% (2021) is a meaningful but modest contribution to decarbonization, indicating substantial room for expansion as a climate and energy policy priority.

In terms of adaptation and resilience, the environmental indicators highlight the need for investments in water security, desalination capacity, water-use efficiency, and diversified energy sources. The health and economic systems will benefit from a climate-resilient trajectory that reduces vulnerability to droughts, heat stress, and external energy price shocks. Taken together, Jordan’s environmental data point to a country that faces acute scarcity challenges but possesses opportunities to accelerate sustainable transitions through policy reforms, investment in renewables and water infrastructure, and regional cooperation on shared resources and technology transfer.