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Economy of Jordan
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Economy of Jordan
The economy of Jordan is classified by the World Food Programme as an upper-middle income economy, as well as being poor in resources with limited land for agriculture. Since the 1990s, Jordan has had high unemployment, poverty, and inequality. As of 2023, Jordan has a GDP of US$50.85 billion, ranking it 89th worldwide.
Jordan has free trade agreements with the United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, the European Union, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Turkey and Syria. More free trade agreements were planned with Iraq, the Palestinian Authority, the GCC, Lebanon, and Pakistan. Jordan is a member of the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement, the Euro-Mediterranean free trade area, the Agadir Agreement, and also enjoys advanced status with the EU.
Jordan's economic resource base centers on phosphates, potash, and their fertilizer derivatives; tourism; overseas remittances; and foreign aid. These are its principal sources of hard currency earnings. Lacking coal reserves, hydroelectric power, large tracts of forest or commercially viable oil deposits, Jordan relies on natural gas for 93% of its domestic energy needs. Jordan used to depend on Iraq for oil until the American-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. Jordan has industrial zones producing goods in the textile, aerospace, defense, ICT, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic sectors.
The main obstacles to Jordan's economy are scarce water supplies, complete reliance on oil imports for energy, regional instability, and the authoritarian regime. Just over 10% of its land is arable and the water supply is limited. Rainfall is low and highly variable, and much of Jordan's available ground water is not renewable. After King Abdullah II's accession to the throne in 1999, liberal economic policies were introduced.
Jordan's total foreign debt in 2011 was $19 billion, representing 60% of its GDP. In 2016, the debt reached $35.1 billion representing 93.4% of its GDP. This was attributed to regional instability, causing a decrease in tourist activity and foreign investments along with increased military expenditure. Other factors were attacks on the Egyptian pipeline supplying the Kingdom with gas, the collapse of trade with Iraq and Syria; expenses from hosting Syrian refugees and accumulated interest from loans. According to the World Bank, Syrian refugees cost Jordan more than $2.5 billion a year, amounting to 6% of the GDP and 25% of the government's annual revenue. Wage growth declined due to competition for jobs between refugees and Jordan citizens. The downturn that began in 2011 continued until 2018. The country's top five contributing sectors to its GDP, government services, finance, manufacturing, transport, and tourism and hospitality were badly impacted by the Syrian civil war. Foreign aid covered only a small part of these costs. 63% of the total costs were covered by Jordan. An austerity programme was adopted by the government to reduce Jordan's debt-to-GDP ratio to 77% by 2021. The programme succeeded in preventing the debt from rising above 95% of the GDP in 2018. The yearly growth rate of the economy was 2% from 2016 to 2019, compared to 6.4% from 2000 to 2009.
On 15 May 2025 Jordan and the UAE activated their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), marking a significant step in strengthening bilateral economic ties. Signed in 2023 under the leadership of King Abdullah II and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the agreement aims to boost trade, reduce tariffs, and enhance investment across key sectors such as industry, renewable energy, and tourism. It establishes frameworks for cooperation, including a joint investment council, and targets increasing non-oil trade to over $8 billion by 2032. As the UAE's first CEPA with an Arab country, the deal underscores a shared commitment to regional integration, SME empowerment, and long-term economic partnership.
The Central Bank of Jordan commenced operations in 1964 and is the sole issuer of Jordanian currency, the Jordanian dinar, which is pegged to the US dollar. The following chart of the trend of gross domestic product of Jordan at market prices by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Jordanian dinars.
For purchasing power parity comparisons, the Jordanian dinar is exchanged per US dollar at 0.710.
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Economy of Jordan
The economy of Jordan is classified by the World Food Programme as an upper-middle income economy, as well as being poor in resources with limited land for agriculture. Since the 1990s, Jordan has had high unemployment, poverty, and inequality. As of 2023, Jordan has a GDP of US$50.85 billion, ranking it 89th worldwide.
Jordan has free trade agreements with the United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, the European Union, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Turkey and Syria. More free trade agreements were planned with Iraq, the Palestinian Authority, the GCC, Lebanon, and Pakistan. Jordan is a member of the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement, the Euro-Mediterranean free trade area, the Agadir Agreement, and also enjoys advanced status with the EU.
Jordan's economic resource base centers on phosphates, potash, and their fertilizer derivatives; tourism; overseas remittances; and foreign aid. These are its principal sources of hard currency earnings. Lacking coal reserves, hydroelectric power, large tracts of forest or commercially viable oil deposits, Jordan relies on natural gas for 93% of its domestic energy needs. Jordan used to depend on Iraq for oil until the American-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. Jordan has industrial zones producing goods in the textile, aerospace, defense, ICT, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic sectors.
The main obstacles to Jordan's economy are scarce water supplies, complete reliance on oil imports for energy, regional instability, and the authoritarian regime. Just over 10% of its land is arable and the water supply is limited. Rainfall is low and highly variable, and much of Jordan's available ground water is not renewable. After King Abdullah II's accession to the throne in 1999, liberal economic policies were introduced.
Jordan's total foreign debt in 2011 was $19 billion, representing 60% of its GDP. In 2016, the debt reached $35.1 billion representing 93.4% of its GDP. This was attributed to regional instability, causing a decrease in tourist activity and foreign investments along with increased military expenditure. Other factors were attacks on the Egyptian pipeline supplying the Kingdom with gas, the collapse of trade with Iraq and Syria; expenses from hosting Syrian refugees and accumulated interest from loans. According to the World Bank, Syrian refugees cost Jordan more than $2.5 billion a year, amounting to 6% of the GDP and 25% of the government's annual revenue. Wage growth declined due to competition for jobs between refugees and Jordan citizens. The downturn that began in 2011 continued until 2018. The country's top five contributing sectors to its GDP, government services, finance, manufacturing, transport, and tourism and hospitality were badly impacted by the Syrian civil war. Foreign aid covered only a small part of these costs. 63% of the total costs were covered by Jordan. An austerity programme was adopted by the government to reduce Jordan's debt-to-GDP ratio to 77% by 2021. The programme succeeded in preventing the debt from rising above 95% of the GDP in 2018. The yearly growth rate of the economy was 2% from 2016 to 2019, compared to 6.4% from 2000 to 2009.
On 15 May 2025 Jordan and the UAE activated their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), marking a significant step in strengthening bilateral economic ties. Signed in 2023 under the leadership of King Abdullah II and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the agreement aims to boost trade, reduce tariffs, and enhance investment across key sectors such as industry, renewable energy, and tourism. It establishes frameworks for cooperation, including a joint investment council, and targets increasing non-oil trade to over $8 billion by 2032. As the UAE's first CEPA with an Arab country, the deal underscores a shared commitment to regional integration, SME empowerment, and long-term economic partnership.
The Central Bank of Jordan commenced operations in 1964 and is the sole issuer of Jordanian currency, the Jordanian dinar, which is pegged to the US dollar. The following chart of the trend of gross domestic product of Jordan at market prices by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of Jordanian dinars.
For purchasing power parity comparisons, the Jordanian dinar is exchanged per US dollar at 0.710.
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