Demographics of Jordan

Jordanians are Arabs, except for a few small communities of Circassians, Armenians, and Kurds which have adapted to Arab culture. The official language is Arabic, but English is used widely in commerce and government. About 70% of Jordan's population is urban; less than 6% of the rural population is nomadic or seminomadic. Most people live where the rainfall supports agriculture. About 1.5 million Palestinian Arabs registered as refugees and displaced persons reside in Jordan, most as citizens.

Population: 5,307,470 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 36.6% (male 991,370; female 949,247)
15-64 years: 60% (male 1,698,568; female 1,485,261)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 90,186; female 92,838) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.89% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 24.85 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 2.62 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 6.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.14 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 19.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.71 years
male: 75.26 years
female: 80.3 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.15 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Jordanian(s)
adjective: Jordanian

Ethnic groups: Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%

Religions: Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), other 2% (several small Shi'a Muslim and Druze populations) (2001 est.)

Languages: Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.6%
male: 93.4%
female: 79.4% (1995 est.)

See also : Jordan