The future of a constitutional monarchy?
Jen Payer
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a small but strategically located country positioned at the crossroads of what is referred to by Christians, Jews and Muslims as the Holy Land. (BBC, 2013) Jordan’s position in the Middle East is bordered by Syria to the North, Iraq on the East, Saudi Arabia to the south and the West Bank, Israel and the Dead Sea to the west. Slightly smaller than the state of Indiana, Jordan measures only 34,440 square miles (89,342 square kilometers) with a population estimated to reach 7,930,491 in July 2014. (CIA, 2014) These population estimates include millions of refugees from Iraq (63,037 – 2012), Palestinian refugees (2,054,527 – 2013) and Syria (589,792 – 2014). (CIA, 2014) Since most of the Jordanian countryside (about 75%) comprises harsh desert conditions, the majority of Jordanian’s live in the cities like Amman, the capital. (Samad & Tate, 2006) Amman is one of world 's oldest continuously inhabited cities. In ancient times it was known as Rabbath-Ammon and Philadelphia. (BBC, 2013) Amman houses the royal palaces, Parliament and is also the center for commercial, financial and international trade. (Ellicott, 2011)
Jordanian’s ethnic division is roughly 98% Arab, 1% Circassian and 1% Armenian. The official language of Jordan is Arabic, but English is also spoken or widely understood among the upper and middle classes. The official religion of Jordan is Muslim. Muslim worshippers represent 97.2% of the population, the majority of whom are Sunni but there are also Shiite Muslims, Druze and Bahai, the remaining population consists of Christians (Greek Orthodox, Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Protestant) and small percentages of Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and folk religion. (CIA, 2014) (Samad & Tate, 2006)
Jordan is a young country with 91.9% of the population under 55 years of age, over 56% of the population
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