The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Al-Mamlaka al-Urdunniyya al-Hashimiyya
CAPITAL : 'Amman
FLAG : The national flag is a tricolor of black, white, and green horizontal stripes with a seven-pointed white star on a red triangle at the hoist.
ANTHEM : As-Salam al-Maliki (Long Live the King).
MONETARY UNIT : The Jordanian dinar ( JD ) is a paper currency of 1,000 fils. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, and 250 fils and notes of ½, 1, 5, 10, and 20 dinars. JD 1 = $1.412 (or $1 = JD 0.708) as of January 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : The metric system is the legal standard, but some local and Syrian units are still widely used, especially in the villages.
HOLIDAYS : Arbor Day, 15 January; Independence Day, 25 May; Accession of King Hussein, 11 August; King Hussein's Birthday, 14 November. Muslim religious holidays include the 1st of Muharram (Islamic New Year), 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-'Adha', and Milad an-Nabi. Christmas and Easter are observed by sizable Christian minorities.
TIME : 2 PM = noon GMT.
In 2000 there were 1,945,000 migrants living in Jordan, accounting for approximately 40% of the total population. Of those migrants, 83%, or about 1,610,100 were refugees. The net migration rate for that year was -0.7 migrants per thousand population. Worker remittances amounted to $1,664,000, or approximately 22.5% of GDP. The government views the immigration level as too high, and the emigration level as too low.
Fishing is unimportant as a source of food. The rivers are relatively poor in fish; there are no fish in the Dead Sea, and the short Gulf of Aqaba shoreline has only recently been developed for fishing. The total fish catch was only 550 tons in 2000.
The Al Ahlia Insurance Co. and the Jordan Insurance Co. offer commercial insurance. Several US and British insurance companies have branches or agents in Jordan. A new insurance law in 1998 brought about stricter regulation of the industry. In 1999, there were 26 national insurance companies operating in Jordan and one foreign insurance company. In 2001, $24 million was spent on life insurance premiums.
Jordan has no territories or colonies.
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