Introduction: Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the UK received a mandate to govern much of the Middle East. Britain separated out a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine in the early 1920s, and the area gained its independence in 1946; it adopted the name of Jordan in 1950. The country's long-time ruler was King HUSSEIN (1953-99). A pragmatic leader, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population. Jordan lost the West Bank to Israel in the 1967 war and defeated Palestinian rebels who attempted to...

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Economic Overview: The Jordanian economy is small and narrowly based, but a series of reforms are positioning it as an emerging regional centre.

The King has prioritised economic reform as a means to reduce unemployment and poverty, including through public sector reform and trade liberalisation. Structural reforms have been aimed at promoting private sector-led growth and foreign investment, while reducing the direct government role in the economy.

Over the last decade, Jordan has concluded free trade agreements with a number of countries, including the United States,the European Union, Canada, Singapore, Bahrain, ...

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