Country name:
conventional long form: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
conventional short form: Jordan
local long form: Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah
local short form: Al Urdun
former: Transjordan
etymology: named for the Jordan River, which makes up part of Jordan's northwest border

Government type:
parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital:
name: Amman
geographic coordinates: 31 57 N, 35 56 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Friday in March; ends last Friday in October

Administrative divisions:
12 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); 'Ajlun, Al 'Aqabah, Al Balqa', Al Karak, Al Mafraq, Al 'Asimah (Amman), At Tafilah, Az Zarqa', Irbid, Jarash, Ma'an, Madaba

Independence:
25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 25 May (1946)

Constitution:
history: previous 1928 (preindependence); latest initially adopted 28 November 1947, revised and ratified 1 January 1952
amendments: proposed by 10 or more members of the Senate or by the House of Representatives followed by referral to the relevant House committee for its review and opinion; if accepted, the proposal is referred to the government for restatement as a draft; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of both the Senate and the House and ratification by the king; amended several times, last in 2016 (2016)

Legal system:
mixed system developed from codes instituted by the Ottoman Empire (based on French law), British common law, and Islamic law

International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Jordan
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 15 years

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: King ABDALLAH II (since 7 February 1999); Crown Prince HUSSEIN (born 28 June 1994), eldest son of King ABDALLAH II
head of government: Prime Minister Hani MULKI (since 1 June 2016)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the monarch
elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch:
description: bicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-'Umma consists of the Senate, or the House of Notables or Majlis al-Ayan (65 seats; members appointed by the monarch to serve 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or House of Representatives or Majlis al-Nuwaab (130 seats; 115 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by open-list proportional representation vote and 15 seats for women; 12 of the 115 seats reserved for Christian, Chechen, and Circassian candidates; members serve 4-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Deputies - last held on 20 September 2016 (next to be held in 2020)
election results: Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (consists of 15 judges including the chief justice; 7-judge panels for important cases and 5 judge panels for most appeals cases); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members including the court chairman)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the king; other judges nominated by the Judicial Council, an 11-member judicial policy-making body consisting of high-level judicial officials and judges, and approved by the king; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court members appointed by the king for 6-year non-renewable terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 2 years
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Major Felonies Court; Courts of First Instance; Magistrate Courts; religious courts; state security courts

Political parties and leaders:
Al-Hayah Jordanian Party [Zahier AMR] Arab Ba'ath Socialist Party [Akram al-HIMSI] Ba'ath Arab Progressive Party [Fuad DABBOUR] Democratic People's Party [Ablah ABU ULBAH] Democratic Popular Unity Party [Sa'id DIAB] Du'a Party [Muhammed ABU BAKR] Islamic Action Front or IAF [Hamzah MANSOUR] Islamic Centrist Party [Muhammad al-HAJ] Jordanian Communist Party [Munir HAMARNAH] Jordanian National Party [Muna ABU BAKR] Jordanian United Front [Amjad al-MAJALI] Muslim Center Party [Haitham ALAMAERAH] National Congress Party [Raheeh GHARAYBEH] National Constitution Party [Ahmad al-SHUNAQ] National Current Party [Abd al-Hadi al-MAJALI] National Movement for Direct Democracy [Muhammad al-QAQ] Risalah Party [Hazem QASHOU] The Direct Democratic Nationalists Movement Party [Nash'at KHALIFAH]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
15 April Movement [Mohammad SUNEID] 24 March Movement [Mu'az al-KHAWALIDAH, Abdel Rahman HASANEIN] 1952 Constitution Movement Anti-Normalization Committee [Saleh al-ARMOUTI] Economic and Social Association of Retired Servicemen and Veterans or ESARSV [Abdulsalam al-HASSANAT] Group of 36 Higher Coordination Committee of Opposition Parties [Said DIAB] Higher National Committee for Military Retirees or HNCMR [Ali al-HABASHNEH] Hirak Jordan Bar Association [Samir KHIRFAN] Jordanian Campaign for Change or Jayin Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood [Dr. Hamam SAID] Jordanian Press Association [Sayf al-SHARIF] National Front for Reform or NFR [Ahmad OBEIDAT] Popular Gathering for Reform Professional Associations Council [Abd al-Hadi al-FALAHAT] Sons of Jordan

International organization participation:
ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CD, CICA, EBRD, FAO, G-11, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Dina Khalil Tawiq KAWAR (since 27 June 2016)
chancery: 3504 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 966-2664
FAX: [1] (202) 966-3110

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henry T. WOOSTER (since 24 March 2017)
embassy: Abdoun, Al-Umawyeen St., Amman
mailing address: P. O. Box 354, Amman 11118 Jordan; Unit 70200, Box 5, DPO AE 09892-0200
telephone: [962] (6) 590-6000
FAX: [962] (6) 592-0163

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of black (top), representing the Abbassid Caliphate, white, representing the Ummayyad Caliphate, and green, representing the Fatimid Caliphate; a red isosceles triangle on the hoist side, representing the Great Arab Revolt of 1916, and bearing a small white seven-pointed star symbolizing the seven verses of the opening Sura (Al-Fatiha) of the Holy Koran; the seven points on the star represent faith in One God, humanity, national spirit, humility, social justice, virtue, and aspirations; design is based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I

National symbol(s):
eagle; national colors: black, white, green, red

National anthem:
name: "As-salam al-malaki al-urdoni" (Long Live the King of Jordan)
lyrics/music: Abdul-Mone'm al-RIFAI'/Abdul-Qader al-TANEER
note: adopted 1946; the shortened version of the anthem is used most commonly, while the full version is reserved for special occasions