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Gist:  Jordan ( ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. It shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the north-east, the West Bank and Israel to the west, and Saudi Arabia to the east and south. It shares control of the Dead Sea with Israel, and the coastline of the Gulf of Aqaba with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Much of Jordan is covered by desert, particularly the Arabian Desert; however the north-western area, with the Jordan River, is regarded as part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city of Amman is in the north-west.

During its history, Jordan has seen numerous civilisations, including such ancient eastern ones as the Hebrew and later the Israelite tribes of Menasseh, Gad, and Reuben. Other civilisations possessing political sovereignty and influence in Jordan were: Akkadian, Assyrian, Judean, Babylonian, and Persian empires. Jordan was for a time part of Pharaonic Egypt, the Hasmonean Dynasty of the Maccabees, and also spawned the native Nabatean civilisation which left rich archaeological remains at Petra. Cultures from the west also left their mark, such as the Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Turkish empires. Since the seventh century the area has been under Muslim and Arab cultures, with the exception of a brief period when the west of the area formed part of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and a short time under British rule.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy with representative government. The reigning monarch is the head of state, the chief executive and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The king exercises his executive authority through the prime ministers and the Council of Ministers, or cabinet. The cabinet, meanwhile, is responsible before the democratically elected House of Deputies which, along with the House of Notables (Senate), constitutes the legislative branch of the government. The judicial branch is an independent branch of the government.

Jordan is a modern Arab nation with a predominately middle class population that lacks the vast wealth of some of its neighbors. Jordan's population is 92% Sunni Muslim with a small Christian minority. Jordanian society is predominantly urbanized and very ethnically diverse. Jordan is classified as an emerging market by the CIA factbook. Jordan is a pro-Western regime that has very close relations with the West especially with the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Jordan is one of only two Arab nations, the other being Egypt, that has relations with Israel.

Life Facts:  Jordan ranked as "Not Free" in Freedom House's 2008 Press Freedom rankings Jordan?s civil liberties and political rights ranked 5.0 "Partly Free" near "Not Free" in Freedom House's 2009 rankings

Amnesty International showed concern about the practices of torture and ill-treatment in Jordan, "as well as the link between torture, unfair trials, and the death penalty." Amnesty International also showed concern about death-penalty rulings in Jordan "because there is a pattern of death sentences, and sometimes executions, occurring as a result of unfair trials where confessions extracted under torture are used as evidence against the defendants". According to the same Amnesty International report, there is a pattern of suppression of freedom of expression and association in Jordan.

According to Amnesty, "The practice of killing women and girls by husbands or family members because they have allegedly engaged in behavior that goes against social norms (so-called "honor killings") continues to be a problem in Jordan; measures calling for stricter punishment for those committing honor killings have failed to be enacted"

Amnesty also reported on the abuse of foreign domestic workers in Jordan. It said that many workers out of a total of 70.000 suffer human rights violations.

The ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict, the Persian Gulf War, and other conflicts in Southwest Asia have made huge impacts on the economy of Jordan. The fact that Jordan has peace with the surrounding countries, combined with its stability, has made it a preference for many Palestinians, Lebanese, and people from the Persian Gulf immigrants and refugees. Though this may have resulted in a more active economy, it has also damaged it by substantially decreasing the amount of resources each person is entitled to. Jordan has a law that states that any Palestinian may immigrate and obtain Jordanian citizenship, but must remit his/her Palestinian claim. Palestinians are not allowed to purchase land unless they give up their Palestinian citizenship. In November 2005, King Abdullah called for a "war on extremism" in the wake of three suicide bombings in Amman.

Arabic is the official language of Jordan. English is widely understood among most Jordanians, although the degree to which varies with educational level and demographic concentration. Middle and upper class citizens tend to be fluent and consider English as their second language. French is understood by the upper class, especially graduates of the handful of French schools in Jordan. The Armenian language as well a Caucasian languages like Circassian and Chechen are understood and spoken by their respective communities residing in Jordan with minority schools teaching these languages, alongside Arabic and English. Russian is also fairly common amongst the older generation, because many studied in the USSR.