Jordan Geography - 2021

Location

Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the west) and Iraq

Geographic coordinates

31 00 N, 36 00 E

Map references

Middle East

Area

total: 89,342 sq km

land: 88,802 sq km

water: 540 sq km

Area - comparative

about three-quarters the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries

total: 1,744 km

border countries (5): Iraq 179 km, Israel 307 km, Saudi Arabia 731 km, Syria 379 km, West Bank 148 km

Coastline

26 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate

mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)

Terrain

mostly arid desert plateau; a great north-south geological rift along the west of the country is the dominant topographical feature and includes the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Jordanian Highlands

Elevation

highest point: Jabal Umm ad Dami 1,854 m

lowest point: Dead Sea -431 m

mean elevation: 812 m

Natural resources

phosphates, potash, shale oil

Land use

agricultural land: 11.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 8.4% (2018 est.)

forest: 1.1% (2018 est.)

other: 87.5% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

964 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

937 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

Population distribution

population heavily concentrated in the west, and particularly the northwest, in and around the capital of Amman; a sizeable, but smaller population is located in the southwest along the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba

Natural hazards

droughts; periodic earthquakes; flash floods

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank; the Dead Sea, the lowest point in Asia and the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lac Assal in Djibouti), lies on Jordan's western border with Israel and the West Bank; Jordan is almost landlocked but does have a 26 km southwestern coastline with a single port, Al 'Aqabah (Aqaba)