Jordan Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

limited natural freshwater resources; declining water table; salinity; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; biodiversity and ecosystem damage/loss

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

Climate

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

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.)

Urbanization

urban population: 92% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.98% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.02% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 25.87 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 25.11 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 6.04 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 2,529,997 tons (2013 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 177,100 tons (2014 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 7% (2014 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

salt water lake(s): Dead Sea (shared with Israel and West Bank) - 1,020 sq km
note - endorheic hypersaline lake; 9.6 times saltier than the ocean; lake shore is 431 meters below sea level

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage: (Persian Gulf) Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)

Major aquifers

Arabian Aquifer System

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 500 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 40 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 570 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

940 million cubic meters (2020 est.)