r fluctuates; after the 1989 parliamentary elections, King Hussein
promised to allow the formation of political parties; a national charter
that sets forth the ground rules for democracy in Jordan - including the
creation of political parties - was approved in principle by the special
National Conference on 9 June 1991, but its specific provisions have yet to
be passed by National Assembly
Suffrage:
universal at age 20
Elections:
House of Representatives:
last held 8 November 1989 (next to be held November 1993); results - percent
of vote by party NA; seats - (80 total) Muslim Brotherhood (fundamentalist)
22, Independent Islamic bloc (generally traditionalist) 6, Democratic bloc
(mostly leftist) 9, Constitutionalist bloc (traditionalist) 17, Nationalist
bloc (traditionalist) 16, independent 10
Member of:
ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO
(correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

:Jordan Government

Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Hussein A. HAMMAMI; Chancery at 3504 International Drive NW,
Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 966-2664
US:
Ambassador Roger Gram HARRISON; Embassy on Jebel Amman, Amman (mailing
address is P. O. Box 354, Amman, or APO AE 09892); telephone [962] (6)
644-371
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of black (top), white, and green with a red
isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a small white
seven-pointed star; the seven points on the star represent the seven
fundamental laws of the Koran

:Jordan Economy

Overview:
Jordan benefited from increased Arab aid during the oil boom of the late
1970s and early 1980s, when its annual GNP growth averaged more than 10%. In
the remainder of the 1980s, however, reductions in both Arab aid and worker
remittances slowed economic growth to an average of roughly 2% per year.
Imports - mainly oil, capital goods, consumer durables, and food - have been
outstripping exports, with the difference covered by aid, remittances, and
borrowing. In mid-1989, the Jordanian Government began debt-rescheduling
negotiations and agreed to implement an IMF program designed to gradually
reduce the budget deficit and implement badly needed s