entary elections in 22 years were held, with no seats
going to Palestinians on the West Bank

_#_Judicial branch: Court of Cassation

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State--King HUSSEIN Ibn Talal I (since 11 August 1952);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Tahir al-MASRI (since 17 June
1991)

_#_Political parties and leaders: none; 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--has
been completed but not yet approved

_#_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 22, Independent Islamic bloc
10, Democratic bloc (mostly leftist) 15, Liberal bloc (traditionalist)
7, Nationalist bloc (traditionalist) 14, independent 12

_#_Communists: party actively repressed, membership less than 500
(est.)

_#_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

_#_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 New York 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

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Jordan was a secondary beneficiary of the oil boom of
the late 1970s and early 1980s, when its annual GNP growth averaged
10-12%. Recent years, however, have witnessed a sharp reduction in grant
aid from Arab oil-producing countries and a dropoff in worker
remittances, with national growth averaging 1-2%. Imports--mainly oil,
capital goods, consumer durables, and foodstuffs--have been outstripping
exports by roughly $2 billion annually, the difference being made up by
aid, remittances, and borrowing. In mid-1989, the Jordanian G