Country Trading Profiles Jordan - General information

Political outline | Living conditions | Useful resources | Communications

Political outline

Executive Power: The head of state is the King. The monarchy is hereditary.The King enjoys the executive powers. The King signs and executes all laws. He appoints and may dismiss all judges by decree, approves amendments to the constitution, declares war. The King appoints the Prime Minister as head of the government, having no fixed term of office.The cabinet, led by the Prime Minister, is appointed by the King.
Legislative Power: The legislature is bicameral in Jordan. Its parliament consists of: the House of Notables (the upper house) having 55 members who are appointed by the King to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives (the lower house) having 110 members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms. The King’s power of veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the National Assembly .The people of Jordan have limited political rights. The first parliamentary elections in 22 years were held in November 1989.
Main political parties: Political parties were not legalized in the country until 1992. There is no clear picture of the political parties in Jordan. There is practically only one party, called the Islamic Action Front, which plays the real role of an opposition party.
Current political leaders: King: ABDALLAH II (since February 1999) – hereditary
Prime Minister: Awn Shawkat KHASAWNAH - Independent (since 24 October 2011)
Next election dates: House of Representatives: Year 2011

Living conditions

Health and safety

Health precautions: A certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is required for travelers over one year old coming from affected areas.
Bathing in fresh water exposes you to the risk of urinary bilharziosis (or schistosomiasis). Bathing can be envisaged when a reliable report on the place is available. Bilharziosis is particularly present in the valley of the Jordan. As conditions of hygiene are not especially good, you should avoid drinking tap water, eating raw vegetables and consuming raw or poorly cooked foods.
If you are staying in a rural area, you should take repellents with you to avoid possible bites from phlebotoma which can transmit phlebotoma fever (leishmaniosis).
For further information on sanitary conditions: WHO website
For further information on safety conditions
Contact your Embassy: Embassy of Greece in Jordan
26,Al Maqdisi strShmeisani -POBox 35069
11180 Amman-Jordan
Phone: 009626-5672331/2
Fax:009626-5696591
greekemb@nol.com.jo

Emergency numbers

Ambulance	199
Firemen	199
Police	191
Emergency services	198
Traffic police	190
Motorway police	534-3402

Time difference and climate

Time and time difference: It is %T:%M %A in Amman (GMT+2 in winter, GMT+3 in summer)
Summer time period: Summer time from March to September

Map of the time zone

Type of climate: The summer temperature in Amman is 26°C on average but can reach 49° in some areas. In winter the average temperature is 7°C.

For further information: Jordanian meteorological department website
Travel guide about Jordan
Jordanian meteorological website

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Useful resources

To find an accommodation: Asia Room
On line reservation website
Reservation website for limited budgets
To find an apartment: Website for rental adverts
Expat blog indicating real estate adverts

Arkadia Agency
Abdoun Agency
To find a job: Directory of recruitment websites
Gulf Talent recruitment website

Communications

Telephone codes: To make a call from Jordan to Greece: dial 00 (or +) 30
To make a call to in Jordan from Greece: dial 00 (or +) +962
Mobile telephone standards: GSM
Internet suffix: .jo

COUNTRY TRADING PROFILES

General Information

Political outline

Living conditions

Health and safety

Emergency numbers

Time difference and climate

Map of the time zone

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Useful resources

Communications