Key Facts about Jordan

About Jordan:

• It is an Arab country of Southwest Asia, in the rocky desert of the northern Arabian Peninsula.
• It is named for the Jordan River, which passes on its western border.
• It occupies an area of around 91,880 sq. km.
• Bordering Countries: It is bounded to the north by Syria, to the east by Iraq, to the southeast and south by Saudi Arabia, and to the west by Israeland the West Bank. 
• The capital and largest city in the country is Amman—named for the Ammonites, who made the city their capital in the 13th century BCE.
• Jordan has 16 miles (26 km) of coastline on the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea)in the southwest, where Al-ʿAqabah, it's only port, is located.
• Jordan has three major physiographic regions (from east to west): the desert, the uplands east of the Jordan River, and the Jordan Valley (the northwest portion of the great East African Rift System).
  • The desert region is mostly within the Syrian Desert—an extension of the Arabian Desert—and occupies the eastern and southern parts of the country, comprising more than four-fifths of its territory.
  • The Jordan Valley region contains the Dead Sea. 
• Language: The official language is Arabic.
• Currency: Jordanian dinar