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Geography, agriculture and the economy Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory to the west. The country has an area of about 89,800 km 2. The population of about 5.3 million is growing at a rate of 2.8 per cent per year. The western highlands of Jordan have a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. The rest of the country is mainly arid, with a dry climate that is hot in summer and cold in winter. Agriculture and the economy Agriculture provides earnings for about 20 per cent of the population and employs about 7 per cent. Although the sector is small in relation to the overall economy, agriculture contributes an estimated 28 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). The agricultural sector is divided into two areas: rainfed highlands, which produce mainly cereals, and high-yield irrigated farms in the Jordan Valley. Many nomadic herders prefer to maintain their traditional way of life, raising animals and moving about according to the season. Scarce water supplies are a constant threat to the agricultural sector, which suffers from over-extraction of groundwater in the highlands and from polluted wastewater in the Jordan Valley. A dramatic increase in demand for water is expected in the near future as a result of population growth. In addition, per capita water consumption is rising as economic growth leads to a better quality of life. It is predicted that Jordan’s freshwater resources will be exhausted after 2005. Source: IFAD |
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