POPULATION In Jordan Population and Family health Survey 2007 Dr. Samar Sharif 20-09-2010

POPULATION In Jordan The first population census in Jordan was carried out in 1961. The population then totaled 901,000. As a result of the Arab-Israeli wars in 1948 and 1967, and the subsequent Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a large number of Palestinians moved into the East Bank. In 1979, the population of Jordan numbered 2.13 million; it nearly doubled to 4.14 million by 1994.

the population was estimated at about 5 the population was estimated at about 5.35 million, while, it reached 5.72 million in 2007, and it is expected to reach 6 million by the year 2010. Population growth averaged 4.8 percent during the period 1961-1979 ( which is very high), and 4.4 percent between 1979 and 1994.

The high rates of growth have been due to the influx of immigrants to the East Bank from the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the late 1960s, the inflow of large numbers of foreign workers, the high rate of natural increase (which depends on the fertility & mortality), the return of about 300,000 Jordanians from the Gulf States as a result of the 1990 Gulf Crisis, as well as the return of some tens of thousands of Jordanians and the migration of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis as a result of the 2003 Second Gulf War.

The rapid increases in population have created several problems for the country – namely, shortages in food, water, housing, and employment opportunities, as well as strains on the education system and the urban infrastructure. Fertility declines in Jordan have contributed to slowing the population growth rate down to 3.2 percent in the second half of the 1990s, and to 2.3 percent in 2007. Note : be careful to the latest researches 2007 , the growth rate was 2.3 percent ,,, >> in the exam =)

Urbanization is a particularly important topic in Jordan Urbanization is a particularly important topic in Jordan. Historically, internal rural-to-urban migration, as well as immigration, has contributed to rapid urban growth. Recent international crises have also impacted flows of migration into Jordan. The percent of the population living in urban areas increased by 14 percent between 1980 and 1994 (from 70 to 79 percent), reaching 83 percent in 2004, about a 5 percent increase compared to 1994. Notes :- most of the population is in the cities - YOU SHOULD MEMORIZE ALL THE PERCENTAGES THAT ARE IN THIS SLIDE .

Results of the 2004 census indicate that the age structure of the population has changed Considerably (ages under 15 are decreasing & ages>= 60 are increasing) since 1979 – the result of changes in fertility, mortality, and migration dynamics. The proportion of the population under 15 years of age declined from 51 percent in 1979 to 37 percent by 2004 , while the proportion of those aged 60 and over has been rising, from 4.1 percent in 1979 to 5.2 percent in 2004. That is the result of decreasing fertility and increasing life span .

Fertility Fertility has been declining in Jordan since the mid-1970s. Surveys have found that the total fertility rate declined from 7.4 children per woman in 1976 to 5.6 in 1990, 4.4 in 1997, 3.7 in 2002 and to 3.6 children in 2007. These figures indicate a 40 percent decline (about three children fewer per woman) between 1976 and 1997; fertility fell another 19 percent, or by one child more, between 1997 and 2002.

The decline was very slight between 2002 and 2007 (about 3 percent), insignificant compared to that decline that took place in the previous years. Mortality has also been declining in Jordan, even faster than fertility. The crude death rate, estimated at 18 per thousand in the early 1960s, had declined to 12 by the early 1980s. That means that Jordan is turning to be a more developed country , by decreasing fertility & mortility .

In 2007, the crude death rate was estimated at seven per thousand (very important to memorize) > a good indicator for the health services . The infant mortality rate also declined from 82 per thousand in 1976 to 22 in 2002, and reached 19 per thousand in 2007, decreasing by 14 percent compared to 2002. Drops in mortality, particularly infant mortality, have translated into an increased life expectancy for the population: in 2002, life expectancy in Jordan was 68 years for males and 71 years for females, increasing to 72 years for males and 74 years for females in 2007.(memorize this for the exam )

With regard to the education of the population, the illiteracy rate among those aged 15 years and over has dropped by 70 percent since 1979, from 36 percent to 10 percent in 2002, reaching about 8 percent in 2007 (4 percent among males compared to 12 percent among females).

In addition, almost one third of Jordan’s population is currently enrolled in school, at various educational levels. Seventy-one percent of all students attend schools run by the government, which comprise 59 percent of all schools in Jordan in 2007. This percentage has been fairly constant during the last ten years.

International Population Conferences 1974 Bucharest conference In 1984, 149 nations participated in the International Conference on Population, held in Mexico City. Representatives from over 180 countries and 1,200 nongovernmental agencies convened in Cairo, Egypt, for the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994.

Population policies National population commissions were formed in different countries They formulated national population policies and action plans One major component of the action plan deals with reproductive health Reproductive health in the context of population includes reproductive rights, sexuality, family planning, reproductive morbidity, violence against women, gender based differences, male involvement in reproductive health.