About 34 percent of the population are children under 15 years old, composing 3.8 million people. In addition to being a driving force behind population growth, 40 percent of the population is composed of children under 18 years old, Masarweh said.
According to Issa Masarweh, secretary general of the Higher Population Council (HPC), the country’s population reached 5 million in 2004 and 9.5 million in 2015, marking the country’s centennial. In 1963, the country’s population stood at just 225,000 people.
The current demographic breakdown in Jordan, including the population size, composition, structure, and distribution, was cited by Masarweh during an interview with the Jordan News Agency.
The foreign population has grown as a result of the influx of refugees, exacerbating demographic, environmental, social, economic, and security issues, Jordan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi told the UN Security Council. He said that over three million non-Jordanians are now living in Jordan, accounting for over one-third of the country’s population.
The most common population-related challenge, according to Masarweh, is uneven distribution, with 8 percent of the people living in the Kingdom’s southern half, while 92 percent are concentrated in the northern half.
Rainfall that does not infiltrate the soil or is intercepted by impervious surfaces accumulates on surface and subsurface impermeable surfaces, resulting in urban flooding that adversely affects agricultural and natural areas as well as environmental and conservation areas, Al Jubeir said. He also said that this uneven distribution has resulted in food security concerns and added burdens on infrastructure and public services.
75 percent of Jordan’s population lives in Amman, Irbid, and Zarqa, he said. Mafraq was fourth in terms of population in 2021, he added.
According to Masarweh, the proportion of children aged under 15 is 34% or 3.8 million people. The number of children aged under 18 is 4.5 million, accounting for 40% of the population, which is seen as an important factor driving population growth.
Image source : Middle East monitor
