MDG Profile:
National Agenda close to MDGs in its aims
Jordan developed its 10-year National Agenda in 2005 with the main objective to improve the quality of life of Jordanians, create income-generating opportunities and guarantee social welfare. The Agenda set eight themes with specific targets and initiatives necessary to achieve its objectives. The themes encompassed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the areas of education, training and employment, social welfare and private sector development. The themes of the Agenda correspond to the Millennium Declaration in the areas of political development, participation legislation, and justice.
The 10-year Agenda was further developed into a framework entitled We are all Jordan. The two documents were combined into a three-year National Executive Programme (NEP) for 2007-2009 with specific goals, policies, programmes, projects, and indicators. Though the National Frameworks were not MDG- based, Jordan was keen on integrating the MDGs within the NEP and in building the government’s capacity in MDG planning. Jordan’s approach is to adapt the MDGs to national development priorities and challenges, and to ensure mainstreaming the MDGs within national budgets and government priorities. Through implementation and monitoring of the national plans, which are wider in scope than the MDGs, Jordan aims to achieve the Goals. Challenges include reaching consensus among the different governmental institutions and civil society organizations, merging the resource and capacity gaps between the planning and implementation processes, and clarifying the linkages between local and national planning, as well as filling data gaps.
Jordan published its first National MDG Report in 2004 which revealed that it is on track to achieve some of the goals ahead of 2015. The report highlighted regional disparities as a key challenge. As a result, Jordan produced its first local MDG report for the Government of Aqaba in 2008 and is currently preparing one for the governorate of Zarqa. These constitute a first step towards localizing the goals at the sub-national level and became a basis for local MDG planning.
Jordan has made significant improvements in access to education, health and infrastructure services. The main challenges that still remain are lack of resources such as water and energy; weak, though growing, local productivity; and regional disparities. Recent global oil and food price hikes also pose threats to Jordan at the moment. Despite women’s improved access to education, they still have low participation rates in employment, public and political life.
Last updated 25 August 2008
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Total population
(millions): |
5.9 |
Surface area
(sq. km): |
89,342 |
GDP per capita
(PPP US$): |
5,988 |
GDP growth
(annual %): |
6.4
|
Human Development Index
(Rank 1 - 177): |
86 |
Life expectancy at birth
(years): |
71.3 |
Population below PPP $1 per day
(%): |
2.0 |
Net enrolment ratio in primary education
(% both sexes): |
93.7 |
Carbon dioxide emissions per capita
(metric tons): |
3.0658 |
Unemployment, total
(% of total labor force): |
N/A |
NOTE: The MDG data presented here is the latest available from the United Nations Statistics Division. The World Bank has recently released new poverty estimates, which reflect improvements in internationally comparable price data. The new data estimates set a new poverty line of US$1.25 a day and offer a much more accurate picture of the cost of living in developing countries. They are based on the results of the 2005 International Comparison Program (ICP), released in first half of 2008. Country-specific poverty estimates will be released by the World Bank in late 2008
