%jordan%

prop. n. A landlocked country of the Middle East, surrounded by Israel, Iraq, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, and that area on the west bank of the Jordan river which was once claimed by Jordan, and is at present occupied by Israel and in part governed by a Palestinian authority. It has a population of 4, 212, 152 (1996) in a total area of 89, 213 sq km. The population is predominantly Arab and Moslem. Officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, it was formerly called Trans-Jordan when occupied by the British. The government is a constitutional monarchy, with King Hussein Bin Talal Al Hashimi as its ruler since 2 May 1953. Jordan is a small developing Arab country, having a Gross Domestic Product of $19.3 billion in 1995. CIA Factbook 1996. [ PJC ]