POPULATION

Jordan's stability in a turbulent region has attracted large numbers of refuges and temporary residents from neighboring regions such as the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. In recent years it has also seen tens of thousand of Jordanian expatriates returning from abroad.

Jordan's strong rurally based lifestyle, grounded in the nation's villages and deserts, has taken a slight shift in recent years. The trend has been to urbanize. About sixty-four per cent of Jordanians now reside in towns. However, the Jordanian cultural identity is firmly rooted in rural and desert communities. Total population of Jordan as of 2004 is 5,200,000.