Jordan Times
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Total population stands at
5.29m — census
AMMAN (JT) — Jordan's total population at the start of this month stood at 5.29
million, according to the initial results of the General Population Census,
conducted earlier this month by the Department of Statistics.
The Council of Ministers endorsed the results in their weekly Tuesday session,
Minister of Culture and Government Spokesperson Asma Khader announced after the
Cabinet meeting.
Citing the main indicators in the census report, Khader was quoted by the Jordan
News Agency, Petra, as saying that the count involved 96.4 per cent of the
population, which left about 190,000 people uncounted.
She said the figures provided by the report indicate a “sharp drop” in fertility
rates with the population growth now estimated at 2.5 per cent, (down from 2.69
per cent in 1995).
According to the findings, males constitute 51.5 per cent of the total
population, while Jordanian citizens constitute 93 per cent of the total number
of the Kingdom's residents.
The average size of families is 5.3 members, compared to 6 and 6.7 in 1994 and
1979 respectively, the report said.
In terms of the regional population distribution, the report indicates that 63
per cent of the population is concentrated in the central region, 28 per cent in
the north and nine per cent in the southern regions. Elaborating, the report
says that Amman is home to 38 per cent of the population, while nearby Zarqa
(both cities in the central region) has a 15 per cent share of the Kingdom's
residents.
The main northern town, Irbid has the second highest population after the
capital with 18 per cent. Tafileh is the least populated governorate with a
population of 75,000, 1.5 per cent of the country's residents.