Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to the west. Jordan has a small coastline along the Red Sea in its southwest, separated by the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt.
Amman is the country's capital and largest city , as well as the most populous city in the Levant. Modern-day Jordan has been inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period. The Greco-Roman period saw the establishment of several cities in Transjordan that comprised the Decapolis. Later, after the end of Byzantine rule, the region became part of the Islamic caliphates of the Rashidun , Umayyad , Abbasid , and the Ottoman.
Following the Great Arab Revolt during World War I , former Ottoman Syria was partitioned , leading to the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan in , which became a British protectorate. In , the country gained independence and became officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Jordan renounced its claim to the territory to the Palestinians in and signed a peace treaty with Israel in Jordan is a semi-arid country, covering an area of 89, km 2 34, sq mi with a population of Jordan was mostly unscathed by the violence that swept the region following the Arab Spring in From as early as , Jordan has accepted refugees from multiple neighbouring countries in conflict. An estimated 2. The sovereign state is a constitutional monarchy , but the king holds wide executive and legislative powers.
The country has a high Human Development Index , ranking 99th, and is considered a lower middle income economy. The Jordanian economy , one of the smallest economies in the region, is attractive to foreign investors based upon a skilled workforce. Jordan takes its name from the Jordan River , which forms much of the country's northwestern border. The oldest known evidence of hominid habitation in Jordan dates back at least , years. During the Neolithic period 10,β4, BC , there was a transition there from a hunter-gatherer culture to a culture with established populous agricultural villages.
