Demographics
The Jordan National Census for the year 2004 was released on 1 October of the same year, According to the census, Jordan had a population of 5,100,981. The census estimated that there are another 190,000 who were not counted. National growth rate was 2.5% (at maximum) compared to 3.3% of the 1994 census. Males made up 51.5% of Jordan's population (2,628,717), while females constituted 2,472,264 (48.5%). Jordanian citizens made up 93% of the population (4,750,463), non-Jordanian citizens made up 7% (349,933). However, it is estimated that most of those who did not turn in their forms were immigrants from neighboring countries, There were 946,000 households in Jordan in 2004, with an average of 5.3 persons/household (compared to 6 persons/household for the census of 1994). The next census is scheduled to take place in 2014.
Jordan hosts one of the highest percentages of immigrants in the world in comparison to its total population, with more than 40% of its residents being born in another country, a rate even higher than the United States, according to a 2005 UN Report. Jordan's Arab population mainly consists of Jordanians, Palestinians and Iraqis. In addition, there are sizable immigrant communities from Egypt, Syria, and more recently Libya. There were also 15,000 Lebanese who emigrated to Jordan following the 2006 War with Israel. The non-Arab population which comprises 2% to 5% of Jordan's population, most are Circassians, Chechens, Armenians, Turkmans, and Romanis, all of which have maintained separate ethnic identities, but have integrated into mainstream Jordanian culture. Also, Jordan is home to a relatively large American and European expatriate population concentrated mainly in the capital as the city is home to many international organizations and diplomatic missions that base their regional operations in Amman. Since the Iraq War many Christians (Assyrians/Chaldeans) from Iraq have settled permanently or temporarily in Jordan. They could number as many as 500,000.
In 2004–2007, population increased due to the mass migration of Iraqi refugees. In 2007, there were 700,000–1,000,000 Iraqis in Jordan. In 2009, the population of Jordan was slightly over 6,300,000. (increasing from 5,100,000 in 2004).
According to UNRWA, Jordan was home to 1,951,603 Palestinian refugees in 2008, most of them Jordanian citizens. 338,000 of them were living in UNRWA refugee camps.
Migrant workers in Jordan are believed to account for more than 30% of the labor force in Jordan. The population of migrant workers including domestic workers is divided into 1,200,000 illegal and some 500,000 legal migrant workers in the Kingdom. 500,000 are Egyptians, while the remaining workers are from Syria, India, Yemen, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Nepal. Jordan is home to one of the world's largest population of migrant domestic workers according to Human Rights Watch. Domestic workers number around 300,000, mainly from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. There have been recent recruiting from African nations like Ethopia and Madagascar for the purpose of domestic labor. Furthermore, there are thousands of foreign women working in nightclubs, hotels and bars across the kingdom, mostly from Eastern Europe and North Africa.
Jordan revoked the citizenship of thousands of Palestinians to thwart any attempt to resettle West Bank residents in Jordan. West Bank Arabs with family in Jordan or Jordanian citizenship were issued yellow cards guaranteeing them all the rights of Jordanian citizenship. Palestinians living in Jordan with family in the West Bank were also issued yellow cards. All other Palestinians wishing such Jordanian papers were issued green cards to facilitate travel into Jordan.
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