Jordan 🇯🇴
Jordan is a country in Asia with a population of 11,285,869. Its capital is Amman. The official currency is JOD, and the main languages are Arabic.
Quick facts
- Capital: Amman
- Continent: Asia
- Population: 11,285,869
- Area: 89,342 km²
- Density: 126 people per km²
- Currency: JOD
- Languages: Arabic
- ISO code: JO
Where Jordan sits
Jordan 🇯🇴 is one of 48 countries in Asia, with its capital at Amman. It covers 89,342 square kilometres — 110th in the world — and is home to about 11,285,869 people, 83rd globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Jordan compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Jordan sits closest to Dominican Republic and Cuba. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Serbia and Azerbaijan.
At 126 people per square kilometre it is about 2.1 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Arabic is an official language in 25 countries here, among them Algeria, Bahrain, Chad and Comoros, and 20 others. The JOD is used by Jordan and no one else.
To see Jordan next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Jordan
Amman, the capital and largest city, was renamed Philadelphia by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC. For the flag, look for the seven-pointed star on the red triangle: Palestine's flag has the same design without the star.
The flag of Jordan: black, white, green and red
🇯🇴 The flag is three horizontal stripes of black, white and green, with a red triangle by the flagpole holding a white seven-pointed star. Black, white and green stand for three historic Arab caliphates, the Abbasid, Umayyad and Fatimid, and the red triangle for the Great Arab Revolt of 1916. The seven points of the star stand for the seven verses of the opening chapter of the Quran.
Region and neighbours
Jordan is a country in West Asia, with the Jordan River and the Dead Sea along its western border and a small coastline on the Red Sea, at the Gulf of Aqaba. It shares land borders with 5 countries: Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Palestine. The border with Palestine is with the West Bank.
- Syria 🇸🇾 — capital Damascus
- Iraq 🇮🇶 — capital Baghdad
- Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 — capital Riyadh
- Israel 🇮🇱 — capital Jerusalem
- Palestine 🇵🇸 — capital Ramallah
Three facts about Jordan
- In the third century BC the Nabataeans set up their kingdom centred on Petra.
- Amman is the most populous city in the Levant.
- The Jordan River, flowing into the Dead Sea, runs along the country's western border.
Sources: Wikipedia: Jordan, Wikipedia: Flag of Jordan, Wikipedia: Amman, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Jordan
- Asian capitals quiz — match Jordan to Amman
- Asian flags quiz — spot the Jordan flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Jordan
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Jordan those are:
- Asia map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Asia flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Asia capitals quiz — match it to Amman
- Jordan capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Jordan
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Jordan
- Capital of Jordan: Amman — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 48 countries of Asia
Nearby countries
- Afghanistan 🇦🇫 — capital Kabul
- Armenia 🇦🇲 — capital Yerevan
- Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 — capital Baku
- Bahrain 🇧🇠— capital Manama
- Bangladesh 🇧🇩 — capital Dhaka
- Bhutan 🇧🇹 — capital Thimphu
- Brunei 🇧🇳 — capital Bandar Seri Begawan
- Cambodia 🇰🇠— capital Phnom Penh
- China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
- Georgia 🇬🇪 — capital Tbilisi
- India 🇮🇳 — capital New Delhi
- Indonesia 🇮🇩 — capital Jakarta
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Jordan flag?
The flag of Jordan is three horizontal stripes of black, white and green, with a red triangle by the flagpole holding a white seven-pointed star. Black, white and green stand for three historic Arab caliphates, the Abbasid, Umayyad and Fatimid, and the red triangle for the Great Arab Revolt of 1916. The seven points of the star stand for the seven verses of the opening chapter of the Quran.
Which countries border Jordan?
Jordan shares land borders with Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Palestine. The border with Palestine is with the West Bank.
How can I remember the capital of Jordan?
Amman, the capital and largest city, was renamed Philadelphia by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC. For the flag, look for the seven-pointed star on the red triangle: Palestine's flag has the same design without the star.