POPULATION
11.6m
CURRENCY
د.ا (JOD)
CAPITAL CITY
Amman
Jordan, an Arab nation on the east bank of the Jordan River, is defined by ancient monuments, nature reserves and seaside resorts. It’s home to the famed archaeological site of Petra, the Nabatean capital dating to around 300 B.C., set in a narrow valley with tombs, temples and monuments carved into the sandstone cliffs.
Jordan's economy is relatively small and heavily reliant on foreign aid, trade, and tourism. Key sectors include mining, manufacturing, and financial services. The country faces challenges related to water scarcity, energy dependence, and regional instability.
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Jordan's labor law stipulates that employment contracts must be drawn up in Arabic and made in at least 2 copies (each party shall keep a copy). The law also allows for the use of oral contracts. If no written contract is made, the employee may establish their rights by all legal means of evidence.
Jordan's labor law allows for the use of oral contracts: if no written contract is made, the employee may establish their rights by all legal means of evidence.
In Jordan, contracts can be implied by customary signs or exchanges between parties.If no written contract is made, an employee may establish their rights by all legal means of evidence.
Jordan's labor law stipulates that normal working hours must not exceed 8 hours a day and shall not exceed in any week 48 hours over a maximum of 6 days, excluding meal breaks and rest periods. The rules regarding working hours do not apply to persons occupying supervisory or managerial positions in any establishment. Also, hotel, restaurant, and cinema workers are limited to 54 hours per week.
Weekly rest days shall be fully paid unless a worker is employed on a daily or weekly basis. In these cases, they shall be entitled to receive full remuneration for the weekly rest day if they worked for 6 consecutive days before the specified rest day and partial remuneration proportionate to the number of days worked if they worked for three or more days.
Most private businesses observe Friday as the weekend holiday, while banks and government offices close on Fridays and Saturdays.
New Year’s Day, March equinox, Good Friday, Easter Day, Orthodox Easter Day, Easter Monday, Al Isra’ wal Miraj, Labor Day, Independence Day, Ramadan beginning, June Solstice, Eid-al-Fitr, Eid-al-Adha, September equinox, Muharram/New Year, Prophet’s Birthday, December Solstice, Christmas Day.
In Jordan, an employer may employ any worker on a probationary basis to verify their competence and capacities for the assigned work. The probationary period cannot exceed 3 months. Both parties must agree to it in writing.
Both parties also have the right to terminate the employment contract within the probationary period without notice or any liability towards the other party.
If a worker continues work after the end of the probationary period, their employment contract shall be considered of indefinite duration, and the probationary period shall be considered as part of the service period of the worker's engagement with the employer. The employer cannot extend the probationary period or terminate the contract during this period to re-employ the employee for another probationary period.
A notice period of 1 month or compensation in lieu of is required to terminate an indefinite-term employment contract. An employer has the right to terminate the employment of an employee on probation without notice or compensation during probationary period.
No notice is needed to terminate a contract for gross misconduct or violation of contract.
Employees working under contracts of indefinite duration and not subject to the Social Security Law provisions are entitled to a severance payment if their employment is terminated for any reason. The severance payment is equal to a month's wage for each year of actual service. For part years of service, employees are entitled to proportional remuneration.
Employees dismissed during probation are not entitled to severance payment.
The minimum wage for Jordanian employees in the private sector is JOD 290 (Jordanian dinars) per month. The minimum wage for migrant workers is JOD 230. Migrant domestic workers and workers in the loading and unloading sectors, as well as Jordanian and migrant workers in the garment and textiles industries, are exempt from the current minimum wage.
An employer who has paid an employee less than the minimum rate of remuneration shall be punishable by a fine of no less than JOD 500 and no more than JOD 1000 for each offense. The employer shall also be ordered to pay the employee the difference. The penalty shall be doubled every time the offense is repeated.
Wage periods are not prescribed in law, requiring wages to be paid within 7 days of due. The same applies to overtime pay.
Per Jordan's labor law, an employee may consent to be employed in excess of normal working hours, provided that they are paid overtime at a minimum rate of 125% of their regular remuneration and overtime work will be reduced. If an employee works on their weekly rest day or on religious or official holidays, they must be paid overtime at a minimum rate of 150% of their regular remuneration. Overtime allowance must be paid no later than 7 days from the date of its maturity.
Jordan's labor law stipulates that normal working hours must not exceed 8 hours a day and shall not exceed in any week 48 hours over a maximum of 6 days, excluding meal breaks and rest periods. The rules regarding working hours do not apply to persons occupying supervisory or managerial positions in any establishment. In addition, hotel, restaurant, and cinema workers are limited to 54 hours per week.
Employees are entitled to be paid their normal remuneration while on annual leave.
Citizens of Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, areas governed by the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates may visit Jordan without a tourist or business visa.
Citizens of most nations are required to have a visa to visit Jordan. The visa can either be obtained on arrival or must be obtained on arrival before the trip, depending on the foreigner's country.
Jordan offers the following visas:
Transit passengers transiting to another country within 24 hours are exempt from visa charges. Transit visas can only be used at Jordanian airports, embassies, or consulates.
Visas may be extended by a maximum of 6 months by registering with a police station in Jordan.
Jordan's labor law dictates that no foreign-born individual may be hired in Jordan without consent from the Ministry of Interior, unless the work requires experience or skills not found in the Jordanian labor market. Priority for work in Jordan is given to Arab workers, and it is against the law to hire outside of Jordan for a position that a Jordanian could fill. This does not include foreign nationals who are born to Jordanian mothers.
Population 11.6m
Population in total, including all residents regardless of legal status © 2024 - WBG • EUROSTAT
92.2%
Urban Population
92.5%
Internet access
46.5%
Banking access
68%
Mobile phone access
Population: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wpp/, publisher: UN Population Division; Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices, National Statistical Offices, uri: https://unstats.un.org/home/nso_sites/, publisher: National Statistical Offices; Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, Eurostat (ESTAT), uri: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database?node_code=earn_ses_monthly, publisher: Eurostat; Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), United Nations (UN), uri: https://unstats.un.org, publisher: UN Statistics Division
Urban Population: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wup/, publisher: UN Population Division
Internet access: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, ITU (ITU), uri: https://datahub.itu.int/
Banking access: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • FINDEX, WBG (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/globalfindex
Mobile phone access: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, ITU (ITU)
Jordan's labor law stipulates that, for every year of employment, employees shall be entitled to annual leave with full pay for a period of at least 14 days. Annual leave must be extended to 21 days where the employee has been with the same employer for 5 consecutive years. Official and religious holidays, as well as weekly rest days, are not counted as part of a employee's annual leave unless they occur during the leave.
If the employee's length of service is less than 1 year, they are entitled to paid leave, calculated proportionately to their employment duration in that year.
Upon agreement between an employee and employer, an employee's leave for any year may be carried over to the following year.
After considering work requirements and employees' interests, an employer may, during the first month of the year, set employees' annual leave dates and the manner in which leave shall be taken.
In Jordan, every employee is entitled to 14 days' annual sick leave with full pay, provided they present a report from an approved medical practitioner. This leave may be renewed for a further 14 days with full pay if the employee is hospitalized. Also, the sick leave may be renewed for another 14 days after the initial 14 day period even if the employee is not hospitalized, as long as an approved medical committee provides a report. In this case, however, the employee is only entitled to 50% of their normal pay.
The employer is liable to pay the employee while the latter is out on sick leave.
Jordan's labor law grants women 10 weeks of paid maternity leave, including rest before and after delivery. Leave after delivery must be no less than 6 weeks long, and employment before the expiry of such a period shall be prohibited.
Jordan's social insurance fund provides cash maternity benefits to private-sector employees funded by employer contributions of 0.75% of gross monthly payroll. Women must have at least 6 months of insurance coverage during the 12 months before childbirth to qualify for maternity benefits from the social insurance fund. The maternity benefits pay 100% of the insured's last monthly covered earnings for up to 10 weeks.
After the maternity leave period's expiry and within 1 year of delivery, every mother has the right to take time off with pay to nurse her newborn baby, provided that total time off does not exceed 1 hour a day.
In 2019, Jordan's labor law was amended and paternity leave was introduced for fathers. Fathers are entitled to 3 days of paid leave after the birth of a child.
In Jordan, all insured persons who reach 60 (men) or 55 (women) years of age with at least 180 months of coverage, including 84 months of contributions during employment, are eligible for an old-age-pension.
Early retirement may be granted if the employee has reached the age of 50 years and paid 252 contributions (for men) or 228 contributions (for women).
The pension is 2.5% of the average monthly earnings in the last 36 months per year of contribution for the first JOD 1,500 (Jordanian dinars) of the average salary, plus 2% per year of contribution after that. The maximum pension is 75% of the insured's average monthly earnings in the last two years. The pension amount is increased if there are any dependents. Private sector employees who have yet to make any contributions can make reduced contributions until the age of 30. The benefits, however, will also be reduced.
Insured persons who have reached the retirement age but do not fulfill the criteria for contributions are entitled to a lump-sum old-age settlement payment calculated according to the number of contributions.
In Jordan, a survivor's pension is provided if the deceased had at least 24 months of contributions, including 6 consecutive months. If more than 1 survivor is eligible, the benefit shall be split.
The pension for survivors is calculated as 50% of the average monthly wage during the last 12 months of contributions, 0.5% for each year of contribution beyond 60 months, and 1% for each year of contributions beyond 120 contributions.
Eligible survivors include:
The pension is suspended if the beneficiary earns equal to or more than the amount of the pension. The pension for a widow, daughter, or sister is suspended upon marriage but is resumed if she is subsequently widowed or divorced.
In Jordan, insured persons are entitled to a permanent total natural disability pension if they have been assessed as having a partial or total disability and have paid at least 60 contributions, 24 of which are consecutive. Additionally, the decision of a licensed doctor must establish disability.
The pension for total permanent disability is calculated as 50% of the average monthly wage during the last 36 months of contributions, up to JOD 1,500 (Jordanian dinars), and 30% of the remaining amount above it. The pension is increased by 0.5% for each year of contributions beyond 60 months and by 1% for each year of contributions beyond 120 months. An additional 25% is paid to those requiring constant care. For partial permanent disability, 75% of the full disability pension is paid.
For disability due to work-related accidents, 75% of the wages on the day of accident are paid as an allowance for temporary disability. For permanent disability, 75% of the wages are paid as a pension if the disability is greater than 75%. The pension is decreased proportionately for lower degrees of disability.
Jordan's labor law sets the minimum working age at 16 and defines "minors" as individuals under 18. Additionally, workers under 18 are prohibited from working in dangerous, exhausting, or unhealthy jobs.
Employers may not require minors to work on holidays, religious days, or weekly rest days, nor may they allow child laborers to work more than 6 hours per day. After 4 consecutive hours of work, the employer must give the minor a rest period of at least 1 hour. Minors are prohibited from performing work between 8:00 PM and 6:00 AM.
Before hiring a minor, an employer must receive the following documents:
Unemployment 18%
Share of the labor force that is unemployed, but available for and seeking employment © 2024 - WBG • ILO
38.5%
Labor force population share
17.5%
Female share of labor force
65%
Healthcare access
Unemployment: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), ILO (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: January 07, 2025.
Labor force (total): The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • ILO (ILO), type: estimates based on external database; United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, WBG (WB)
Labor force population share: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), ILO (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: January 07, 2025
Female share of labor force: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • ILO (ILO), type: estimates based on external database; United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, WBG (WB)
Healthcare access: The World Bank: World Development Indicators: World Bank Group • GHO, WHO (WHO), uri: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/service-coverage
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