AMMAN — Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
quadrupled in the first quarter of the current century, reaching around JD7.12
billion in 1999 and rising to JD34.54 billion in 2022 at current prices.
اضافة اعلان
The Jordanian economy experienced significant
acceleration in the first decade of the century, accompanied by real annual
growth averaging 5.5 percent during the period 1999-2008, reaching its peak
with an average real annual growth rate of 6.2 percent between 2004-2008.
Economic growth during the period
1999-2022 reached a rate of 3.7 percent, which is higher than the growth rate
in the Arab region and within the global average during that period.
From 1999 to 2009, Jordan maintained real
growth rates higher than the global average and those of the Arab region.
In the second stage from 2010 to 2018, it
maintained annual real growth rates with an average of 2.5 percent, the Jordan
News Agency, Petra reported.
In the third stage from 2019 to 2022, the
economy witnessed a significant decline due to the repercussions of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Growth reached (negative) 1.1 percent in 2020, but the
economy started growing and recovering thereafter from 2021.
Dr. Hazem Qashou, a researcher in
political and social affairs and a former minister, stated that the
acceleration witnessed in Jordan's economic growth over a quarter of a century
can be interpreted from various perspectives. These include fixed assets such
as lands and real estate, which increased significantly in most provinces. He
also mentioned the improvement in income levels, as the minimum wage more than
quadrupled. These developments can be measured through investments in
infrastructure, services, roads, and others in different provinces, providing a
sense of security for citizens.
Dr. Qashou pointed out documented
information from "The Great Transition" book by His Majesty King
Abdullah II Fund for Development on Jordan's ability to protect its monetary
system and maintain the stability of the dinar despite various strategic and
economic crises globally.
He highlighted objective crises that
accompanied the economic achievements, such as the Iraq war, the global
economic crisis, the Arab Spring, terrorism, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the
recent Israeli war in Gaza.
He emphasized that Jordan's GDP should
ideally surpass 50 billion dinars annually, but population growth has increased
burdens, hindering the achievement of those levels and creating challenges like
unemployment.
Per capita GDP evolved alongside economic
growth, showing good growth rates in the first decade in real terms. It jumped
from 2924 dinars in 1999 to a peak of JD3,655 in 2009, with an average annual
growth rate of 2.5 percent.
Starting from 2013, per capita GDP began
a gradual decline, reaching its lowest level in the COVID-19 pandemic year of
2020 at 2755 dinars, then gradually rising to 3056 dinars in 2022.
He stressed the need to build upon
existing achievements and initiate major projects like artificial rivers,
lakes, large dams, strategic cities, strategic projects, developing vital
sectors, sports facilities, healthcare, and increasing productivity.
Maintaining national productivity, dinar
stability, and foreign assets provided by the central bank and other factors is
crucial for Jordan's security, stability, and prosperity.
The government took measures to address
the global financial crisis, ensuring all citizens' deposits in the banking
sector until the end of 2010. This included deposits of licensed banks in the
Kingdom and deposits of non-residents and central government deposits at the
Central Bank of Jordan.
The Central Bank of Jordan raised the
mandatory reserve ratio from 8 percent to 10 percent, then gradually reduced it
to 7 percent in light of inflation reduction in October 2008.
Dr. Alaa Al-Bashaireh, an economics
professor at Hashemite University, mentioned that Jordan underwent political
and economic events from 1999-2022 that contributed to inflation due to
regional political events, influx of refugees, the 2008 global financial
crisis, the Arab Spring, rising energy costs, Syrian refugees in Jordan, the
COVID-19 crisis, and supply chain issues.
She explained that inflation acts as fuel
for nominal GDP, though real GDP growth lags behind, and refugee waves
pressured infrastructure, raising inflation rates but positively contributing
to real production through investments, especially in food industries and
others.
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