The Middle East

Clothing manufacturers in the kingdom experienced strong growth in 2011. As the country’s most economically important export, they contributed JD708m ($994.9m) to the year’s total national exports, 14.8% of the total. The main driver behind this growth is the US market, which received 93% of Jordanian clothes exports in the first 11 months of 2011....

At a time of growing global demand for fertiliser, the potash industry in Jordan is becoming increasingly profitable. An ingredient in a number of fertilisers, potash is extracted from the Dead Sea. Most of the product is then exported to a growing Eastern market, including to India, South-east Asia and China. The industry comprises the Arab Potash...

Through its industrial estates, free zones and development zones, Jordan has continued to attract local and foreign investment. These make a vital contribution to national exports and to the economy in general, despite some concern that Jordanians have not benefitted from the jobs created. At the same time, the government is working to unify...

Addressing Jordan’s energy imbalance had already been at the top of the government’s agenda before its Egyptian natural gas imports began to be disrupted in early 2011. But in view of the ongoing attacks on the Egyptian gas pipeline, policymakers now see the country’s energy balance as an issue of national security. As such, the government is keener...

Up to this point, Jordan’s transport sector has been dominated by road infrastructure, with the aviation network and the seaport at Aqaba also playing important roles. Though less well developed, the country’s rail network is now the focus of government-led modernisation and expansion plans.