Jordan’s economy shows signs of pandemic recovery

AMMAN — Jordan began its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic with a GDP growth rate of 2.6 per cent in 2022, after a contraction of 1.6 per cent during the year of the pandemic, as the government seeks to implement reforms that boost growth and create jobs.

According to data cited by Al Mamlaka TV, GDP at constant market prices grew by 2.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2022, compared with the third quarter of 2021.

However, Jordan’s gross public debt stood at 109.7 per cent of GDP as of the end of August, according to data from the Ministry of Finance. Total public debt reached JD37.101 billion in the first eight months of 2022, with the debt held by the Social Security Investment Fund calculated to stand at JD7.5 billion.

According to the same data, the public debt at the end of August 2022, after excluding the debt of the Social Security Investment Fund, reached JD29.59 billion, or 87.6 per cent of GDP.

Jordan’s tourism sector began recovering from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, as more than 4.6 million visitors arrived in Jordan as of the end of November, surpassing what the national tourism strategy sought to accomplish. 

As of the end of November, the Kingdom also had exceeded the target set for tourism revenue in the National Tourism Strategy by JD3.7 billion, a 115 per cent increase compared with the same period in the previous year. 

Expatriates’ remittances rose 0.6 per cent from 2021 figures during the first 10 months of 2022, reaching $2.829 billion, while foreign reserves in the Central Bank of Jordan reached $16.7 billion at the end of November.

Bank deposits went up by some JD2.4 billion during the first 10 months of 2022, marking a growth of 6.1 per cent to reach JD41.9 billion. Credit facilities granted by banks increased by JD2.3 billion during the same period, registering a growth of 7.6 per cent to total JD32.3 billion.

Foreign direct investments in Jordan exceeded $548 million during the first half of 2022, while income tax revenue increased by JD381 million, reaching JD1.29 billion in the first eight months of 2022.

The value of Jordan’s total exports during the first 10 months of 2022 reached JD7.412 billion, marking a 39.1 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2021, according to the monthly report on foreign trade from the Department of Statistics (DoS).

The value of national exports amounted to JD6.822 billion during the first 10 months of 2022, up by 40.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2021. The value of reexports reached JD589.9 million during the first 10 months of 2022, up by 22.1 per cent compared to the same period of 2021.

On the other hand, imports totalled JD16.541 billion during the first 10 months of 2022, up by 34.0 per cent compared to the same period in 2021. Thus, the trade balance deficit reached JD9.129 billion, up by 30.2 per cent during the first 10 months of 2022 compared with the same period of 2021.

The general consumer price index (a measure of inflation) 108.19 points as of the end of November reached, against 103.06 points for the same period in 2021, marking a 4.99 per cent rise, according to DoS.

In other statistical data seen by Al Mamlaka, the World Bank noted that Jordan’s inflation reached a four-year high last August at 5.4 per cent year-on-year, before relatively stabilising in September 2022.

The pandemic has exacerbated Jordan’s job creation challenge, where the Kingdom’s unemployment rate stood at 22.6 per cent during the second quarter of 2022, down 2.2 per cent from the second quarter of 2021 and 0.2 per cent from the first quarter of 2022, according to the DoS.