- Middle East -

There are more than 9 million people living in Jordan – most of them Palestinians who have been living in the country for many years, and Bedouins of Jordanian origin. There are about 700,000 people who belong to the Iraqi minority, who fled to Jordan in the aftermath of the Iraq war. In 2016, more than 650,000 refugees from Syria and 600,000 refugees from Yemen and Somalia were registered in Jordan. In addition, there are about 60,000 Chechens and Circassians as well as 60,000 Armenians living in Jordan. Other minorities are the Kurds, the Turks, and the Assyrians.

93 percent of the population of Jordan belong to Sunni Islam, while – according to estimates – the Christians account for just over 5 percent of the total population. Other religious groups include the Druze, Shiite Muslims, and Bahá’ís, with almost 1,000 followers.

In the course of the war in Syria, the STP repeatedly reported on the poor situation in the refugee camps in Jordan In 2014, we also reported on the situation in Jordan with our memorandum “Vom Wandel bedroht: Christliche Minderheiten im Nahen Osten” (“Threatened by change: Christian minorities in the Middle East”). Compared to the neighboring countries, the overall situation in Jordan is a bit better, but it is especially the Christian converts who are still suffering from discrimination.

Further information about Jordan

Header photo: Franx' via Flickr