Migration profile : Jordan

Abstract

Jordan's last population census gave the total population of the country as 9,531,712 in November 2015, 2,918,125 (31 per cent) of whom were foreign nationals. If accurate, these numbers indicate that Jordan is a major migrant-receiving country. Jordan has the highest refugee-to-population ratio and the country is also now the top refugee hosting country in absolute numbers. Indeed, it hosted more than 2.7 million registered refugees as of September 2016; of whom 2.1 million persons of Palestinian descent registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) who have lived in the country for decades; and 664,100 refugees under UNHCR's mandate including Syrians and Iraqis. Besides, Jordan is a migrant-sending country too: an estimated 10 percent of Jordan's nationals (700 to 800,000) are expatriated abroad, most of them to the Gulf States.