Home

Iraq vs. Jordan

Geography

IraqJordan
LocationMiddle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and KuwaitMiddle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the west) and Iraq
Geographic coordinates33 00 N, 44 00 E31 00 N, 36 00 E
Map referencesMiddle EastMiddle East
Areatotal: 438,317 sq km

land: 437,367 sq km

water: 950 sq km
total: 89,342 sq km

land: 88,802 sq km

water: 540 sq km
Area - comparativeslightly more than three times the size of New York stateabout three-quarters the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Indiana
Land boundariestotal: 3,809 km

border countries (6): Iran 1599 km, Jordan 179 km, Kuwait 254 km, Saudi Arabia 811 km, Syria 599 km, Turkey 367 km
total: 1,744 km

border countries (5): Iraq 179 km, Israel 307 km, Saudi Arabia 731 km, Syria 379 km, West Bank 148 km
Coastline58 km26 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

continental shelf: not specified
territorial sea: 3 nm
Climatemostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraqmostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
Terrainmostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkeymostly arid desert plateau; a great north-south geological rift along the west of the country is the dominant topographical feature and includes the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Jordanian Highlands
Elevation extremeshighest point: Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for "Black Tent") 3,611 m

lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m

mean elevation: 312 m
highest point: Jabal Umm ad Dami 1,854 m

lowest point: Dead Sea -431 m

mean elevation: 812 m
Natural resourcespetroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfurphosphates, potash, shale oil
Land useagricultural land: 18.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 8.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 9.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 1.9% (2018 est.)

other: 80% (2018 est.)
agricultural land: 11.4% (2018 est.)

arable land: 2% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 8.4% (2018 est.)

forest: 1.1% (2018 est.)

other: 87.5% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land35,250 sq km (2012)964 sq km (2012)
Natural hazardsdust storms; sandstorms; floodsdroughts; periodic earthquakes; flash floods
Environment - current issuesgovernment water control projects drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification; military and industrial infrastructure has released heavy metals and other hazardous substances into the air, soil, and groundwater; major sources of environmental damage are effluents from oil refineries, factory and sewage discharges into rivers, fertilizer and chemical contamination of the soil, and industrial air pollution in urban areaslimited natural freshwater resources; declining water table; salinity; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; biodiversity and ecosystem damage/loss
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Environmental Modification
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - notestrategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulfstrategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and as the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the occupied West Bank; the Dead Sea, the lowest point in Asia and the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lac Assal in Djibouti), lies on Jordan's western border with Israel and the West Bank; Jordan is almost landlocked but does have a 26 km southwestern coastline with a single port, Al 'Aqabah (Aqaba)
Total renewable water resources89.86 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)937 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Population distributionpopulation is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabitedpopulation heavily concentrated in the west, and particularly the northwest, in and around the capital of Amman; a sizeable, but smaller population is located in the southwest along the shore of the Gulf of Aqaba

Source: CIA Factbook