Jordan’s population has risen by 87 per cent since 2004, from 5.1 million to 9.5 million in 2015.

The latest statistics resulted from a national population and housing census conducted by Jordan’s Department of Statistics (DOS).

Non-Jordanians now represent about one-third of the kingdom’s population. Syrians account for 1.26 million of the estimated 2.9 million non-Jordanians living in the country, the report said.

Other nationalities include:

• 636,270 Egyptians
• 634,182 Palestinians
• 130,911 Iraqis
• 31,163 Yemenis
• 22,700 Libyans
• 197,385 nationals from other countries

The report said nearly half of non-Jordanians live in the capital Amman, in addition to some 2.5 million Jordanians. At 4 million in 2015, Amman’s population has doubled since 2004.

The Irbid governorate has the second-largest population, with 1.8 million, followed by Zarqa at 1.36 million.

For other governorates, the population is as follows:

• Mafraq – 549,948
• Balqa – 491,709
• Karak – 316,629
• Jerash – 237,059
• Madaba – 189,192
• Aqaba – 188,160
• Ajloun – 176,080
• Maan – 144,082
• Tafileh – 96,291

Jordan’s economy struggled in 2015 due to a slowdown in its key sectors, including agriculture and exports, as well as worsening regional instability. This has been further exacerbated by the influx of refugees from Syria.

In August 2015, the Washington-based IMF released the final disbursement of nearly $400m of the $2bn standby agreement (SBA) with Amman, which was signed in 2012. The SBA has been built around the need to support the country’s economy in dealing with the aftermath of the conflicts in Iraq and Syria.