Social change in Jordan

Abstract

Jordan, a centrally located Arab state, is bordered by Syria on the north, Iraq on the northeast, Saudi Arabia on the south and east, and Israel on the west. Geographically, Jordan is commonly divided into the East Bank and the West Bank of the River Jordan. The East Bank or Transjordan received its independence in 1946. Its total area is estimated at 89,763 square kilometers including the Dead Sea (557 sq. km.).' The population of the East Bank was 587,000 in 1952, 900,800 in 1961 and 2,147,000 in 1979.2 The West Bank of River Jordan constitutes the eastern central part of Palestine that was not occupied by Israel in 1948. In 1950, it united with the East Bank forming what has been known internationally as the Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan. The West Bank area is estimated at 5,633 square kilometers. Its population numbered 743,000 in 1952, 805,450 in 1961 and about 700,000 in 1979.' Since 1967 the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been occupied by the Israeli military. Although there are some mutual relations between the two banks of Jordan, this paper will be limited to analyzing aspects of social change in the East Bank. Different authors define social change in a narrower or a broader manner.4 The definition of this concept presented by R.H. Lauer is used in this discussion. Lauer views social change as: 'an inclusive concept that refers to alterations in social phenomena at various levels of human life from the individual to the global'.5 He considers any alterations at any level of social life to be properly regarded as social change.6 Lauer also emphasizes the importance of studying the directions and rates of change. In this paper three aspects of Jordanian society on the East Bank will be analyzed. These include selected demographic, employment (labor force) and education variables.