Jordan

Key findings in 2015

Percentage of respondents who agree with the following statements	Jordan	SEMED	Transition region	Western Europe
Economic situation good or excellent	29	27	22	34
Economic situation in the country improving	31	44	29	36
Economic situation in the area or city improving	38	35	32	35
Good time to find a job	35	27	25	34
Comfortable living on present income	8	15	17	36

“SEMED” refers to the average of four countries: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. “Western Europe” refers to the average of five comparator countries: France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Regional averages in the country assessments are based on population-weighted averages of the country scores.

 

Satisfaction with the economic situation and with personal circumstances

29 per cent of Jordanians believe that economic conditions in their country were “good” or “excellent” at the time of the survey. This figure is higher than the averages for the both SEMED (27 per cent) and the transition regions (22 per cent) but lower than the western European average (34 per cent). Similarly, only 31 per cent of respondents report that their country’s economic situation was improving at the time of the survey. This is below the SEMED average of 44 per cent and only slightly above the transition region average (29 per cent). 35 per cent of Jordanians state that it was a good time to find a job in 2015, compared to 27 in the SEMED region as a whole and 25 per cent in the transition region. Only 8 per cent of Jordanians state that they are living comfortably on their present income – the lowest figure in the SEMED region (the SEMED average lies at 15 per cent).

Life satisfaction has dropped by 9 percentage points since 2011, from 52 per cent in 2011 to 43 per cent in 2015. This figure is still 8 percentage points above the SEMED region average and is the same as the transition region average (43 per cent). However, it is substantially lower than the western European average (74 per cent). It also varies across demographic groups: younger people (ages 18-39), female respondents and those in the upper income group tend to be more satisfied with their lives. 63 per cent believe that five years from now, they will be more satisfied with their lives, compared to 41 per cent in western Europe and 55 per cent in the transition region.

 

Trust in institutions

65 per cent of Jordanians believe that the media has a lot of freedom in their country. The figure has remained fairly constant since 2011.

 

Channels of communication

Only 10 per cent of Jordanians have a landline telephone in their homes. This is the lowest figure in the SEMED region. However, this may be related to the widespread use of mobile phones: 96 per cent of respondents use mobile phones to make and receive personal calls, a figure higher than the SEMED, transition region, and even the Western European averages (88, 90, and 92 per cent). Access to the internet lies at 40 per cent, which represents an eight-percentage-points rise compared to 2011. However, internet access is still far below the transition region (63 per cent) and western European (90 per cent) averages. While mobile phone use is fairly similar across income groups, the use of landline phone increases with income. Similarly, internet access increases strongly with income (23 per cent in the lower compared to 70 per cent in the upper income group). Additional results show that women are almost as likely as men to use a mobile phone, but they are less likely to use the internet than men in Jordan.

 

Self-assessed health

67 per cent of Jordanians agree or strongly agree that their physical health is near perfect. This figure is higher than the averages for the SEMED (64 per cent) and the transition regions (52 per cent) as well as the Western European comparator countries (57 per cent).

 

Quality of public services

The majority of respondents are satisfied with the quality of the public services in Jordan:  the public transportation systems (62 per cent), the educational system (56 per cent), the quality of air (70 per cent), and the quality of water (62 per cent). Overall, the satisfaction with public services compares well with the rest of the SEMED region but it is lower than the levels observed in the transition region (except public health care) and in western European comparator countries.

 

Social and economic mobility

94 per cent of Jordanians believe that people can get ahead in life by working hard. This figure is in line with the SEMED region as a whole (93 per cent) and well above both the western European (81 per cent) and the transition region (62 per cent) averages. It is also fairly constant across demographic groups.

 

Gender and inclusion

71 per cent of Jordanians believe that women are treated with respect and dignity in their country. This compares well with the western European average and is higher than both the SEMED and transition region averages. There is also little variation across demographic groups.

52 and 41 per cent of Jordanians believe that their area or city is a good place for immigrants and intellectually disabled people, respectively. Although these figures compare well with the SEMED region as a whole, they are below the averages for the transition region and western European comparator countries.

 

Satisfaction with the government

A majority of Jordanians are satisfied with their government’s efforts to assist the poor (66 per cent) and protecting the environment (63 per cent). These figures are well above the corresponding averages in the SEMED and transition regions as well as the western European comparator countries.

 

Civic engagement

25 per cent of surveyed Jordanians report that they made donations to a charity during the month before the survey. This figure is the highest in the SEMED region and comparable to the transition region average (26 per cent), but still well below the average for the Western European comparator countries (50 per cent).  Only 11 per cent of respondents report to have volunteered for an organization during the month before the survey. However, 66 per cent of Jordanians report that they have helped a stranger in need, which is higher than the SEMED (55 per cent), transition region (42 per cent) and the western European averages (51 per cent).