Policy Briefs
From Pressure to Prosperity: Can Jordan Translate Demographic Change into A Dividend?
No.
PB 165
Publisher
ERF
Date
June, 2026
In a nutshell
- Jordan’s population growth has slowed over 2016-2025
- The total fertility rate in Jordan has dropped from 3.4 births per women in 2016 to 2.4 births per woman in 2025
- Jordan’s population is increasingly educated, women more so than men for recent cohorts These demographic trends provide an opportunity for Jordan to capture a demographic dividend – but only if the labor market can deliver decent work
- Jordan’s efforts to align education and human resources development under the 2026 Education and Human Resources Development Law are an important step towards aligning labor supply and labor demand
- These efforts need to be informed by more and better data to inform policymaking
Authors
Caroline Krafft
Associate Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs,...
Research Fellows
Ragui Assaad
Professor and Freeman Chair for International Economic...
Authors
Nouf Abushehab
PhD Student at the Department of Economics,...