Over the past few days, I have reviewed statistics on the population of Jordanian governorates, which I believe were prepared by the Department of Statistics. It saddened me to see that they reveal a clear imbalance in the population distribution in my beloved homeland.
There is a clear and significant imbalance in the population distribution in Jordan, which is the cause of many imbalances, congestions, and extensive overflows affecting citizens in all areas of life.
No one can deny that the numerous migrations Jordan has received from Arab sister countries have caused much of this imbalance in population distribution. However, the biggest imbalances come from the migration from rural to urban areas, which is a continuous, daily movement. This imbalance is manifested not only in the migration from rural to urban areas but also from the centers of governorates, cities, towns, and villages, and from rural and desert areas specifically to the capital, Amman. To the extent that about (46%) of Jordan's population lives in Amman. Around (4,950,000) live in Amman, and more than (1) million citizens head to Amman during the day to obtain various services because they are centralized in Amman. This means that Amman’s population during the day reaches more than (6) million, representing about (55%) of the population of Jordan.
In 1966, the population of Amman was about (330,000), with a fertility rate of (7.18%), which dropped to (1.9%) in 2025. This means that the current population of Amman should be about (2) million. That is, about (3) million of the capital's residents are supposed to live in the other (11) governorates.
For example, in 1966, the population of the Karak governorate was about (58,000). By 2025, it had reached about (375,000). By comparison, the current population of Karak should be about (500,000). Therefore, the decrease of about (125,000) in the population of Karak is assumed to be living in Amman.
It is difficult to include other provinces in this comparison due to the influx of Syrian brothers specifically, which has created an imbalance and a surge in the population of the northern governorates specifically.
When we estimate that about (125,000) citizens have migrated from Karak and chosen permanent residence in Amman, and reflect that estimate onto Irbid province, for example, which has about (6) times the population of Karak, we deduce that about (750,000) citizens from the beloved northern capital have migrated from the Marj Ibn Amer plain to live permanently in Amman.
Thus, we can gauge, with consideration of differences between the governorates regarding migration to Amman. For example: Very few citizens of Zarqa, Jerash, Ajloun, and Madaba live in Amman, due to the proximity, which allows them to stay and reside in their governorates, making it easy to go to Amman and return to their residences in their governorates.
According to the statistics, which state that (9) million Jordanians live in the capital, Zarqa, and Irbid, and (2) million reside in the other (9) governorates, this is evidence of a significant and serious imbalance.
The fact that about (5) million reside in the capital alone, representing about half of the kingdom’s population, is a big and dangerous imbalance, resulting in difficulties that are hard to enumerate.
The concentration of the population density in Amman is evidence of an imbalance in the performance of Jordanian governments since the modern Jordanian state was established.
Here, I would like to mention to the esteemed readers the percentages of population concentration in some world capitals, for the sake of comparison and understanding the magnitude of this imbalance, for example:—
— The population of Cairo governorate represents about (10.6%) of Egypt's population.
— The population of the capital Damascus represents about (6–8%) of Syria's population.
— The population of the capital Beirut represents about (25%) of Lebanon's population.
— The population of the capital Baghdad represents about (21.2%) of Iraq's population.
— The population of the capital Riyadh ranges between (21–22%) of Saudi Arabia's population.
— The population of the capital London represents about (13.1–14%) of Britain's population.
— The population of the capital Paris represents about (18.8%) of France's population.
Note with me, despite the varying percentages of the populations of capitals, whether Arab or Western, they range from (6%) at a minimum to (25%) at a maximum, and thus the percentage of Amman’s population ranges between about (2 – 8) times approximately. It can be noted that the general average of capital populations is about (15%) of the countries' populations.
The unrealistically high percentage of Amman's population, which has no global counterpart when compared to the population of the kingdom, has led to imbalances in providing necessary services to citizens. The streets are extremely crowded, traffic is congested, and parking spaces are unavailable. This congestion also results in bottlenecks in health centers and hospitals, government departments and ministries, and others.
All of this results from the governments pursuing a policy of (Amman, and after it, the deluge). If the necessary services were available in the governorates, residents would not have to migrate to Amman. If major projects were established in the governorates, job opportunities would be available, and people would not have to migrate to Amman in search of a job.
The congestion in Amman, and the overcrowding of people there, is due to two main reasons: 1) Lack of services in the governorates. 2) Lack of job opportunities. This has been the responsibility of the Jordanian governments from the establishment of modern Jordan to the present, and unfortunately, there is no hope to be expected yet.
The governments are supposed to plan and devise strategies that create an environment conducive to stabilizing the population in the cities, villages, and deserts in their areas of residence to reduce migration from rural and desert areas to Amman.
What pains me as it does others is that Jordanian villages and towns have become deserted, empty of people, and houses of glory stand desolate, due to the necessity of migration to Amman specifically, in pursuit of better services and job opportunities to make ends meet.
And I conclude with the following:—
1) Verses by Palestinian poet Hatem Qasem, where he says:—
Do not ask the home about who used to inhabit it / The door tells that the people have left
How expressive silence is when I came asking / Silence that scolds those who betrayed it and left
O you who knocks on the door, be gentle when you knock / For there are no longer people in the house
They scattered across the earth and spread out / As if there were no people, no lovers
Have mercy on your hands, for there is no one in the house / Do not hope for a response, for the kind have gone
And spare the house... do not awaken its sorrows / Houses have souls.. as people have souls.
2) A verse by Imam Shafi'i, where he says:—
Do not dwell in the countryside lest your knowledge be lost / Whoever seeks high standing should leave the villages.
