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Jordan has done well at minimizing the health impact of the COVID‐19 crisis. Soon after the outbreak, the Government of Jordan announced a first set of measures and incentives to address immediate liquidity and cost of financing concerns for various sectors/businesses, and measures to protect vulnerable households. Nevertheless, domestic lockdowns, the global economic slowdown, trade disruptions, and the suspension of international travel are likely to have a sizable impact on the Jordanian economy. The unprecedented economic shock of COVID-19 has exacerbated existing structural weaknesses in the economy and unresolved social challenges and put pressure on country’s fragile macroeconomic stance.
Key challenges to Jordan’s outlook include the prolonged decline in economic activity from domestic lockdowns, which could escalate high unemployment levels. The speed of economic recovery in the medium-term largely depends on the evolution of the pandemic and whether reforms are put into effect.
These reforms are anchored in the Five-Year Reform Matrix that Jordan developed in collaboration with the World Bank and other development partners. The Matrix lays the foundations for sustainable, inclusive growth that can deliver on agendas involving jobs, youth, and gender. These medium-term reforms aim to make Jordan’s economy more efficient and reorient it toward export-led growth by creating a better business and investment environment. During the pandemic, reforms to support productivity and strengthen digitalization for the economy have been particularly useful.
Source: World Bank, Jordan Country Overview
Please find the Jordan SDG Investor Map narrative report here.
