Amman: Despite challenges posed by global and domestic crises, the Jordan's economy made positive strides in 2022, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.
According to Petra, the Kingdom’s GDP grew by 2.9% at constant market prices in the second quarter on a year-to-year basis to the same period of 2021.
Extractive industries recorded the highest growth rate of 7.4%, the construction sector at 4.9%, transport, storage and telecommunications at 4.5%, followed by wholesale and retail businesses together with hotels and restaurants at 3.9%, Petra's compiled data revealed.
The Kingdom's tourism revenue jumped 115% through November compared with the same period in 2021, reaching a total of $5.3 billion. In the first 11 months of the year, 4.6 million foreign tourists arrived in the Kingdom, up by 2.4 million visitors from the same period of 2021, according to the statistics.
Travel data released by the International Airport Group showed that passenger traffic grew by 75.5% compared with 2021, as Queen Alia International Airport recorded about 7.1 million passengers through November.
Expatriate remittances were also up 0.6% during the first 10 months of 2022 compared with the corresponding period of 2021, reaching $2.829 billion, the data showed.
Foreign currency reserves at the Central Bank of Jordan stood at $16.7 billion through November, enough to cover the Kingdom's imports of goods and services for a period of seven to eight months, according to the data.
Bank deposits increased by JD2.4 billion during the first 10 months of the year, reaching JD41.9 billion through October, up 6.1%. Credit facilities granted by banks also rose by JD2.3 billion, with a growth rate of 7.6%, bringing their balance to JD32.3 billion.
The statistics also showed that the volume of direct foreign investment went up by 96.9% during the first half of 2022, reaching $548.4 million.
The volume of trade in the real estate market also witnessed a 23% hike compared with the same period of 2021, climbing to JD4.875 billion through October, the data showed.
The unemployment rate in the Kingdom dropped by 2.2% during the second quarter of 2022 compared with the same period last year, reaching 22.6%, according to the data.
The consumer price index, a measure of inflation, was up 4.22% through November, reaching 106.68 points, compared to 102.36 points in the same period of 2021, the data said.
The Kingdom's trade deficit increased by 32.8% through September, from JD6.125 billion in 2021, to reach JD8.137 billion, the data indicated, while exports were up 44% to JD6.169 billion through September, compared to JD4.283 billion in the same period in 2021.
