Population and Housing

    

According to the 2007 census, the total population of the Jordan Badia is approximately 380,000, or 6.5% of the total population of the Kingdom. However, when considering Badia family members who have migrated to other cities and villages, the population of Badia is unofficially much higher.

 

The people of the Badia are living in an area of 73,000 km2, distributed over the three regions of the Badia. The average density of population is relatively low (7.7 inhabitants per km2) in comparison to Amman (293 inhabitants per km2) and the Kingdom overall (64 inhabitants per km2). Department of Statistics data revealed that women compose 37% of the Badia’s population, while youth below 15 years of age compose 41% of Badia inhabitants.

 

There are 319 total settlements (villages, towns, and cities) scattered throughout the three regions of the Badia, although many are concentrated at the western and northern edges of the Badia’s administrative boundaries. This pattern has a negative impact on development efforts in the Jordan Badia, since it increases the demand for infrastructure and other facilities.

 

There are a total of approximately 58,000 total man-made dwellings in the Badia. However, the quality and the status of most of these houses is relatively poor: 84% dwellings are constructed from the cement and bricks, and have a maximum of 3 rooms. Also, many areas lack appropriate sanitation facilities such as bathrooms and interior kitchens. The lack of housing infrastructure has adversely affected the search for qualified staff, such as physicians, nurses and teachers to come work in and help Badia communities.

 

 Education

There are about 569 schools throughout the Badia, with approximately 90,000 total students. Attendance rates in the early childhood education, elementary education, and secondary education (both academic and vocational/professional) are lower than in other parts of the Kingdom. This can be attributed to the poor facilities and services in existing schools, as well as an overall shortage in educational and school facilities. In some areas of the Badia, the rate of students who drop out of school at the secondary stage – particularly between the tenth and the twelfth grades – has reached 25%.

 

In addition to the lack of adequate school facilities, the people of the Jordan Badia suffer from a high illiteracy rate. The Badia as a whole suffers from approximately 21% illiteracy, and parts of the southern Badia peak at almost 28%. It is important to note that the illiteracy rate of the Badia women is significantly higher at 39%. These high illiteracy rates are often found among the transient Bedouins, who travel with their herds for long distances seeking grazing grounds for livestock and rarely settling. In the Bayir area, the only school is a portable tent, staffed by a volunteer teacher working with approximately 25 students from multiple grade levels. In other areas, the population of a village is not large enough to establish a permanent school, which makes it difficult for people to pursue any level of education.

Health Services        

The basic health services in Badia are provided through rural clinics and centers, of which there are 129 as of 2009. There are only two hospitals in the Badia, the first is in Ruwayhid (northeast) and the second is in Al-Guayra area (south). The health centers provide the basic medical services, while special cases and emergencies that require treatment or surgical operations are directed to hospitals. In general, the Jordan Badia suffers from a set of challenges and obstacles at the health services level. These are summarized as follow:

    •       The urgent need for building maintenance and instrumentation.

    •       The lack of proper communication and transportation means.

    •       Obvious shortage in qualified medical staff.

 

 Manpower

The manpower in the Jordan Badia stands at approximately 82,000. The vast majority of employed workers are serving in the public sector, and currently the Badia suffers from a major shortage in skilled Jordanian labor. Since most Badia inhabitants have preferred to seek governmental jobs, the labor demand has been met by migrant, non-Jordanian workers, particularly in certain professional vocations. This lack of aligning labor supply to need has contributed to the relatively high unemployment rate in the Badia – approximately 32%, compared to 13% in the rest of the Kingdom.

 

 Poverty and Social Security                                                            

 

Poverty in the Jordan Badia is widespread, as the area contains 22 of Jordan’s 30 pockets of poverty. Some of these are shown in the below table.

 

Region	Governorate	Area	Poverty rate
Ruweished	Al-Mafraq	Rwieshed	74%
Wadi Araba	Aqaba	Aqaba borough	62 %
Al-Quera	Aqaba	Alqoerp	47%
Salhia	Al-Mafraq	Northern Badia	43%
Hosha	Al-Mafraq	Northwestern Badia	36%
Dair Alkahf	Al-Mafraq	Northern Badia	34%
Almrigha	Ma’an	Ma’an borough	27%
Jafer	Ma’an	Ma’an borough	27%
Umelrasas	The capital	Giza	26%
Aldisi	Aqaba	Al-Quera	44%
Khaldiya	Al-Mafraq	Northwestern Badia	36%
Qatraneh	Karak	Qatraneh	36%
Northwestern Badia	Al-Mafraq	Northwestern Badia	28%

Poverty in the Badia can be largely attributed to the following reasons:

 

    1.     The scattered settlement patterns (both villages and urbanized areas) throughout the region, which makes development plans difficult and hinders investment in some areas.

 

    2.     The large family size (7 members) in the Badia compared to the Kingdom average (5.7 members).

 

    3.     The high rate of illiteracy among the Badia inhabitants.

 

    4.     Limited income sources for the Badia inhabitants. Families in Badia suffer from income deficit, which reached 12%, 26% and 3% in the northern, middle, and the southern Badia, respectively.