Jordan and the Syrian Humanitarian Crisis

Socioeconomic Burdens:

The negative impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordan has manifested itself in three different but interrelated manners:

• Increased pressure on public finance, worsened trade deficit and losses to key economic sectors.
•  Exacerbated vulnerabilities for the poorest segments of the Jordanian population; crowding out Jordanians from the informal labour sector and driving wage rates downwards.
• Deterioration of access to quality basic services in the most affected governorates.

Syrian crisis reduced GDP growth by 2% in 2013.

6 Key areas under enormous strain:

Education: Schools going back to double-shift with 41% of Jordanian public schools now crowded.

• 86,966 Syrian students in Jordanian schools.
• 3k on waiting lists.
•  90k more eligible for enrolment that are not in schools.

Health: 

• Hospitals stretched to the limit.
• Some medicines running short.
• Long eradicated diseases reappearing.

Housing:

• Rental prices have inflated up to 200% in some areas.

Water: 

• Zaatari refugees consume 4 million litres of water daily.
• Jordan is one of the world's poorest countries in terms of water resources and refugees are severely straining Jordan's water supply. 

Agriculture:

• 25% decline in agricultural exports to Syria.
• 30% decline in imports.
• Led to losses of livelihoods in agriculture and food trade.

Social tensions:

• Price of commodities went up.
• Competition for scarce jobs and limited housing availability.