AMMAN: Jordan’s defense budget increased marginally from US$1.70 billion in 2011 to US$1.71 billion in 2015, registering a CAGR of 0.27%. The slow growth rate can be attributed to the country’s struggling economy, high unemployment rates, lack of natural resources, and the burden of hosting a large refugee population.
However, Jordan’s recent attempts to upgrade its military equipment are expected to drive its defense expenditure over the forecast period, which is projected to rise from US$1.8 billion in 2015 to US$1.9 billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 2.05%. The country is estimated to maintain the budget allocation for capital expenditure at an average of 3.3% over the forecast period.