Jordan entered 2025 facing a high public debt relative to GDP, economic growth insufficient to absorb unemployment, and global inflationary pressures resulting from tightening international monetary policies. In 2025, the economy demonstrated disciplined macroeconomic stability within a highly complex regional and international environment. Despite ongoing structural challenges, the government successfully maintained a delicate balance between three overlapping objectives: controlling public debt, supporting positive economic growth, and maintaining low inflation rates.

 

Among the most prominent economic achievements in 2025 was the improved business climate and private sector confidence. The year saw a significant increase in new company registrations and capital, supported by exchange rate stability, rising foreign reserves, and a prudent and balanced monetary policy. This contributed to strengthening the confidence of local investors and financial institutions and maintaining the resilience of the banking sector.

 

The Amman Stock Exchange saw an increase in its indices and market capitalization, a direct indicator of improved confidence in the national economy. This development also reflects the impact of procedural reforms, digital transformation, and the simplification of some regulatory processes, despite the continued challenges of costs and taxes.

 

In terms of fiscal policy, the government continued to push forward with strategic infrastructure projects, most notably the National Water Carrier Project, energy projects—particularly the Risha Gas Field—and the railway and logistics infrastructure projects. While the economic impact of these projects is not immediate, they form a necessary foundation for future growth and economic security, driven by the optimism of producers and consumers regarding the future, based on positive and objective expectations for the implementation of these projects and the revenue they will generate, as well as the improvement in the economic structure.

 

In the area of ​​digital transformation and governance, Jordan has made tangible progress in digital government and innovation indicators, reflected in improved quality of public services and reduced transaction costs. This is an indirect but important factor in improving the investment climate and productivity. In 2025, Jordan's digital transformation progressed significantly, as measured by international indicators. It ranked 21st globally in the World Bank's Digital Government Maturity Index (91.4 per cent), 89th globally in the UN E-Government Development Index, and 49th globally in AI readiness for government. Jordan's ranking also rose from 50th globally in 2024 to 44th globally in 2025 in the Digital Competitiveness Index, and it offered over 550 digital services through the Sanad platform to more than 1.6 million users. This signifies Jordan's transition in 2025 from a phase of partial digital services to one of comprehensive, internationally measured digitization. However, further digital advancements are needed, particularly in citizen digital participation and the use of big data.

 

In 2025, the government successfully prevented the debt-to-GDP ratio from worsening, improved debt management by extending its maturities and diversifying its sources, and kept the fiscal deficit relatively under control compared to previous years. This achievement does not represent a radical reduction in debt, but rather a containment of risks and a prevention of entering an unsustainable path.

 

The government has managed to maintain positive and disciplined economic growth, with the Jordanian economy achieving real growth exceeding 2.8% in 2025. Although this rate is lower than what is needed to address unemployment, it is characterized by being non-inflationary growth, not based on excessive fiscal expansion, and consistent with the economy's financing capacity. The government introduced 66 reduction and exemption measures and settled accumulated government debts to private sector contractors (a measure implemented by the Mulki Cabinet in 2017) to stimulate growth. This improved aggregate demand levels, resulting in stable growth in 2025, unlike the booming growth seen in the past, where growth surges were driven by external events.

 

Also, Jordan maintained low inflation rates (around 2 per cent or less) as a result of a balanced monetary policy by the Central Bank that prioritizes exchange rate stability, coupled with prudent management of commodity and energy prices. This contributed to protecting purchasing power, reducing social pressures, and maintaining financial stability.

 

Based on the above, 2025 can be described as a year of astute management of economic stability, rather than a year of complete structural transformation. Jordan succeeded in maintaining monetary stability, preventing debt from spiraling out of control, achieving positive growth, and strengthening confidence in the national economy.

 

Stability, while important, is not an end in itself. The real challenge for 2026 and beyond in the near and medium term is how to transform this stability into inclusive and sustainable growth, and a structural transformation in the economy that generates job opportunities, without sacrificing price stability, without returning to a path of uncontrolled debt expansion, redirecting public spending, increasing the share of productive capital spending, easing pressure on current expenditures, linking borrowing to projects with a clear economic/social return, deepening the role of the private sector, and moving from the role of the state as a direct implementer to a partner with the private sector, an enabler, and a regulator.