Syrians account for 14% of Kingdom’s population — study

AMMAN — Syrians in Jordan are estimated at 14 per cent of the total population, Higher Population Council (HPC) Secretary General Abla Amawi said.

The HPC on Tuesday released the outcomes of a study on the characteristics of the Syrian population in Jordan, and potential opportunities that could address the challenges on the Kingdom's labour market posed by asylum, the Jordan News Agency Petra, reported. 

Jordan is experiencing a demographic change which can lead to an opportunity accompanied by positive impacts on the economic and social conditions of society, said Amawi on Tuesday.

 The secretary general added that the HPC is working on preparing an environment to take advantage of the population growth, which is expected to peak in 2040.

The report was released to mark World Refugees Day, which is observed annually on December 18. The findings showed that 1.27 million Syrians resided in Jordan in 2015, out of which 1.05 million of them are considered refugees, and only 667,000 of them are registered with the UNHCR.

It also showed that the demographic composition of Syrians was young at the time of the survey, noting that children under 15 made up 45 per cent of the total Syrian population in Jordan. The findings added that 61.5 per cent of Syrian workers in Amman did not have work permits when the survey was conducted. 

However, the Labour Ministry has recorded a rising number Syrian work permits being issued; 2,428 work permits were issued in 2012 and 46,716 were issued in 2017.

The results also indicated that Jordanian workers suffer in competing in the Kingdom's labour market as Syrian workers are willing to take a lower wage than Jordanians.