The illiteracy rate among Jordanian women aged 15 and above declined from 16.5 per cent in 2000 to 7.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, according to data released by the Department of Statistics (DoS) on Sunday.
The proportion of educated women rose to 92.7 per cent during the same period, reflecting a notable improvement in women’s education levels in the Kingdom, DoS added on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Al Mamlaka TV reported.
The number of females in Jordan reached 5.617 million out of the total population by the end of 2025, representing 47.1 per cent of the population compared with 52.9 per cent for males, which means that for every 100 females in Jordan there are 113 males.
The data showed that the largest share of females falls within the 15–49 age group, accounting for 52.7 per cent of the total female population. Females under 15 years represented 35.4 per cent, while those aged 50 and above accounted for 12 per cent.
The report also indicated that women’s life expectancy is on average 3.2 years higher than that of men.
Results of labour force surveys conducted by the department showed that the average age at first marriage for women rose from 25.6 years in 2014 to 27.5 years in 2024, while for men it increased from 29.8 years to 32.5 years during the same period.
Figures from the Ministry of Education’s statistical report for the 2024–2025 academic year indicated that the net enrolment rate for girls in kindergarten reached 42.1 per cent compared with 37.6 per cent for boys.
In basic education, girls’ enrolment exceeded that of boys by one percentage point, reaching 94.9 per cent compared with 93.7 per cent for boys. In secondary education, the gap widened in favour of girls to about six percentage points, with girls’ enrolment reaching 81.6 per cent compared with 74.8 per cent for boys.
Data from the Ministry of Higher Education for 2024 also showed higher female enrolment rates than males in both bachelor’s and postgraduate programmes.
Female enrolment in bachelor’s programmes reached 55.2 per cent compared with 44.8 per cent for males, a difference of 10.4 percentage points in favour of females.
Women accounted for 68.0 per cent of students enrolled in higher diploma programmes compared with 32.0 per cent for males. Female enrolment in master’s programmes reached 58.7 per cent compared with 41.3 per cent for males, while around 57 per cent of PhD students were women.
Indicators of women’s economic empowerment also showed significant improvement between 2015 and 2024. The percentage of women owning land rose from 15.8 per cent in 2015 to 19.9 per cent in 2024, an increase of about 26 per cent.
Data from the Independent Election Commission showed that the proportion of women in the Lower House rose from 6.4 per cent to 19.6 per cent between 2008 and 2024.
Nine women, out of a total of 27, won seats through party lists, while 18 women secured seats through the women’s quota, half of whom belong to political parties.
Female participation in political parties also rose from 27.8 per cent to 44.5 per cent, an increase of 60 per cent.
At the level of decision-making positions, the proportion of female judges increased from 6.2 per cent to 30.4 per cent during the same period.
Women accounted for 15.6 per cent of ministerial positions in 2024, while they represented 26.1 per cent of the diplomatic corps and 14.5 per cent of ambassadors.