Results of an Opinion Poll on the Perception of Jordanians of the Jordanian Economy and their Expectations for the Future

Opinion Poll on the Perception of Jordanians of the Jordanian Economy and their Expectations for the Future:  A Decline in various Indicators of Citizens’ Confidence in the Jordanian Economy

Amman, 24 January 2022

The majority of Jordanians feel negatively towards basic indicators of the Jordanian economy. This includes the general situation of the Jordanian economy, their income levels, their purchasing power, cost of living and their employment opportunities. This came as the result of an opinion poll conducted by the Phenix Center for Economic and Informatics Studies during the last week of 2021. The poll included a total of 2448 male and female citizens, distributed across various governorates in the Jordanian Kingdom.

The survey found:

• Approximately two-thirds (66.1%) of respondents indicated that the current economic situation in Jordan is “very poor”, while more than a quarter of citizens described it as “poor” at 26.1%, while less than 2% of citizens indicated that it was “excellent” or “good”, respectively.

 

• Approximately three-quarters of Jordanians (72.2%) felt that the current economic situation, as of late 2021, was “worse” than it had been in 2020, while 22.5% expressed that it “had not changed”, while a mere 5.3% indicated that the economic situation in Jordan in 2021 had been “better” than in 2020.

 

• Additionally, the majority of Jordanians expressed feelings of pessimism regarding the economic situation in 2022, as the percentage of those who predicted that economic situation would worsen in 2022 was 63.2%, while 5.8% predicted that the Jordanian economy would improve in 2022 compared to its performance in 2021.

 

• With regards to income levels, more than one-third of Jordanians (35.5%) stated that their income as individuals and that of their household at the time of the survey was “very low”, while 30.5% stated that their income level was “low”, adding up to 66.2% of Jordanians who consider their income and that of their family low. Meanwhile, the percentage of citizens who felt that their income was good or excellent was only 7.9%.

 

• Moreover, 50.6% of Jordanians stated that their income – and that of their household – was lower in 2021 than it had been in 2020. 43.8% of respondents states that their income “had not changed”, while a mere 5.6% indicated that it had “increased/improved”.

 

 

• Furthermore, 43.7% of Jordanians expressed that they felt pessimistic about their income levels and that of their families in the upcoming year (2022), compared to 2021. While 46% of respondents felt that their income level, and that of their household, would not change, only 10.3% of respondents predicted that their incomes would increase compared to the previous year.

 

• With regards to the prices of goods and services, the ‌vast‌ ‌majority‌ ‌of‌ ‌citizens‌ ‌(93.8%)‌ ‌said‌ ‌they‌ ‌felt‌ ‌that‌ ‌prices‌ ‌of‌ ‌goods‌ ‌and‌ ‌services‌ ‌are‌ ‌“high”‌ ‌or‌ ‌“extremely‌ ‌high”,‌ ‌while‌ ‌3.5%‌ ‌stated‌ ‌that‌ ‌the‌ ‌prices‌ ‌were‌ ‌“average”,‌ ‌and‌ ‌just‌ ‌2.7%‌ ‌of‌ ‌citizens‌ ‌considered‌ ‌prices‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌“low”‌ ‌or‌ ‌“extremely‌ ‌low”.‌ ‌
• Similarly,‌ ‌the‌ ‌majority‌ ‌of‌ ‌Jordanians‌ ‌-‌ ‌at‌ ‌89.7%‌ ‌-‌ ‌felt‌ ‌that‌ ‌prices‌ ‌of‌ ‌goods‌ ‌and‌ ‌services‌ ‌had‌ ‌increased‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌past‌ ‌year compared to the previous year,‌ ‌while‌ ‌8.5%‌ ‌stated‌ ‌that‌ ‌prices‌ ‌had‌ ‌stayed the same. Less‌ ‌than‌ ‌2%‌ ‌of‌ ‌Jordanian‌ ‌citizens‌ ‌indicated‌ ‌that‌ ‌prices‌ ‌in‌ ‌2021‌ ‌were‌ ‌lower‌ ‌than‌ ‌in‌ ‌2020.

 

• At 90.6% of citizens, a vast majority predicted that the prices of goods and services in 2022 will increase compared to last year, while 2.3% predicted that prices will decrease, and 7.1% felt that prices would stay the same.

 

 

• With regards to their purchasing power, more than half of Jordanians (56.8%) indicated that their ability to buy essential goods for themselves and their household were “weak” or “very weak”, while 33.2% felt that their ability to buy essential goods for themselves and their household was “average”, while just 10% of citizens felt that it was “good” or “excellent”.

 

• Nearly two-thirds of Jordanians (64.9%) felt that their purchasing power in 2021 had declined from 2020, while less than 3% stated that their ability to buy essential goods for themselves and their household had improved since 2021, while 32.4% clarified that it has “not changed” in the past year.

 

• Additionally, the majority of Jordanians (63.8%) were not optimistic about their ability to improve their purchasing power and ability to buy essential goods for themselves and their household within the next year, while 8.2% felt that their purchasing power would improve in 2022, and 28% felt that their purchasing power would remain unchanged.

 

• With regards to the availability of job opportunities, the vast majority of Jordanians (87.6%) indicated that opportunities for employment were “not available”, while 11.4% of them felt that they were “somewhat” available, while only 1.0% stated that job opportunities are “available”.

 

• Nearly two-thirds (65.8%) of citizens reported a decline in job opportunities in 2021, compared to what they were in the previous year (2020), while 4.2% of them indicated that they “improved”, while 30.0% of Jordanians stated that the availability of job opportunities “has not changed” from what it was last year.

 

• In addition, 65.2% of Jordanians expected that “the chances of obtaining a job in 2022 will “decline”,” compared to less than 7% who expected that it will “improve”, while 28.3% of them believed that the levels of job availability “will not change” in 2022.