Most of the Middle East including what is now Jordan were under British rule following World War I. In the early 1920s, Britain demarcated a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan from Palestine, which in turn gained its independence in 1946 to became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan ruled by King Hussein. King Abdallah II assumed the throne following his father's death in 1999 and since implemented modest political reforms, including the passage of a new electoral law in early 2016 and an effort to devolve some authority to governorate and municipal-level councils following subnational elections in 2017. Today, Jordan is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with mixed system developed from codes instituted by the Ottoman Empire (based on French law), British common law, and Islamic law.
Jordan has 12 governorates in terms of administrative regions.
Economically, Jordan's agricultural and manufacturing sectors are small in addition to a tourism industry. In the recent decade, the country has been impacted by regional instability and refugee crises.
Source: CIA World Factbook - Jordan
