Jordan's Economy Expected to Grow by 2.7% in 2026 and 2.9% in 2027

The Middle East and North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan Economic Update for October 2026, monitored by 'Al-Mamlaka', showed that Jordan's growth expectations for 2026 and 2027 remained unchanged compared to the Bank's estimates from April, while the Bank lowered its forecast for the Kingdom's growth in 2026 by 0.1 percentage points compared to January estimates, and raised its forecast for 2027 by the same amount.

The report indicated that oil-importing economies in the region, including Jordan, maintained greater resilience compared to oil-exporting economies, as it is expected that the growth of this group will rise to 4.3% in 2026, compared to 3.9% in 2025.

The Bank estimated Jordan's economic growth at about 2.8% in 2025, before slowing slightly to 2.7% during the current year, then accelerating to 2.9% next year.

The report linked the expected slight decline in growth during 2026 to lower tourism revenues and higher energy import costs, while the strength of local economic activity and trade through Aqaba contribute to offsetting part of these pressures.

The Bank expects growth in Jordan to strengthen moderately during 2027 with improved regional trade and transport conditions.

According to the report, the repercussions of the war are primarily transmitted to oil-importing countries through higher energy, food, shipping, and insurance costs, which put pressure on external accounts and inflation, while strong domestic demand in a number of these economies helps mitigate the impact of these pressures.

As an indicator of improved economic activity per capita, the Bank expects growth in Jordan's per capita GDP to rise from 1.8% in 2025 to 2% in 2026, then to 2.1% in 2027.

Regarding prices, the report expects inflation in Jordan to reach 2.5% this year, before declining to 2.3% in 2027, compared to 1.8% in 2025.

The Bank's forecasts also show a gradual decline in the fiscal deficit from 5% of GDP in 2025 to 4.6% in 2026, then to 4.3% in 2027.

In external accounts, the Bank expects the current account deficit to reach 7.3% of GDP in 2026, before decreasing to 5.9% in 2027, compared to 5.6% in 2025.

In terms of air traffic, the report showed a stronger recovery in cities outside the Gulf region, including Amman, where air arrivals returned by late August to pre-conflict levels or exceeded them, along with other regional cities.

Regarding future growth drivers, the Bank noted that Jordan is performing relatively well in innovation and economic integration, despite gaps in digital infrastructure, and placed the Kingdom among the lower-middle-income economies that perform better than the average of their income group in the maturity of digital government services.

The report indicated that Jordan is working to establish itself as a regional technology hub and is already applying artificial intelligence technologies in the education and health sectors to support learning and provide preventive and diagnostic tests in remote areas.

According to the Bank, Jordan strategically focuses on developing the artificial intelligence ecosystem through research and development, reforming the business environment, building capacity, and expanding its applications in the public sector to address capital and market size limitations.

Data provided by the report showed that 113 Jordanian companies were active in the artificial intelligence technology market as of July 2026, while indicating that the Kingdom's strategy aims to increase the number of researchers in the field of artificial intelligence by 30%.