Jordan, one of the most recently established countries in the Middle East, was part of the Ottoman Empire. It was declared a political entity known as Transjordan under the mandate of the British government in 1923, until it gained independence and was declared a Kingdom in 1946. In 1950, Transjordan and the West Bank were united and assumed the current name of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The next major change for the Kingdom came in 1967, when the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Israeli forces caused a massive influx of migrants to the East Bank.

Jordan has a total area of 89 342 km2 and a population of 5 329 000 (2002 statistics). The gross domestic product (GPD) per capita is US$1765. The illiteracy rate (among those aged over 15 years) is 10.3% (5.4% for males and 15.2% for females). Life expectancy at birth is 71.5 years and the infant mortality rate is 22.1 per 1000 births. The unemployment rate is 15.3%.

The Ministry of Health budget is 5.7% of total spending. There is one hospital bed for every 568 citizens and one psychiatric bed for every 9000. There is one physician for 600 citizens and one psychiatrist for every 75 000.

Evolution of psychiatric services

At the time of the British mandate in Palestine in 1915, all psychiatric services were obtained from Palestine. The only psychiatric hospital (in Bethlehem) was in Palestine. In the late 1950s a visiting psychiatrist from Bethlehem hospital used to attend an out-patient psychiatric clinic once a week. Three separate streams of evolution occurred subsequently, in the armed forces, in the Ministry of Health and in academic psychiatry.

Psychiatric services in the armed forces

In the early 1960s there was only one psychiatrist, who had been trained at the Maudsley Hospital in London. In 1966 a department of psychiatry was established within the main military psychiatric hospital, in Marka, Amman, the capital city. A graduate training programme was implemented, which was recognised by the British Medico-Psychological Association.

In 1973 the King Hussein Medical Centre was founded and its psychiatric department was established in 1975.