Core area “Peaceful and inclusive societies” Supporting refugees and host communities, filling the administrative reform with life

    Even though Jordan is facing enormous economic and social challenges domestically, it is undertaking tremendous efforts to host a large number of refugees from the region. The German Development Ministry (BMZ) assists refugees and host communities and supports the implementation of the ongoing administrative reform.

    Cash-for-work programme: construction and repair of roads and drainage systems in Jordan

    Cash-for-work programme: construction and repair of roads and drainage systems in Jordan

    Together with Turkey and Lebanon, Jordan is one of the main host countries for Syrian refugees. Jordan is hosting about 500,000 registered Syrian refugees. It is estimated that the total number of Syrians who have fled to Jordan since 2011 is about 1.3 million. Since the fall of the Assad regime, some 137,500 refugees have returned to Syria (as at August 2025). Only one fifth of the refugees are living in camps. Most are being hosted in communities across the country. Moreover, Jordan has about 2.4 million registered Palestinian refugees and approximately 31,000 refugees from Iraq.

    The country is unable to provide services for all these people from its own resources. The international community has a duty to provide support and long-term opportunities.


    German activities

    Refugee camp Al-Azraq in Jordan

    Refugee camp Al-Azraq in Jordan

    The BMZ is providing significant support to Jordan under its Special Initiative “Displaced Persons and Host Countries”. The target group of the support activities always includes needy local people from host communities, not just refugees. The difficult situation which many segments of the Jordanian population had already been facing has been exacerbated by the global impact of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

    The BMZ is contributing to improvements in the fields of basic education, water and sanitation, waste management, social protection and employment opportunities. It is also supporting the comprehensive administrative reform which has been launched at the initiative of the King. The purpose of the reform is to develop the capacity of local authorities so they can provide better services for the people and can move forward on introducing digital technology for administrative procedures.

    As at: 25/08/2025