Ammanruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Humanitarian & development
UNHCR, UNRWA, UNICEF, WFP, ICRC, NRC, IRC, Mercy Corps, Oxfam
Amman is a regional hub for the UN system and the international NGO sector, coordinating responses across the region. It is the city's most distinctive employer base and a genuinely large professional community.
Banking & finance
Arab Bank, Housing Bank, Bank al Etihad, Capital Bank, Central Bank of Jordan
Arab Bank, headquartered in Amman since 1948, is one of the largest and oldest banking groups in the Arab world — an outsized institution for the size of the economy around it.
ICT & outsourcing
Aramex, Maysalward, Mawdoo3, Expedia's Amman office, regional development centres
Jordan's education system produces far more engineers than the domestic economy absorbs, which is why a real software and outsourcing sector exists here and why Jordanian engineers are heavily represented across the Gulf.
Pharmaceuticals & medical
Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Dar Al Dawa, Arab Center for Pharmaceuticals
Hikma grew out of Amman into a global generics manufacturer, and Jordanian pharma is a genuine export industry rather than an import-substitution one.
Healthcare & medical tourism
King Hussein Cancer Center, Jordan Hospital, Istishari, Abdali Hospital
Jordan is one of the region's established medical-tourism destinations, drawing patients from across the Arab world. The King Hussein Cancer Center in particular is a regional referral institution.
Tourism & heritage
Jordan Tourism Board, Petra Development Authority, Dead Sea and Aqaba resorts
Petra, Wadi Rum, Jerash and the Dead Sea are within a few hours of Amman, and tourism is a major foreign-currency earner that is highly sensitive to regional events.
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