An opinion poll, issued by the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan to mark the passing of one and a half years since the formation of Omar Razzaz’s government, showed that 56 per cent of Jordanians are optimistic about the Kingdom's economy in the next two years.

The poll was conducted by the Department of Public Opinion Polls and Surveys at the centre from December 20 to 26, and its results were announced on Tuesday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The poll included 1,712 Jordanian respondents who made up the national sample and 700 opinion leaders.

According to the poll, 63 per cent of respondents from the national sample and 48 per cent of opinion leaders believe that developments went awry in 2019.

The poll also revealed that 22 per cent of respondents from the national sample believe that developments were headed in the wrong direction due to economic conditions in the Kingdom in general, while 21 per cent believe the reasons to be the prevalence of poverty, unemployment, corruption and favouritism.

Sixteen per cent, however, attribute the downturn to high prices and high cost of living; while 10 per cent of the national samples believe that poor management and government planning are among the reasons.

Twenty-eight per cent of opinion leaders believe that poor economic conditions are the most prominent factor in the downturn, followed by a lack of a sense of concrete reforms at 23 per cent and poor management and government planning at 22 per cent.

Regarding Omar Razzaz's prime ministerial performance, 51 per cent of opinion leaders and 45 per cent of national respondents believe that he was “able to carry the responsibilities required of him”.

The results of the poll showed that 66 per cent of the national sample on average trust government institutions and agencies according to the following levels: High confidence at 23 per cent, medium-level confidence at 57 per cent, low confidence at 10 per cent and no confidence at 7 per cent.

Regarding trust in governmental institutions, security institutions ranked first, while political parties occupied the lowest rating at 13 per cent. Citizen confidence in the Lower House stands at 15 per cent.

Concerning "the most important problems facing Jordan that the government must address immediately", 33 per cent of Jordanians answered that unemployment is the most important problem facing Jordan today.

Poverty followed unemployment at 17 per cent, with the "bad economic situation" in general at 16 per cent, high prices and cost of living at 16 per cent and corruption and favouritism at 10 per cent ranking next.

The poll displayed a difference in priorities between opinion leaders and the national sample concerning the problems facing Jordan, as opinion leaders regard the economic situation as the most important problem facing the Kingdom at 42 per cent, followed by unemployment at 24 per cent and corruption at 7 per cent.