Because of the lack of skills, expertise, and funding to develop hardware and software products in Jordan, the country depends on imports from abroad, specifically from the US and Europe, to meet the Jordanian market's demand. However, some software companies have succeeded in developing high quality software that is exported to other countries in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Most of the exported software is programmed in the Arabic language to meet the needs of Arabic speaking computer users.
The following two tables give estimates on the value of exports from and imports into the Jordanian market for both hardware components and software products:
| Year | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total market size | 30 | 35 | 40 |
| Total local production | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| Total exports | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Total imports | 28 | 33 | 37 |
| Imports from the US | 10 | 12 | 14 |
| Year | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total market size | 10 | 12 | 15 |
| Total local production | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Total exports | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Total imports | 9 | 11 | 14 |
| Imports from the US | 5 | 7 | 9 |
American software and hardware systems are believed to make up 85% of the large accounts of academic institutions, banks, factories and government agencies employing more than 50 individuals. US made hardware components and peripherals are well known in Jordan for their superior quality. On the other hand, those components are priced 25% higher than Asian and European products sold in the country.