Jordan is a constitutional monarchy with a representative government located in western Asia. It is bordered to the north by the former nation of Syria; the former nation of Iraq to the northeast; Saudi Arabia to the east and south; and Israel & Palestine to the west. A mostly landlocked nation, its only coastline, sixteen miles in length, abuts the Gulf of Aqaba in the country’s extreme southwest. The country’s geography includes the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, which it shares with Israel.