If you look at progress made on key "quality of life" indicators, the classification of Jordan as lower middle-income doesn't look quite so out of line.
Here's from the World Bank summary page on Jordan:
Jordan’s achievements in human development during the past 30 years have been impressive. Life expectancy at birth has increased from 58 to 72 years and adult literacy skyrocketed from 47 to 90 percent. The number of children dying before age one fell by nearly 50 percent to 26 (per 1,000 live births), and fertility rates are declining. Compared to most other countries in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA), Jordan has made more progress in education. Its youth literacy rate was 99 percent 2001, compared with 88 percent for the region. The ratio of girls to boys in primary and secondary enrollment was 97 percent, which is higher than the 83 percent in MENA as a whole.
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