During his 46-year-reign, Hussein, who was seen as a charismatic, courageous, and humble leader, became widely known among Jordanians as the "builder king." He turned the Kingdom from a backwater divided polity into a reasonably stable well-governed modern state. By 1999 90% of Jordanians had been born during Hussein's reign. From the very start, Hussein concentrated on building an economic and industrial infrastructure to stimulate the economy and raise the standard of living. During the 1960s, Jordan's main industriesincluding phosphate, potash and cementwere developed, and the very first network of highways was built throughout the kingdom. Social indicators reflect King Hussein's successes. Whereas in 1950 water, sanitation, and electricity were available to only 10% of Jordanians, at the end of his rule these had reached 99% of the population. In 1960 only 33% of Jordanians were literate; by 1996 this number had climbed to 85.5%. In 1961 the average Jordanian consumed a daily intake of 2,198 calories; by 1992 this figure had increased by 37.5% to reach 3,022 calories. UNICEF statistics show that between 1981 and 1991, Jordan had achieved the world's fastest annual rate of decline in infant mortalityfrom 70 deaths per 1,000 births in 1981 to 37 per 1,000 in 1991, a drop of over 47%.