Map of Yemen | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued.


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Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total area total: 527,970 km²
Land: 527,970 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)

Land boundaries: total 1,746 km, Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

Coastline: 1,906 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 18 nm in the North; 24 nm in the South
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east

Terrain: narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula

Elevation

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west

Land use
Arable land: 6%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 30%
Forest and woodland: 7%
Other: 57%

Irrigated land: 3,100 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: controls Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes


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Population: 14,728,474 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 4.02% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Yemeni(s)
Adjective: Yemeni

Ethnic groups: predominantly Arab; Afro-Arab concentrations in western coastal locations; South Asians in southern regions; small European communities in major metropolitan areas

Languages: Arabic

Religions: Muslim including Sha'fi (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 50% (female 3,551,953; male 3,776,358)
15-64 years: 48% (female 3,505,735; male 3,508,229)
65 years and over: 2% (female 216,210; male 169,989) (July 1995 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 4.02% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 44.85 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 8.01 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.39 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Current issues natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer
Current issues international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 58.2 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 62.51 years
Male: 61.57 years
Female: 63.5 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7.15 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Total population: 38%
Male: 53%
Female: 26%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
Conventional short form: Yemen
Local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
Local short form: Al Yaman

Government type: republic

Capital: Sanaa

Administrative divisions: 17 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, Adan, Al Bayda, Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Dhamar, Hadramaut, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Marib, Sadah, Sana, Shabwah, Taizz
Note: there may be a new governorate for the capital city of Sanaa

Dependent areas

Independence: 22 May 1990 Republic of Yemen was established on 22 May 1990 with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic {Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen} and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen {Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen}; previously North Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)

National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)

Constitution: 16 May 1991

Legal system: based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen); Vice President Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since NA October 1994)
Head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Aziz ABD AL-GHANI (since NA October 1994)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral
House of Representatives: elections last held 27 April 1993 (next to be held NA 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (301 total) GPC 124, Islaah 61, YSP 55, others 13, independents 47, election nullified 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Muhsin Ahmad al-AYNI
In the us chancery: Suite 705, 2,600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,037
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 965-4,760, 4,761
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador David NEWTON
From the us embassy: Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 22,347 Sanaa; Sanaa, Department of State, Washington, DC 20,521-6,330
From the us telephone: [967] (1) 238,843 through 238,852
From the us FAX: [967] (1) 251,563

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Whereas the northern city Sanaa is the political capital of a united Yemen, the southern city Aden, with its refinery and port facilities, is the economic and commercial capital. Future economic development depends heavily on Western-assisted development of the country's moderate oil resources. Former South Yemen's willingness to merge stemmed partly from the steady decline in Soviet economic support. The low level of domestic industry and agriculture has made northern Yemen dependent on imports for practically all of its essential needs. Once self-sufficient in food production, northern Yemen has become a major importer. Land once used for export crops - cotton, fruit, and vegetables - has been turned over to growing a shrub called qat, whose leaves are chewed for their stimulant effect by Yemenis and which has no significant export market. Economic growth in former South Yemen has been constrained by a lack of incentives, partly stemming from centralized control over production decisions, investment allocation, and import choices. Yemen's large trade deficits have been compensated for by remittances from Yemenis working abroad and by foreign aid. Since the Gulf crisis, remittances have dropped substantially. Growth in 1994-95 is constrained by low oil prices, rapid inflation, and political deadlock that are causing a lack of economic cooperation and leadership. However, a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia in February 1995 and the expectation of a rise in oil prices brighten Yemen's economic prospects.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: -1.4% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $1,955 (1994 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 26% of GDP; products - grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton, dairy, poultry, meat, fish; not self-sufficient in grain

Industries: crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement

Industrial production growth rate: NA%, accounts for 18% of GDP

Labor force: no reliable estimates exist, most people are employed in agriculture and herding or as expatriate laborers; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than half of the labor force

Unemployment rate: 30% (December 1994)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $N/A
Expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $1.75 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
Commodoties: crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables, dried and salted fish
Partners: Germany 28%, Japan 15%, UK 9%, Austria 7%, China 7% (1992)

Imports: $2.65 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
Commodoties: textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, cement, machinery, chemicals
Partners: US 16%, UK 7%, Japan 6%, France 6%, Italy 6% (1992)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $7 billion (1993)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Yemeni rials per US$1 - 12.0 (official; 90 (market rate, December 1994)


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Electricity
Capacity: 810,000 kW
Production: 1.8 billion kWh
Production consumption per capita: 149 kWh (1993)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system: 65,000 telephones; since unification in 1990, efforts are still being made to create a national domestic civil telecommunications network
Local: NA
Intercity: the network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, and troposcatter
International: 3 INTELSAT (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, and 2 ARABSAT earth stations; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $1.65 billion, 7.1% of GDP (1993)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 46
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 6
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 4
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 8
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2438 m: 10
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 12

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,059 GRT/18,563 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 1, oil tanker 2

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: undefined section of boundary with Saudi Arabia; a treaty with Oman defining the Yemeni-Omani boundary was ratified in December 1992

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs