Map of Yemen | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | 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

Area
Total: 527,970 km²
Land: 527,970 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Comparative 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
Extremes lowest point: Arabian Sea 0
Extremes highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

Natural resources:

Land use
Arable land: 6%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 30%
Forests 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


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Population:
Growth rate:

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:
15-64 years:
65 years and over:

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate:

Birth rate:

Death rate:

Net migration rate:

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
International agreements: party to_Environmental Modification, Law of the sea, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified_Biodiversity, Climate Change
International agreements note: Controls Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
All ages:

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 59.58 years (1996 est.), 62.51 years (1995 est.)
Male: 58.23 years 91,996 est.), 61.57 years (1995 est.)
Female: 60.99 years (1996 est.), 63.5 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:

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
Definition: 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: 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 Lt. Gen. Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen) was elected for a five-year term by the House of Representatives; election last held 1 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since NA October 1994) was appointed by the president
Head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Aziz ABD AL-GHANI (since NA October 1994) was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime Ministers Abd al-Wahhab al-ANISI (since NA October 1994), Dr. Abd al-Karim Ali al-IRYANI (since NA October 1994), Dr. Muhammad Said al-ATTAR (since NA October 1994), and Abd al-Qadir al-BA JAMAL (since NA October 1994)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on advice of the prime minister

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, IAEA, 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, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation

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. High inflation and political divisions hinder the development of a forward-looking economic policy.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:

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:

Industrial production growth rate: 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% (1995 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $1.4 billion
Expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

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: total value. $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
Commodities:
Partners:

Imports: total value:$1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
Commodities:
Partners:

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Yemeni rials per US$1_12.010 (official fixed rate; 90 (market rate, December 1994)


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Electricity
Capacity: 810,000 kW
Production: 1.8 billion kWh
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: 131,655 telephones (1992 est.); 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: 41
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 under 914 m: 3
With paved runways With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 8
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 9
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 10 (1995 est.)

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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs