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: 15 00 N, 48 00 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 527,970 km²
Land: 527,970 km²
Water: 0 km²
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)
Comparative: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

Land boundaries
Total: 1,746 km
Border countries: (2) 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 m
Extremes highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 3%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 30%
Forests and woodland: 4%
Other: 63% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 3,600 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer

Geography
Note: strategic location on 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: 16,942,230 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 3.34% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

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 Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 48% (male 4,118,292; female 3,971,886)
15-64 years: 49% (male 4,243,809; female 4,065,429)
65 years and over: 3% (male 278,133; female 264,681) (1999 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 3.34% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 43.31 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 9.88 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 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
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 69.82 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 59.98 years
Male: 58.17 years
Female: 61.88 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7.06 children born/woman (1999 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
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 38%
Male: 53%
Female: 26% (1990 est.)

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, 'Ataq, Dhamar, Hadhramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Ta'izz
Note: there may be a new governorate for the capital city of Sanaa

Dependent areas

Independence: 22 May 1990 Republic of Yemen was established 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; amended 29 September 1994

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); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since NA October 1994)
Head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Abd al-Karim Ali al-IRYANI (since NA April 1998)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister
Elections: President SALIH was elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term, however, future presidents will be elected by direct, popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 1 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president
Election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of House of Representatives vote_NA

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
Elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held NA April 2001)
Election results: percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party_GPC 189, Islah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1
Note: in May 1997, the president created a consultative council, sometimes referred to as the upper house of Parliament; its 59 members are all appointed by the president

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, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI
In the us chancery: Suite 705, 2,600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,037
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 965-4,760
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara K. BODINE
From the us embassy: Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 22,347, Sanaa
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: Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but was harmed by low oil prices in 1998. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to foreign debt relief and restructuring. Yemen will work in 1999 to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. The high population growth rate of 3.3%, internal political dissension, and continued low prices make the government's task especially difficult.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 1.8% (1998 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $740 (1998 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 16%
Industry: 46%
Services: 38% (1996)

Agriculture products: grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, poultry, beef; fish

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%

Labor force: NA
Note:

Unemployment rate: 30% (1995 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $2.3 billion
Expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1998 budget 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: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Commodities: crude oil, cotton, coffee, dried and salted fish
Partners: China 31%, South Korea 19%, Thailand 17%, Thailand 5%, Brazil 5%, Japan 5% (1997)

Imports: $2.8 billion (c.i.f., 1998 est.)
Commodities: food and live animals, machinery and equipment, manufactured goods
Partners: UAE 9%, Saudi Arabia 8%, US 7%, France 6%, Brazil 5% (1997)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $4.9 billion (1998)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Yemeni rials (YRl) per US$1_140.940 (October 1998), 129.286 (1997), 94.157 (1996), 40.839 (1995), 12.010 (official fixed rate 1991-94)


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Electricity
Production: 1.9 billion kWh (1996)
Production by source fossil fuel: 100%
Production by source hydro: 0%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1996)
Consumption: 1.9 billion kWh (1996)
Exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Imports: 0 kWh (1996)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones: 131,655 (1992 est.)

Telephone system: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
Domestic: the network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, and tropospheric scatter
International: satellite earth stations_3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $413.6 million (1999)
Percent of gdp: 7.6% (1999)

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: 48 (1998 est.)
With paved runways total: 12
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1998 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 36
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 9
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 10
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 12
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 3 (1998 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km

Railways: 0 km

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 (1998 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: a large section of boundary with Saudi Arabia is not defined; Hanish Islands dispute with Eritrea resolved by arbitral tribunal in October 1998

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs