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. In 2000 Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border.


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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: 1906 km

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

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: 2.91%
Permanent crops: 0.25%
Other: 96.84% (2005)

Irrigated land: 5,500 km² (2003)

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: 21,456,188 (July 2006 est.)
Growth rate: 3.46% (2006 est.)
Below poverty line: 45.2% (2003)

Nationality
Noun: Yemeni
Adjective: Yemeni

Ethnic groups: predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab South Asians Europeans

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: 46.4% (male 5,067,762/female 4,881,333)
15-64 years: 51% (male 5,568,078/female 5,375,263)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male 275,878/female 287,874) (2006 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 16.6 years
Male: 16.6 years
Female: 16.6 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.46% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 42.89 births/1000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 8.3 deaths/1000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2006 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male/female
Total population: 1.04 male/female (2006 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 59.88 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 64.55 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 54.98 deaths/1000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 62.12 years
Male: 60.23 years
Female: 64.11 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.58 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 12,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: NA

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: 50.2%
Male: 70.5%
Female: 30% (2003 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
Former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]

Government type: republic

Capital
Name: Sanaa
Geographic coordinates: 15 21 N, 44 12 E
Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions
Note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate

Dependent areas

Independence: 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen 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]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November of 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)

National holiday: Unification Day 22 May (1990)

Constitution: 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001

Legal system: based on Islamic law Turkish law English common law and local tribal customary law; has not accepted 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, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
Head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL; Deputy Prime Ministers Rashid Muhammad al-ALIMI, Alawi Salah al-SALAMI, Ahmad Muhammad Abdallah al-SUFAN
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 20 September 2006 (next to be held September 2013); 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 vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faisal bin SHAMLAN 21.8%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2009)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: there are more than 12 political parties active in Yemen some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdal Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]

International organization participation: AFESD AMF CAEU FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICCt (signatory) ICFTU ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO (correspondent) ITU LAS MIGA NAM OAS (observer) OIC ONUB OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMIS UNOCI UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI
In the us chancery: 2,319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 965-4,760
In the us fax: [1] (202) 337-2017
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. KRAJESKI
From the us embassy: Sa'awan Street, Sanaa
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 22,347, Sanaa
From the us telephone: [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2,153 or 2,266
From the us fax: [967] (1) 303-182

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 heraldic 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 has reported meager growth since 2000. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. Oil revenues increased in 2005 due to higher prices. Yemen was on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy which led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. However government dedication to the program waned in 2001 for political reasons. Yemen is struggling to control excessive spending and rampant corruption. The people have grown increasingly upset over the economic situation. In July 2005 a reduction in fuel subsidies sparked riots; over 20 Yemenis were killed and hundreds were injured.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $19.36 billion (2005 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 2.8% (2005 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $900 (2005 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 13.5%
Industry: 47.2%
Services: 39.3% (2005 est.)

Agriculture products: grain fruits vegetables pulses qat coffee cotton; dairy products livestock (sheep goats cattle camels) poultry; 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; commercial ship repair

Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2003 est.)

Labor force: 5.83 million (2005 est.)
By occupation note: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force

Unemployment rate: 35% (2003 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 45.2% (2003)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3%
Highest 10: 25.9% (2003)

Distribution of family income gini index: 33.4 (1998)

Budget
Revenues: $5.616 billion
Expenditures: $5.719 billion; including capital expenditures of $N/A (2005 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 34.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 11.8% (2005 est.)

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: $1.224 billion (2005 est.)

Exports: $6.387 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: crude oil coffee dried and salted fish
Partners: China 36.5% Chile 19.2% Thailand 12.5% Japan 5.4% South Korea 4.4% US 4.1% (2005)

Imports: $4.19 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: food and live animals machinery and equipment chemicals
Partners: UAE 14.6% Saudi Arabia 11.6% China 9.1% Kuwait 5% India 4.5% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $6.143 billion (2005 est.)

Debt external: $5.347 billion (2005 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Yemeni rials per US dollar - 192.67 (2005) 184.78 (2004) 183.45 (2003) 175.63 (2002) 168.67 (2001)


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Electricity
Production: 3.848 billion kWh (2003 est.)
Consumption: 2.827 billion kWh (2003 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2003)
Imports: 0 kWh (2003)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2003 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2003 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2003 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2003 est.)
Proven reserves: 478.6 billion m³ (2005)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 798,100 (2004)
Mobile cellular: 2 million (2005)

Telephone system
General assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
Domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems
International: country code - 967; 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
Country code: .ye
Hosts: 171 (2006)
Users: 220,000 (2005)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 6.4% (2005 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: in May 2001 Yemen's National Defense Council abolished compulsory military service and authorized a voluntary program for military service (2004)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 46 (2006)
With paved runways total: 16
With paved runways over 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 8
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2006)
With unpaved runways total: 30
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 3
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 11
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 4 (2006)

Heliports

Pipelines: gas 71 km; liquid petroleum gas 22 km; oil 1284 km (2006)

Railways

Roadways
Total: 71,300 km
Paved: 6,200 km
Unpaved: 65,100 km (2005)

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 15,400 GRT/18,072 DWT
By type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1
Registered in other countries: 9 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, North Korea 2, Panama 3) (2006)

Ports and terminals: Aden Nishtun


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Disputes international: Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; Saudi Arabia still maintains the concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier along sections of the border with Yemen in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities; Yemen protests Saudi erection of a concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities in sections of the boundary

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 63,511 (Somalia) (2005)

Illicit drugs