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 from 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 and brief civil war in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to delineate their border. Fighting in the northwest between the government and the Huthis, a Zaydi Shia Muslim minority, continued intermittently from 2004 to 2010. The southern secessionist movement was revitalized in 2007.Public rallies in Sana'a against then President SALIH - inspired by similar demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt - slowly built momentum starting in late January 2011 fueled by complaints over high unemployment, poor economic conditions, and corruption. By the following month, some protests had resulted in violence, and the demonstrations had spread to other major cities. By March the opposition had hardened its demands and was unifying behind calls for SALIH's immediate ouster. In April 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in an attempt to mediate the crisis in Yemen, proposed the GGC Initiative, an agreement in which the president would step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution. SALIH's refusal to sign an agreement led to further violence. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2014 in October 2011 calling for an end to the violence and completing a power transfer deal. In November 2011, SALIH signed the GCC Initiative to step down and to transfer some of his powers to Vice President Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI. Following HADI's uncontested election victory in February 2012, SALIH formally transferred his powers. In accordance with the GCC initiative, Yemen launched a National Dialogue Conference (NDC) in March 2013 to discuss key constitutional, political, and social issues. HADI concluded the NDC in January 2014 and planned to begin implementing subsequent steps in the transition process, including constitutional drafting, a constitutional referendum, and national elections.The Huthis, perceiving their grievances were not addressed in the NDC, joined forces with SALIH and expanded their influence in northwestern Yemen, culminating in a major offensive against military units and rival tribes and enabling their forces to overrun the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014. In January 2015, the Huthis surrounded the presidential palace, HADI's residence, and key government facilities, prompting HADI and the cabinet to submit their resignations. HADI fled to Aden in February 2015 and rescinded his resignation. He subsequently escaped to Oman and then moved to Saudi Arabia and asked the GCC to intervene militarily in Yemen to protect the legitimate government from the Huthis. In March, Saudi Arabia assembled a coalition of Arab militaries and began airstrikes against the Huthis and Huthi-affiliated forces. Ground fighting between Huthi-aligned forces and resistance groups backed by the Saudi-led coalition continued through 2016. In 2016, the UN brokered a months-long cessation of hostilities that reduced airstrikes and fighting, and initiated peace talks in Kuwait. However, the talks ended without agreement. The Huthis and SALIH’s political party announced a Supreme Political Council in August 2016 and a National Salvation Government, including a prime minister and several dozen cabinet members, in November 2016, to govern in Sanaa and further challenge the legitimacy of HADI’s government. Further attempts at peace have failed while neither side has made decisive battlefield gains, perpetuating the conflict and deepening the divisions between northern and southern Yemen. Amid rising tensions between the Huthis and SALIH, sporadic clashes erupted in mid-2017, and Huthi forces killed SALIH in early December 2017.


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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: 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: 527,968 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 51
Comparative: almost four times the size of Alabama; slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

Land boundaries
Total: 1601 km
Border countries: (2) Oman 294 km; , Saudi Arabia 1307 km

Coastline: 1906 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 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
Mean elevation: 999 m
Elevation extremes: 0 m
Note: lowest point: Arabian Sea

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 44.5% (2011 est.)
Forest: 1% (2011 est.)
Other: 54.5% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 6,800 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summervolcanism: limited volcanic activity; Jebel at Tair (Jabal al-Tair, Jebel Teir, Jabal al-Tayr, Jazirat at-Tair) (244 m), which forms an island in the Red Sea, erupted in 2007 after awakening from dormancy; other historically active volcanoes include Harra of Arhab, Harras of Dhamar, Harra es-Sawad, and Jebel Zubair, although many of these have not erupted in over a century

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
Distribution: the vast majority of the population is found in the Asir Mountains (part of the larger Sarawat Mountain system), located in the far western region of the country: 28,667,230 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 48
Growth rate: 2.17% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 39
Below poverty line: 54% (2014 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Yemeni(s)
Adjective: Yemeni

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

Languages:

Religions: Muslim 99.1% (official; virtually all are citizens, an estimated 65% are Sunni and 35% are Shia), other 0.9% (includes Jewish, Baha'i, Hindu, and Christian; many are refugees or temporary foreign residents) (2010 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 39.16% (male 5,711,709 /female 5,513,526)
15-24 years: 21.26% (male 3,089,817 /female 3,005,693)
25-54 years: 32.78% (male 4,805,059 /female 4,591,811)
55-64 years: 4% (male 523,769 /female 623,100)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 366,891 /female 435,855) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 76.8 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 71.7 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 5.1 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 19.8 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 19.8 years
Male: 19.6 years
Female: 19.9 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 198

Population growth rate: 2.17% (2018 est.)
Rank: 39

Birth rate: 27.6 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 44

Death rate: 5.9 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 171

Net migration rate: 0.4 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 65

Population distribution: the vast majority of the population is found in the Asir Mountains (part of the larger Sarawat Mountain system), located in the far western region of the country

Urbanization
Urban population: 36.6% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 4.06% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 2.779 million SANAA (capital), 922,000 Aden (2018)

Environment
Current issues: limited natural freshwater 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: 1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
25-54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
55-64 years: 0.85 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth:

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 44.6 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 48.6 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Female: 40.4 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Rank: 37

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 66.2 years (2018 est.)
Male: 64 years (2018 est.)
Female: 68.5 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 176

Total fertility rate: 3.48 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 43

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 33.5% (2013)

Drinking water source
Urban: 28% of population
Rural: 53.5% of population
Total: 45.1% of population (2012 est.)

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 0.31 physicians/1000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density: 0.7 beds/1000 population (2014)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 7.5% of population (2012 est.)
Rural: 65.9% of population (2012 est.)
Total: 46.7% of population (2012 est.)

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate note: <.1% (2016 est.)
People living with hivaids: 9,900 (2016 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 100
Deaths note: <500 (2016 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high (2016)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever (2016)
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria (2016)
Water contact diseases: schistosomiasis (2016)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 17.1% (2016)
Rank: 120

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 16.3% (2013)
Rank: 37

Education expenditures: 4.6% of GDP (2008)
Rank: 91

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
Total population: 70.1% (2015 est.)
Male: 85.1% (2015 est.)
Female: 55% (2015 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 9 years (2011)
Male: 10 years (2011)
Female: 8 years (2011)

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 Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]
Etymology: name derivation remains unclear but may come from the Arab term yumn (happiness) and be related to the regions classical name Arabia Felix (Fertile or Happy Arabia); the Romans referred to the rest of the peninsula as Arabia Deserta (Deserted Arabia)

Government type: in transition

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: 22 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan (Aden), Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Amanat al 'Asimah (Sanaa City), 'Amran, Arkhabil Suqutra (Socotra Archipelago), Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Raymah, Sa'dah, San'a' (Sanaa), Shabwah, Ta'izz

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]); notable earlier dates: North Yemen became independent on 1 November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and became a republic with the overthrow of the theocratic Imamate on 27 September 1962; South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)

National holiday: Unification Day, 22 May (1990)

Constitution: adopted by referendum 16 May 1991 (following unification); amended several times, last in 2009; note - after the National Dialogue ended in January 2015, a presidentially appointed Constitutional Drafting Committee worked to prepare a new draft constitution that was expected to be put to a national referendum before being adopted; however, the president’s resignation in January 2015 and subsequent conflict have interrupted the process (2016)

Legal system: mixed legal system of Islamic law, Napoleonic law, English common law, and customary law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Yemen; if the father is unknown, the mother must be a citizen
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI (since 21 February 2012); Vice President ALI MUHSIN al-Ahmar, Lt. Gen. (since 3 April 2016)
Head of government: Prime Minister Maeen Abd al-Malik SAEED (since 15 October 2018
Cabinet: appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 7-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 21 February 2012 (next election NA); note - a special election was held on 21 February 2012 to remove Ali Abdallah SALIH under the terms of a Gulf Cooperation Council-mediated deal during the political crisis of 2011; vice president appointed by the president; prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI (GPC) elected as a consensus president with about 50% popular participation; no other candidates

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the president of the Court, 2 deputies, and nearly 50 judges; court organized into constitutional, civil, commercial, family, administrative, criminal, military, and appeals scrutiny divisions)
Judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council, which is chaired by the president of the republic and includes 10 high-ranking judicial officers; judges serve for life with mandatory retirement at age 65
Subordinate courts: appeal courts; district or first instance courts; commercial courts

Political parties and leaders: General People’s Congress or GPC - AdenGeneral People's Congress or GPC - Sana'a [Sadiq Ameen Abu RAS]National Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party [Qassem Salam SAID]Nasserist Unionist People's Organization [Abdulmalik al-MEKHLAFI]Yemeni Reform Grouping or Islah [Muhammed Abdallah al-YADUMI]Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Dr. Abd al-Rahman Umar al-SAQQAF]

International organization participation: AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CD, EITI (temporarily suspended), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Ahmad Awadh BIN MUBARAK (since 3 August 2015)
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 Matthew H. TUELLER (since 10 June 2014)
From the us embassy: Saawan Street, Sanaa; note - Embassy closed in March 2015; moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2018
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 22,347, Sanaa
From the us telephone: Suspended Operations [966] 11-488-3,800 (Embassy Riyadh)
From the us FAX: Suspended Operations [966] 11-488-7,360 (Embassy Riyadh)

Flag description:

National symbols: golden eagle; national colors: red, white, black

National anthem
Name: al-qumhuriyatu l-muttahida (United Republic)
Lyricsmusic: Abdullah Abdulwahab NOAMAN/Ayyoab Tarish ABSI: note: adopted 1990; the music first served as the anthem for South Yemen before unification with North Yemen in 1990

National heritage


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Economy overview: Yemen is a low-income country that faces difficult long-term challenges to stabilizing and growing its economy, and the current conflict has only exacerbated those issues. The ongoing war has halted Yemen’s exports, pressured the currency’s exchange rate, accelerated inflation, severely limited food and fuel imports, and caused widespread damage to infrastructure. The conflict has also created a severe humanitarian crisis - the world’s largest cholera outbreak currently at nearly 1 million cases, more than 7 million people at risk of famine, and more than 80% of the population in need of humanitarian assistance.Prior to the start of the conflict in 2014, Yemen was highly dependent on declining oil and gas resources for revenue. Oil and gas earnings accounted for roughly 25% of GDP and 65% of government revenue. The Yemeni Government regularly faced annual budget shortfalls and tried to diversify the Yemeni economy through a reform program designed to bolster non-oil sectors of the economy and foreign investment. In July 2014, the government continued reform efforts by eliminating some fuel subsidies and in August 2014, the IMF approved a three-year, $570 million Extended Credit Facility for Yemen.However, the conflict that began in 2014 stalled these reform efforts and ongoing fighting continues to accelerate the country’s economic decline. In September 2016, President HADI announced the move of the main branch of Central Bank of Yemen from Sanaa to Aden where his government could exert greater control over the central bank’s dwindling resources. Regardless of which group controls the main branch, the central bank system is struggling to function. Yemen’s Central Bank’s foreign reserves, which stood at roughly $5.2 billion prior to the conflict, have declined to negligible amounts. The Central Bank can no longer fully support imports of critical goods or the country’s exchange rate. The country also is facing a growing liquidity crisis and rising inflation. The private sector is hemorrhaging, with almost all businesses making substantial layoffs. Access to food and other critical commodities such as medical equipment is limited across the country due to security issues on the ground. The Social Welfare Fund, a cash transfer program for Yemen’s neediest, is no longer operational and has not made any disbursements since late 2014.Yemen will require significant international assistance during and after the protracted conflict to stabilize its economy. Long-term challenges include a high population growth rate, high unemployment, declining water resources, and severe food scarcity.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 97

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 219

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 199

Gross national saving:
Rank: 182

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 116.6% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 17.6% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 2.2% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 7.5% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -43.9% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 20.3% (2017 est.)
Industry: 11.8% (2017 est.)
Services: 67.9% (2017 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, leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; aluminum products; cement; commercial ship repair; natural gas production

Industrial production growth rate: 8.9% (2017 est.)
Rank: 21

Labor force: 7.425 million (2017 est.)
Rank: 65
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:
Rank: 198

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 54% (2014 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 30.3% (2008 est.)
Highest 10: 30.3% (2008 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 81

Budget
Revenues: 2.821 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 4.458 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -5.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 171

Taxes and other revenues: 9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 216

Public debt:
Rank: 41

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 218

Central bank discount rate: NA

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 6

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 108

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 112

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 146

Market value of publicly traded shares: NA

Current account balance:
Rank: 149

Exports:
Rank: 184
Partners: Egypt 29.4%, Thailand 16.7%, Belarus 13.5%, Oman 10.5%, UAE 6.5%, Saudi Arabia 5% (2017)
Commodities: crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish, liquefied natural gas

Imports:
Rank: 140
Commodities: food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Partners: UAE 12.2%, China 12.1%, Turkey 8.7%, Brazil 7.3%, Saudi Arabia 6.5%, Argentina 5.5%, India 4.7% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 170

Debt external:
Rank: 124

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: NA

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 13.3 million (2013)
Access electrification total population: 48% (2013)
Access electrification urban areas: 79% (2013)
Access electrification rural areas: 33% (2013)
Production: 4.784 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 122
Consumption: 3.681 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 130
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 219
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 219
Installed generating capacity: 1.819 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 116
Generation sources fossil fuels: 79% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 89
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 213
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 215
Generation sources other renewable sources: 21% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 37

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 12,260 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 76
Crude oil exports: 8,990 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 60
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 217
Crude oil proven reserves: 3 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 29

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 20,180 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 89
Products consumption: 104,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 78
Products exports: 12,670 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 78
Products imports: 75,940 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 65

Natural gas
Production: 481.4 million m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 72
Consumption: 481.4 million m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 99
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 214
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 214
Proven reserves: 478.5 billion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 31

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 13.68 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 95

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 1,165,828 (July 2016 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (July 2016 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 72
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 16,433,055 (July 2016 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 59 (July 2016 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 63

Telephone system
General assessment: cell phone penetration growing rapidly (2016)
Domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, GSM and CDMA mobile-cellular telephone systems; fixed-line teledensity remains low by regional standards but mobile cellular use expanding apace (2016)
International: country code - 967; landing point for the international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); 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 (2016)

Broadcast media: state-run TV with 2 stations; state-run radio with 2 national radio stations and 5 local stations; stations from Oman and Saudi Arabia can be accessed (2007)

Internet
Country code: .ye
Users total: 6,732,928 (July 2016 est.)
Users percent of population: 24.6% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 63

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 430,400 (2017 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2017 est.)
Rank: 85


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 16

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription; 2-year service obligation (2018)

Space program

Terrorist groups
Home based alQaida in the Arabian Peninsula:
Home based Islamic State of Iraq and ashShamYemen:


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 2 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 10 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,387,999 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 7O (2016)

Airports: 57 (2013)
Rank: 84
With paved runways total: 17 (2013)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 4 (2013)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 9 (2013)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3 (2013)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways total: 40 (2013)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 3 (2013)
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 7 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 16 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 9 (2013)

Heliports

Pipelines: 641 km gas, 22 km liquid petroleum gas, 1370 km oil (2013)

Railways

Roadways
Total: 71,300 km (2005)
Paved: 6,200 km (2005)
Unpaved: 65,100 km (2005)
Rank: 66

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 31 (2017)
By type: general cargo 3, oil tanker 4, other 24 (2017)
Rank: 128

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla


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Disputes international: Saudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filled security barrier along sections of the fully demarcated border with Yemen to stem illegal cross-border activities

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 256,363 (Somalia), 13,107 (Ethiopia) (2018)
IDPs: 2,331,264 (conflict in Saada Governorate; clashes between al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and government forces) (2018)

Illicit drugs