World Facts Index
 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. |
Geography of Yemen
|
Location:
|
Middle East, bordering the
Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
|
Coordinates:
|
15 00 N, 48 00 E |
|
Area:
|
total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km
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)
water: 0 sq km |
|
Area comparative:
|
slightly larger than twice
the size of Wyoming |
|
Land boundaries:
|
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
|
Coastline:
|
1,906 km |
|
Maritime claims:
|
contiguous zone: 24
NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental
margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 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
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 |
|
Natural hazards:
|
sandstorms and dust storms
in summer |
|
Environment current issues:
|
very limited natural fresh
water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil
erosion; desertification |
|
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
|
Population of Yemen
|
Population:
|
23,013,376 (July 2008 est.) |
|
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) |
|
Median age:
|
16.6 years |
|
Growth rate:
|
3.46% |
|
Infant mortality:
|
59.88 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 62.12 years
male: 60.23 years
female: 64.11 years |
|
Fertility rate:
|
6.58 children born/woman |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab,
South Asians, Europeans |
|
Religions:
|
Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi
(Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
|
Languages:
|
Arabic |
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 50.2%
male: 70.5%
female: 30%
|
Government
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: Republic of
Yemen
local short form: Al Yaman
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah |
|
Government type:
|
republic |
|
Capital:
|
Sanaa |
|
Administrative divisions:
|
19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah) |
|
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]) |
|
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 |
|
Suffrage:
|
18 years of age; universal |
|
Executive branch:
|
chief of state: President Ali Abdallah SALIH; Vice
President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI
head of government: Prime Minister Ali Muhammad MUJAWWAR; Deputy Prime Ministers
Rashid Muhammad al-ALAMI, 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 direct, popular vote for a seven-year term
(eligible for a second term; recently extended from a five-year term by constitutional
amendment); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime
ministers appointed by the president |
|
Legislative branch:
|
a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February
2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members
appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by
popular vote to serve six-year terms) |
|
Judicial branch:
|
Supreme Court |
Economy
Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported average
annual growth in the range of 3-4% from 2000 through 2007. Its economic
fortunes depend mostly on declining oil resources, but the country is trying
to diversify its earnings. In 2006 Yemen began an economic reform program
designed to bolster non-oil sectors of the economy and foreign investment. As
a result of the program, international donors pledged about $5 billion for
development projects. In addition, Yemen has made some progress on reforms
over the last year that will likely encourage foreign investment. Oil revenues
probably increased in 2007 as a result of higher prices.
|
GDP:
|
$56.24 billion (2007 est.) |
|
GDP growth rate:
|
2.4% |
|
GDP per capita:
|
$900 |
|
GDP composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 47.2%
services: 39.3% |
|
Inflation rate:
|
11.8% |
|
Labor force:
|
5.83 million |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
most people are employed in agriculture and herding;
services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the
labor force |
|
Unemployment:
|
35% |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $5.616 billion
expenditures: $5.719 billion |
|
Electricity production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% |
|
Industries:
|
crude oil production and petroleum
refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing;
handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement |
|
Agriculture:
|
grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat
(mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle,
camels), poultry; fish |
|
Exports:
|
crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
|
Export partners:
|
China 37.3%, Chile 19.6%, Thailand 12.8%, Japan 5.6%, US
4.2% |
|
Imports:
|
food and live animals, machinery and
equipment, chemicals |
|
Import partners:
|
UAE 13.4%, Saudi Arabia 10.6%, China 9%, Kuwait 4.6%,
India 4.6%, Turkey 4.5%, Russia 4.2% |
|
Currency:
|
Yemeni rial (YER) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |