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Flag of Yemen
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  Introduction
  Geography
  People
  Government
  Economy
  Communications
  Transportation
  Military
  Transnational Issues

In general, information available as of 1 January, 2004
was used in the preparation of The World Factbook.


This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005


Map of Yemen

Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Yemen
Background:
Definition Field Listing
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    Yemen
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
15 00 N, 48 00 E
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Middle East
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km
water: 0 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)
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
1,906 km
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.24%
other: 96.98% (2001)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
4,900 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
sandstorms and dust storms in summer
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements:
Definition Field Listing
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
Definition Field Listing
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
   People    Yemen
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
20,024,867 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 46.6% (male 4,751,776; female 4,582,277)
15-64 years: 50.6% (male 5,166,437; female 4,973,543)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 273,199; female 277,635) (2004 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 16.5 years
male: 16.5 years
female: 16.5 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
3.44% (2004 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
43.16 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
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: 0.98 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 63.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 68.12 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 58.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 61.36 years
male: 59.53 years
female: 63.29 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6.75 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
9,900 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Arabic
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50.2%
male: 70.5%
female: 30% (2003 est.)
   Government    Yemen
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
local short form: Al Yaman
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
republic
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
Sanaa
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
Unification Day, 22 May (1990)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
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 (since 4 April 2001)
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 (recently extended from a five-year term by constitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); 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 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7%
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
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)
elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA 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:
Definition Field Listing
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
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]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]
note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, represents the remnants of the former South Yemeni leadership; leaders of the 1994 secessionist movement have been pardoned by President SALIH and some are now returning to Yemen from exile
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
NA
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760
FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. KRAJESKI
embassy: Saawan Street, Sanaa
mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa
telephone: [967] (1) 303-151 through 159
FAX: [967] (1) 303-160/161/162/164/165
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
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
   Economy    Yemen
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production. It has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices, but now benefits from current high prices. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. International donors, meeting in Paris in October 2002, agreed on a further $2.3 billion economic support package. Yemen has worked to maintain tight control over spending and to implement additional components of the IMF program. A markedly high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. Plans include a diversification of the economy, encouragement of tourism, and more efficient use of scarce water resources.
GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $15.09 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.8% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 15.2%
industry: 45%
services: 39.7% (2003)
Investment (gross fixed):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
29.1% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
15.7% (2001)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
33.4 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10.8% (2003 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5.79 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
35% (2003 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $3.729 billion
expenditures: $4.107 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Public debt:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
39.5% of GDP (2003)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.01 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
438,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
74,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.2 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
480 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$157 million (2003)
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$3.92 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
China 31.7%, Thailand 20.3%, India 15.6%, South Korea 4.9%, Malaysia 4.3% (2003)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$3.042 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
UAE 12.9%, Saudi Arabia 10.2%, China 8.9%, US 4.9%, Kuwait 4.4%, France 4.1% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$5.009 billion (2003)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$6.044 billion (2003)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
$2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements)
Currency:
Definition Field Listing
Yemeni rial (YER)
Currency code:
Definition Field Listing
YER
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Yemeni rials per US dollar - NA (2003), 175.625 (2002), 168.672 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (1999)
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Yemen
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
542,200 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
411,100 (2002)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
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
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.ye
Internet hosts:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
138 (2004)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
100,000 (2002)
   Transportation    Yemen
Highways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 67,000 km
paved: 7,705 km
unpaved: 59,295 km (1999 est.)
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
gas 88 km; oil 1,174 km (2004)
Ports and harbors:
Definition Field Listing
Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun
Merchant marine:
Definition Field Listing
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 19,766 GRT/24,794 DWT
by type: cargo 1, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: Hong Kong 2, Lebanon 1
registered in other countries: 5 (2004 est.)
Airports:
Definition Field Listing
44 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)
   Military    Yemen
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Army (including Special Forces), Naval Forces and Coastal Defenses (including Marines), Air Force (including Air Defense Forces), Republican Guard
Military manpower - military age and obligation:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004)
Military manpower - availability:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 4,617,064 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 2,590,720 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males: 255,426 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$885.6 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
7.9% (2003)
Military - note:
Definition Field Listing
establishment of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed
   Transnational Issues    Yemen
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; nomadic groups in border region with Saudi Arabia resist demarcation of boundary in accordance wih 2000 Jeddah Treaty; 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:
Definition Field Listing
refugees (country of origin): 60,901 (Somalia) (2004)

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005


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