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Muslim World >>
Yemen
This page last updated: Monday, February 04, 2008
Muslim World Study:
Yemen
|
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. |
|
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 references:
|
Middle East |
|
Area:
|
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:
|
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:
|
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
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: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.24%
other: 96.98% (2001) |
|
Irrigated land:
|
4,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
|
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 |
|
Environment - 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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
|
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:
|
20,727,063 (July 2005 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 46.5%
(male 4,905,831/female 4,727,177)
15-64 years: 50.8% (male 5,364,711/female 5,172,811)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 274,166/female 282,367)
(2005 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total: 16.54 years
male: 16.53 years
female: 16.56 years (2005 est.) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
3.45% (2005 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
43.07 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
|
|
Death rate:
|
8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
|
|
Net migration rate:
|
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
|
|
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: 0.97 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total: 61.5
deaths/1,000 live births
male: 66.26 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 56.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
|
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population:
61.75 years
male: 59.89 years
female: 63.71 years (2005 est.) |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
6.67 children born/woman (2005 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
0.1% (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
12,000 (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
NA |
|
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% (2003 est.) |
|
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:
|
Sanaa |
|
Administrative divisions:
|
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:
|
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 |
|
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 (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:
|
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:
|
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 [Abdel Malik
al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr.
Qassim SALAAM]; 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:
|
NA |
|
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, ISO
(correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC,
ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, 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
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:
|
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:
|
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 - overview:
|
Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the
Arab world, has reported strong growth since 2000, but its
economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. 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. Yemen has
worked to maintain tight control over spending and to
implement additional components of the IMF program, but a
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 (purchasing power parity):
|
$16.25 billion (2004 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
1.9% (2004 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power parity - $800 (2004 est.)
|
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 15.5%
industry: 44.7%
services: 39.7% (2004 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
5.98 million (2004 est.) |
|
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 rate:
|
35% (2003 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
45.2% (2003) |
|
Household income or consumption by
percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini
index:
|
33.4 (1998) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
12.2% (2004 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed):
|
16.1% of GDP (2004 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $4.251
billion
expenditures: $4.568 billion, including capital
expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
|
Public debt:
|
46.4% of GDP (2004 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products:
|
grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat
(mildly narcotic shrub), 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.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
3.04 billion kWh (2002 est.) |
|
Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001) |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
2.827 billion kWh (2002 est.) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh (2002) |
|
Electricity - imports:
|
0 kWh (2002) |
|
Oil - production:
|
417,500 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption:
|
78,000 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
|
Oil - exports:
|
370,300 bbl/day (2003) |
|
Oil - imports:
|
NA |
|
Oil - proved reserves:
|
4 billion bbl (2004 est.) |
|
Natural gas - production:
|
0 cu m (2003 est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption:
|
0 cu m (2003 est.) |
|
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m (2003 est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports:
|
0 cu m (2003 est.) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
480 billion cu m (2004) |
|
Current account balance:
|
$369.9 million (2004 est.) |
|
Exports:
|
$4.468 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
|
|
Exports - commodities:
|
crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish
|
|
Exports - partners:
|
Thailand 33.8%, China 30.3%, Singapore 7.8%
(2004) |
|
Imports:
|
$3.734 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
|
|
Imports - commodities:
|
food and live animals, machinery and
equipment, chemicals |
|
Imports - partners:
|
UAE 12.2%, Saudi Arabia 9.7%, China 8.8%,
France 7.3%, India 4.4%, US 4.4%, Kuwait 4.2% (2004)
|
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$5.3 billion (2004 est.) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$5.4 billion (2004 est.) |
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) (2003-07
disbursements) |
|
Currency (code):
|
Yemeni rial (YER) |
|
Currency code:
|
YER |
|
Exchange rates:
|
Yemeni rials per US dollar - 184.78 (2004),
183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002), 168.67 (2001), 161.72 (2000)
|
|
Fiscal year:
|
calendar year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
542,200 (2002) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
411,100 (2002) |
|
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
|
|
Radio broadcast stations:
|
AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
|
Radios:
|
1.05 million (1997) |
|
Television broadcast stations:
|
7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997)
|
|
Televisions:
|
470,000 (1997) |
|
Internet country code:
|
.ye |
|
Internet hosts:
|
138 (2004) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
|
1 (2000) |
|
Internet users:
|
100,000 (2002) |
|
Highways:
|
total: 67,000 km
paved: 7,705 km
unpaved: 59,295 km (1999 est.) |
|
Pipelines:
|
gas 88 km; oil 1,174 km (2004) |
|
Ports and harbors:
|
Aden, Nishtun |
|
Merchant marine:
|
total: 5 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) 19,766 GRT/24,794 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker
2, roll on/roll off 1
registered in other countries: 2 (2005) |
|
Airports:
|
44 (2004 est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
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:
|
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 branches:
|
Army (includes Special Forces), Naval Forces
and Coastal Defenses (includes Marines), Air Force (includes
Air Defense Forces), Republican Guard (2002) |
|
Military service age and obligation:
|
18 years of age for compulsory military
service; conscript service obligation - 2 years (2004)
|
|
Manpower available for military service:
|
males age 18-49:
4,058,223 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service:
|
males age 18-49:
2,790,705 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching military service age
annually:
|
males: 236,517
(2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$885.5 million (2003) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
7.8% (2003) |
|
Military - note:
|
a Coast Guard was established in 2002
|
|
Transnational Issues |
Yemen |
|
Disputes - international:
|
Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the
Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; despite
resistance from nomadic groups, the demarcation of the Saudi
Arabia-Yemen boundary established under the 2000 Jeddah
Treaty is almost complete; 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):
60,901 (Somalia) (2004) |
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