1992 Edition

Climate

mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east

Coastline

1,906 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

Contiguous zone

North - 18 nm; South - 24 nm

Continental shelf

North - 200 meters (depth); South - edge of continental margin or 200 nm

Disputes

undefined section of boundary with Saudi Arabia; Administrative Line with Oman; there is a proposed treaty with Oman (which has not yet been formerly accepted) to settle the Yemeni-Omani boundary

Environment

subject to sand and dust storms in summer; scarcity of natural freshwater resources; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Exclusive economic zone

200 nm

Land area

527,970 km2; 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 boundaries

1,746 km total; Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

Land use

arable land 6%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 30%; forest and woodland 7%; other 57%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Natural resources

crude oil, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west

Note

controls Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes

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

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

527,970 km2

Birth rate

51 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

16 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

North - Arab 90%, Afro-Arab (mixed) 10%; South - almost all Arabs; a few Indians, Somalis, and Europeans

Infant mortality rate

118 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

North - NA number of workers with agriculture and herding 70%, and expatriate laborers 30% (est.); South - 477,000 with agriculture 45.2%, services 21.2%, construction 13.4%, industry 10.6%, commerce and other 9.6% (1983)

Languages

Arabic

Life expectancy at birth

49 years male, 52 years female (1992)

Literacy

38% (male 53%, female 26%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality

noun - Yemeni(s); adjective - Yemeni

Net migration rate

-3 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

North - NA; South - 348,200 and the General Confederation of Workers of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen had 35,000 members

Population

10,394,749 (July 1992), growth rate 3.3% (1992)

Religions

North - Muslim almost 100% (45% Sunni and 55% Zaydi Shi`a); NEGL Jewish; South - Sunni Muslim, some Christian and Hindu

Total fertility rate

7.3 children born/woman (1992)

Administrative divisions

17 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, `Adan, Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa`dah, San`a', Shabwah, Ta`izz

Capital

Sanaa

Chief of State and Head of Government

President `Ali `Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen); Vice President Ali Salim al-BIDH (since 22 May 1990, and Secretary General of the Yemeni Socialist Party); Presidential Council Member Salim Salih MUHAMMED; Presidential Council Member Kadi Abdul-Karim al-ARASHI; Presidential Council Member Abdul-Aziz ABDUL-GHANI; Prime Minister Haydar Abu Bakr al-`ATTAS (since 22 May 1990, former president of South Yemen)

Communists

small number in North, greater but unknown number in South

Constitution

16 April 1991

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Muhsin Ahmad al-AYNI; Chancery at Suite 840, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037; telephone (202) 965-4760 or 4761; there is a Yemeni Consulate General in Detroit and a Consulate in San Francisco US: Ambassador Arthur H. HUGHES; Embassy at Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa (mailing address is P. O. Box 22347 Sanaa, Republic of Yemen or Sanaa - Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-6330); telephone [967] (2) 238-842 through 238-852; FAX [967] (2) 251-563

Executive branch

five-member Presidential Council (president, vice president, two members from northern Yemen and one member from southern Yemen), prime minister

Flag

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 symbolic eagle centered in the white band

House of Representatives

last held NA (next to be held NA November 1992); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (301); number of seats by party NA; note - the 301 members of the new House of Representatives come from North Yemen's Consultative Assembly (159 members), South Yemen's Supreme People's Council (111 members), and appointments by the New Presidential Council (31 members)

Independence

Republic of Yemen was established on 22 May 1990 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}; previously North Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK); the union is to be solidified during a 30-month transition period, which coincides with the remainder of the five-year terms of both legislatures

Judicial branch

North - State Security Court; South - Federal High Court

Legal system

based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral House of Representatives

Long-form name

Republic of Yemen

Member of

ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)

Other political or pressure groups

conservative tribal groups, Muslim Brotherhood, leftist factions - pro-Iraqi Ba`thists, Nasirists, National Democratic Front (NDF)

Political parties and leaders

General People's Congress, `Ali `Abdallah SALIH; Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP; formerly South Yemen's ruling party - a coalition of National Front, Ba`th, and Communist Parties), Ali Salim al-BIDH; Yemen Grouping for Reform or Islaah, Abdallah Husayn AHMAR

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Type

republic

Currency

North Yemeni riyal (plural - riyals); 1 North Yemeni riyal (YR) = 100 fils; South Yemeni dinar (plural - dinars); 1 South Yemeni dinar (YD) = 1,000 fils

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $389 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.0 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $3.2 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.4 billion

Electricity

700,000 kW capacity; 1,200 million kWh produced, 120 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

North Yemeni riyals (YR) per US$1 - 12,1000 (June 1992), 12.0000 (1991), 9.7600 (1990), 9.7600 (January 1989), 9.7717 (1988), 10.3417 (1987); South Yemeni dinars (YD) per US$1 - 0.3454 (fixed rate)

External debt

$5.75 billion (December 1989 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $5.3 billion, per capita $545; real growth rate NA% (1990 est.)

Imports

commodities: textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, and cement partners: Saudi Arabia 12%, France 6%, US 5%, Australia 5% (1985)

Industries

crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; fishing; small aluminum products factory; cement

North

The low level of domestic industry and agriculture have made northern Yemen dependent on imports for virtually all of its essential needs. Large trade deficits have been made up for by remittances from Yemenis working abroad and foreign aid. Once self-sufficient in food production, northern Yemen has become a major importer. Land once used for export crops - cotton, fruit, and vegetables - has been turned over to growing qat, a mildly narcotic shrub chewed by Yemenis which has no significant export market. Oil export revenues started flowing in late 1987 and boosted 1988 earnings by about $800 million.

16.9% (1988)

13% (1986)

revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $590 million (1988 est.)

$606 million (f.o.b., 1989) commodities: crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables partners: FRG 29%, US 26%, Netherlands 12%

$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988)

growth rate 2% in manufacturing (1988)

accounted for 26% of GDP and 70% of labor force; farm products - grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton, dairy, poultry, meat, goat meat; not self-sufficient in grain

Overview

Whereas the northern city Sanaa is the political capital of a united Yemen, the southern city Aden, with its refinery and port facilities, is the economic and commercial capital. Future economic development depends heavily on Western-assisted development of promising oil resources. South Yemen's willingness to merge stemmed partly from the steady decline in Soviet economic support.

South

This has been one of the poorest Arab countries, with a per capita GNP of about $500. A shortage of natural resources, a widely dispersed population, and an arid climate have made economic development difficult. The economy has grown at an average annual rate of only 2-3% since the mid-1970s. The economy had been organized along socialist lines, dominated by the public sector. Economic growth has been constrained by a lack of incentives, partly stemming from centralized control over production decisions, investment allocation, and import choices.

0% (1989)

NA%

revenues and grants $435 million; expenditures $1.0 billion, including capital expenditure of $460 million (1988 est.)

$113.8 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.) commodities: cotton, hides, skins, dried and salted fish

$553.9 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.) commodities: grain, consumer goods, crude oil, machinery, chemicals partners: USSR, UK, Ethiopia

growth rate NA% in manufacturing

accounted for 17% of GNP and 45% of labor force; products - grain, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, fish, livestock; fish and honey major exports; most food imported

Airports

46 total, 40 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 11 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

11 major transport aircraft

Highways

15,500 km; 4,000 km paved, 11,500 km natural surface (est.)

Merchant marine

3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,309 GRT/6,568 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 1 petroleum tanker

Pipelines

crude oil 644 km, petroleum products 32 km

Ports

Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Khalf, Mocha, Nishtun, Ra's Kathib, Salif

Telecommunications

since unification in 1990, efforts are being made to create a national domestic civil telecommunications network and to revitalize the infrastructure of a united Yemen; the network consists of microwave, cable and troposcatter; 65,000 telephones (est.); broadcast stations - 4 AM, 1 FM, 10 TV; satellite earth stations - 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Intersputnik, 2 ARABSAT; microwave to Saudi Arabia, and Djibouti

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Police

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $1.06 billion, 20% of GDP (1990)

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 1,981,710; 1,127,391 fit for military service; 130,405 reach military age (14) annually