1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 527,970 km2 land area: 527,970 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming 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)
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
Environment
subject to sand and dust storms in summer; scarcity of natural freshwater resources; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
International disputes
undefined section of boundary with Saudi Arabia; Administrative Line with Oman; a treaty with Oman to settle the Yemeni-Omani boundary was ratified in December 1992
Irrigated land
3,100 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 1,746 km, Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Land use
arable land: 6% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 30% forest and woodland: 7% other: 57%
Location
Middle East, along the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, south of Saudi Arabia
Map references
Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 18 nm in the North 24 nm in the South continental shelf: 200 m depth in the North 200 nm in the South or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
petroleum, 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
People and Society
Birth rate
51 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
15.37 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
predominantly Arab; Afro-Arab concentrations in coastal locations; South Asians in southern regions; small European communities in major metropolitan areas; 60,000 (est.) Somali refugees encamped near Aden
Infant mortality rate
115.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Languages
Arabic
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 50.94 years male: 49.83 years female: 52.11 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26%
Nationality
noun: Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni
Net migration rate
-2.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
North
NA by occupation: agriculture and herding 70%, expatriate laborers 30% (est.)
Population
10,742,395 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
3.31% (1993 est.)
Religions
Muslim (including Sha'fi, Sunni, and Zaydi Shi'a), Jewish, Christian, Hindu
South
477,000 by occupation: agriculture 45.2%, services 21.2%, construction 13.4%, industry 10.6%, commerce and other 9.6% (1983)
Total fertility rate
7.27 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
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 note: there may be a new capital district of San'a'
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); 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, the former president of South Yemen)
Constitution
16 April 1991
Digraph
YM
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Muhsin Ahmad al-AYNI chancery: Suite 840, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: (202) 965-4760 or 4761 consulate general: Detroit consulate: San Francisco
Executive branch
five-member Presidential Council (president, vice president, two members from northern Yemen and one member from southern Yemen), prime minister
FAX
[967] (2) 251-563
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 27 April 1993); 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
22 May 1990 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)
Judicial branch
Supreme 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
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
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman
National holiday
Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)
Other political or pressure groups
conservative tribal groups; Muslim Brotherhood; Islamist parties; pro-Iraqi Ba'thists; Nasirists
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
18 years of age; universal
Type
republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Arthur H. HUGHES embassy: Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347 Sanaa or Sanaa, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-6330 telephone: [967] (2) 238-842 through 238-852
Economy
Agriculture
accounted for 26% of GDP; products - grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton, dairy, poultry, meat, fish; not self-sufficient in grain
Budget
revenues $NA, expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Currency
Yemeni rial (new currency); 1 North Yemeni riyal (YR) = 100 fils; 1 South Yemeni dinar (YD) = 1,000 fils note: following the establishment of the Republic of Yemen on 22 May 1990, the North Yemeni riyal and the South Yemeni dinar are to be replaced with a new Yemeni rial
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
714,000 kW capacity; 1,224 million kWh produced, 120 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
Yemeni rials per US$1 - 12.0 (official); 30-40 (unofficial) (est.); 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) note: following the establishment of the Republic of Yemen on 22 May 1990, the North Yemeni riyal and the South Yemeni dinar are to be replaced with a new Yemeni rial
Exports
$908 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables, dried and salted fish partners: US, EC countries, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
External debt
$5.75 billion (December 1989 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Imports
$2.1 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, cement, machinery, chemicals partners: Japan, Saudi Arabia, Australia, EC countries, China, Russia, US
Industrial production
growth rate NA%, accounts for 18% of GDP
Industries
crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
100% (December 1992)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $8 billion (1992 est.)
National product per capita
$775 (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate
NA%
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. Former South Yemen's willingness to merge stemmed partly from the steady decline in Soviet economic support. 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 compensated for by remittances from Yemenis working abroad and by 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. Economic growth in former South Yemen has been constrained by a lack of incentives, partly stemming from centralized control over production decisions, investment allocation, and import choices.
Unemployment rate
30% (December 1992)
Communications
Airports
total: 45 usable: 39 with permanent-surface runways: 10 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 18 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 11
Highways
15,500 km total; 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 oil tanker
Pipelines
crude oil 644 km, petroleum products 32 km
Ports
Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Khalf, Al Mukalla, Mocha, Nishtun, Ra's Kathib, Salif
Telecommunications
since unification in 1990, efforts are still being made to create a national domestic civil telecommunications network; the network consists of microwave radio relay, 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 radio relay to Saudi Arabia, and Djibouti
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, Police
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $762 million, 10% of GDP (1992)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 2,060,124; fit for military service 1,172,633; reach military age (14) annually 133,727 (1993 est.)