1996 Edition

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 symbolic eagle centered in the white band

Location

15 00 N, 48 00 E -- Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

land area

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)

total area

527,970 sq km

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

current issues

very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

international agreements

party to - Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

natural hazards

sandstorms and dust storms in summer

Geographic coordinates

15 00 N, 48 00 E

Geographic note

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

International disputes

large section of boundary with Saudi Arabia not defined; a dispute with Eritrea over sovereignty of the Hanish Islands in the southern Red Sea has been submitted to arbitration under the auspices of the International Court of Justice

Irrigated land

3,100 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

total

1,746 km

Land use

arable land

6%

forest and woodland

7%

meadows and pastures

30%

other

57%

permanent crops

0%

Location

Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Map references

Middle East

Maritime claims

contiguous zone

18 nm in the North; 24 nm in the South

continental shelf

200 nm 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

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

highest point

Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

lowest point

Arabian Sea 0 m

Age structure

0-14 years: 48% (male 3,302,489; female 3,122,246) 15-64 years: 50% (male 3,327,682; female 3,364,787) 65 years and over: 2% (male 158,018; female 207,956) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

45.22 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

9.59 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

predominantly Arab; Afro-Arab concentrations in western coastal locations; South Asians in southern regions; small European communities in major metropolitan areas

Infant mortality rate

71.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

Arabic

Life expectancy at birth

female

60.99 years (1996 est.)

male

58.23 years

total population

59.58 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

female

26%

male

53%

total population

38%

Nationality

adjective

Yemeni

noun

Yemeni(s)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

13,483,178 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

3.56% (1996 est.)

Religions

Muslim including Sha'fi (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

Sex ratio

all ages

1.01 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years

1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

7.29 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Administrative divisions

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

note

there may be a new governorate for the capital city of Sanaa

Capital

Sanaa

Constitution

16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994

Data code

YM

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

chief of mission

Ambassador Muhsin Ahmad al-AYNI

telephone

[1] (202) 965-4760, 4761

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers was appointed by the president on advice of the prime minister

chief of state

President Lt. Gen. Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen) was elected for a five-year term by the House of Representatives; election last held 1 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since NA October 1994) was appointed by the president

head of government

Prime Minister Abd al-Aziz ABD AL-GHANI (since NA October 1994) was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime Ministers Abd al-Wahhab al-ANISI (since NA October 1994), Dr. Abd al-Karim Ali al-IRYANI (since NA October 1994), Dr. Muhammad Said al-ATTAR (since NA October 1994), and Abd al-Qadir al-BA JAMAL (since NA October 1994)

FAX

[1] (202) 337-2017

[967] (1) 251563

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

elections last held 27 April 1993 (next to be held NA May 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (301 total) GPC 124, Islaah 61, YSP 55, others 13, independents 47, election nullified 1

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)

International organization participation

ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

unicameral

Name of country

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

NA

Political parties and leaders

over 40 political parties are active in Yemen, but only three project significant influence; since the May-July 1994 civil war, President SALIH's General People's Congress (GPC) and Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Yemeni Grouping for Reform, or Islaah, have joined to form a coalition government; the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), headed by Ali Salih UBAYD, has regrouped as a loyal opposition

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type of government

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission

Ambassador David G. NEWTON

embassy

Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa

mailing address

P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa

telephone

[967] (1) 238843 through 238852

Agriculture

grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, poultry, meat; fish

Budget

expenditures

$1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

revenues

$1.4 billion

Currency

Yemeni rial (new currency)

Economic aid

recipient

ODA, $148 million (1993)

Economic 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 the country's moderate 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 has made northern Yemen dependent on imports for practically all of its essential needs. 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 a shrub called qat, whose leaves are chewed for their stimulant effect by Yemenis and which has no significant export market. 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. Yemen's large trade deficits have been compensated for by remittances from Yemenis working abroad and by foreign aid. Since the Gulf crisis, remittances have dropped substantially. High inflation and political divisions hinder the development of a forward-looking economic policy.

Electricity

capacity

810,000 kW

consumption per capita

149 kWh (1993)

production

1.8 billion kWh

Exchange rates

Yemeni rials per US$1 - 12.010 (official fixed rate); 90 (market rate, December 1994)

Exports

$1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

commodities

crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables, dried and salted fish

partners

US 17%, Japan 16%, Singapore 15%, China 13% (1994)

External debt

$8 billion (1996)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $37.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

21%

industry

24%

services

55%

GDP per capita

$2,520 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

3.6% (1995 est.)

Imports

$1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)

commodities

textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, cement, machinery, chemicals

partners

US 11%, UK 7%, France 7%, Germany 5%, Japan 5% (1994)

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

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)

71.3% (1994 est.)

Labor force

no reliable estimates exist, most people are employed in agriculture and herding or as expatriate laborers; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-half of the labor force

Unemployment rate

30% (1995 est.)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary (includes Police)

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

2,985,764

males fit for military service

1,685,517

males reach military age (18) annually

145,161 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios

NA

Telephone system

since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network

domestic

the network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, and tropospheric scatter

international

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

Telephones

131,655 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations

10

Televisions

350,000 (1992 est.) Defense

Airports

total

41

with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

1

with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m

6

with paved runways over 3 047 m

2

with paved runways under 914 m

3

with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

9

with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m

8

with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m

10 (1995 est.)

with unpaved runways over 3 047 m

2

Highways

paved

4,831 km

total

51,392 km

unpaved

46,561 km (1992 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

cargo 1, oil tanker 2 (1995 est.)

total

3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,059 GRT/18,563 DWT

Pipelines

crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km

Ports

Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, Mocha, Nishtun

Railways

0 km