2000 Edition

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.

Area

land

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

527,970 sq km

water

0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

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

Elevation extremes

highest point

Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

lowest point

Arabian Sea 0 m

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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geographic coordinates

15 00 N, 48 00 E

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

Irrigated land

3,600 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

total

1,746 km

Land use

arable land

3%

forests and woodland

4%

other

63% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

0%

permanent pastures

30%

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 hazards

sandstorms and dust storms in summer

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 47% (male 4,220,621; female 4,076,902) 15-64 years: 49% (male 4,416,139; female 4,224,474) 65 years and over: 4% (male 275,590; female 265,480) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

43.44 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

9.86 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans

Infant mortality rate

70.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

Arabic

Life expectancy at birth

female

61.64 years (2000 est.)

male

58.1 years

total population

59.83 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

26% (1990 est.)

male

53%

total population

38%

Nationality

adjective

Yemeni

noun

Yemeni(s)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

17,479,206 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

3.36% (2000 est.)

Religions

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

Sex ratio

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female

total population

1.04 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

7.05 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Administrative divisions

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

note

there may be three new governorates - the capital city of Sanaa, Amran, Dala'a

Capital

Sanaa

Constitution

16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994

Country name

conventional long form

Republic of Yemen

conventional short form

Yemen

local long form

Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah

local short form

Al Yaman

Data code

YM

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Barbara K. BODINE

embassy

Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa

mailing address

P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa

telephone

(1) 238842

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

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

chief of mission

Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI

telephone

(202) 965-4760

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the 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); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)

election results

Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of

elections

president elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president

head of government

Prime Minister Dr. Abd al-Karim Ali al-IRYANI (since NA April 1998)

vote

Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najeeb Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7%

FAX

(202) 337-2017

(1) 251563

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

Government type

republic

Independence

22 May 1990, Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic 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, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, 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 House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

election results

percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 189, Islah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1

elections

last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held NA April 2001)

note

in May 1997, the president created a consultative council, sometimes referred to as the upper house of Parliament; its 59 members are all appointed by the president

National holiday

Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)

Political parties and leaders

there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC ; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah ; National Arab Socialist Baath Party ; Nasserite Unionist Party ; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MYQBIL]

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, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

expenditures

$1.95 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

revenues

$1.8 billion

Currency

Yemeni rial (YER) = 100 fils

Debt - external

$4.5 billion (1999)

Economic aid - recipient

$176.1 million (1995)

Economy - overview

Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but was harmed by low oil prices in 1998. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to foreign debt relief and restructuring. Aided by higher oil prices in 1999, Yemen worked to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. The high population growth rate of 3.4% and internal political dissension complicate the government's task.

Electricity - consumption

2.083 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

2.24 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

100%

hydro

0%

nuclear

0%

other

0% (1998)

Exchange rates

Yemeni rials (YER) per US$1 - 159.70 (January 2000), 160.700 (first quarter 1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997), 94.157 (1996), 40.839 (1995)

Exports

$2 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities

crude oil, cotton, coffee, dried and salted fish

Exports - partners

China 31%, South Korea 25%, Thailand 22%, Japan 5% (1998 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $12.7 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

20%

industry

42%

services

38% (1998)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $750 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 30.8% (1992)

Imports

$2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities

food and live animals, machinery and equipment, manufactured goods

Imports - partners

US 9%, UAE 8%, France 8%, Italy 7%, Saudi Arabia 7% (1998 est.)

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)

10% (1999 est.)

Labor force

NA

Labor force - by occupation

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

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

30% (1995 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

1 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios

1.05 million (1997)

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 - main lines in use

188,000 (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular

8,250 (1995)

Television broadcast stations

7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions

470,000 (1997)

Airports

50 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

13 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

37 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 5 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

7,700 km

total

67,000 km

unpaved

59,300 km (1996 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2 (1999 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 and harbors

Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Mocha, Nishtun

Railways

0 km

Military branches

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$414 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

7.6% (FY99)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 3,935,924 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 2,209,412 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - military age

14 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males

234,375 (2000 est.)

Disputes - international

a large section of boundary with Saudi Arabia is not defined

ZAMBIA