|
| 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 |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous
zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or
to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200
NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| 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: 3%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures: 33.5%
forests and woodland: 4%
other: 46.5% (1999) |
| Irrigated
land: |
5,674
sq km (1999) |
| 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, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified:
Nuclear Test Ban |
| 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: |
18,078,035
(July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14
years: 47.21% (male 4,340,436;
female 4,195,076)
15-64 years: 49.79% (male
4,598,301; female 4,402,402)
65 years and over: 3% (male
274,202; female 267,618) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
3.38%
(2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
43.36
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
9.58
deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at
birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02
male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female
(2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
68.53
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 60.21 years
male: 58.45 years
female: 62.05 years (2001
est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
6.97
children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.01%
(1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
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 |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 38%
male: 53%
female: 26% (1990 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 |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| 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 more
governorates: Al Daleh, Shabwah, and the
capital city of Sana'a |
| Independence: |
22
May 1990, Republic of Yemen was
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]; 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) |
| 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 Field
Marshall 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 five-year
term (a new constitution amendment extends
the term by two years to a seven-year
term); 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%, Najeeb
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
1997 (next to be held 27 April 2003)
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;
latest seats by party: GPC 223, Islah 64,
Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab
Socialist Baath Party 2, YSP 2,
independents 7 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme
Court |
| 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
[President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic
Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah
bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab
Socialist Baath Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM];
Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI];
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, boycotted the April 1997
legislative election, but announced that
it would participate in Yemen's first
local elections to be held in February
2001; these local elections aim to
decentralize political power and are a key
element of the government's political
reform program |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| 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 (observer) |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief
of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab
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 Edmund J.
HULL (since 17 Sep. 2001)
embassy: Dhahar Himyar Zone,
Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa
mailing address: P. O. Box
22347, Sanaa
telephone: [967] (1) 303-161
FAX: [967] (1) 303-182 |
| 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, 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 1999-2000,
Yemen worked to maintain tight control
over spending and implement additional
components of the IMF program. A high
population growth rate of nearly 3.4% and
internal political dissension complicate
the government's task. |
| GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $14.4 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
6%
(2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $820 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
20%
industry: 42%
services: 38% (1998) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
19%
(1992 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest
10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 30.8% (1992) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
10%
(2000 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: |
30%
(1995 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$3 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA
(2001 est.) |
| Industries: |
crude
oil production and petroleum refining;
small-scale production of cotton textiles
and leather goods; food processing;
handicrafts; small aluminum products
factory; cement |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
2.4
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil
fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
2.232
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0
kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0
kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
grain,
fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly
narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy
products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle,
camels), poultry; fish |
| Exports: |
$4.2
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
crude
oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
| Exports
- partners: |
Thailand
34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Japan 3%
(1999) |
| Imports: |
$2.7
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
food
and live animals, machinery and equipment |
| Imports
- partners: |
Saudi
Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, US 7%, France 7%,
Italy 6% (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$4.4
billion (2000) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$176.1
million (1995) |
| Currency: |
Yemeni
rial (YER) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Yemeni
rials per US dollar - 164.590 (October
2000), 160.683 (2000), 155.718 (1999),
135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997), 94.157
(1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar
year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
291,359
(1999) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
32,042
(2000) |
| 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: 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
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1
(2000) |
| Internet
users: |
12,000
(2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
69,263 km
paved: 9,963 km
unpaved: 59,300 km (1999) |
| Pipelines: |
crude
oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Aden,
Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Mocha,
Nishtun |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
15,075 GRT/23,562 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1,
petroleum tanker 3 (2000 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 (2000 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 (2000 est.) |
| Disputes
- international: |
a
June 2000 treaty delimited the boundary
with Saudi Arabia, but final demarcation
requires adjustments based on tribal
considerations |
|
