Yemen

Geography

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

Area:
total area 527,970 sq km
land area 527,970 sq km
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)

Land boundaries: total 1,746 km, Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

Coastline: 1,906 km

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

International disputes: undefined section of boundary with Saudi Arabia; a treaty with Oman defining the Yemeni-Omani boundary was ratified in December 1992

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

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west

Land use:
arable land 6%
permanent crops 0%
meadows and pastures 30%
forest and woodland 7%
other 57%

Irrigated land: 3,100 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues scarcity of natural freshwater resources (shortages of potable water); overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
natural hazards subject to sandstorms and dust storms in summer
international agreements party to - Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

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

People

Population: 11,105,202 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.34% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 50.72 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 14.94 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 112.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population 51.47 years
male 50.34 years
female 52.65 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 7.2 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Nationality:
noun Yemeni(s)
adjective Yemeni

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

Religions: Muslim including Sha'fi (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), Jewish, Christian, Hindu

Languages: Arabic

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population 38%
male 53%
female 26%

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 half of the labor force

Government

Names:
conventional long form Republic of Yemen
conventional short form Yemen
local long form Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
local short form Al Yaman

Digraph: YM

Type: republic

Capital: Sanaa

Administrative divisions: 17 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, Adan, Al Bayda, Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Dhamar, Hadramaut, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Marib, Sadah, Sana, Shabwah, Taizz
note there may be a new capital district of Sana

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)

National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)

Constitution: 16 May 1991

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen); note - Sanaa dismissed Vice President Ali Salim al-BIDH, Prime Minister Haydar Abu Bakr al-ATTAS (the former president of South Yemen), and 14 other southern officials following the outbreak of civil war on 4 May 1994
five-member Presidential Council president, vice president, two members from General People's Congress party, two members from Yemeni Socialist Party, and one member from Yemeni Grouping for Reform, or Islaah party
cabinet Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral
House of Representatives elections last held 27 April 1993 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (301 total) GPC 124, YSP 55, Islaah 61, Ba'thist parties 7, Nasserist parties 4, Hizb al-Haqq 2, Independents 47, election nullified 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Ba'thist parties; General People's Congress (GPC), Ali Abdallah SALIH; Hizb al Haqq, Ibrahim al-WAZIR, Sheikh Ahmad ibn Ali SHAMI (Secretary General); Nasserist parties; Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), Ali Salim al-BIDH; Yemeni Grouping for Reform or Islaah, Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR

Other political or pressure groups: NA

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

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission Ambassador Muhsin Ahmad AL-AYNI
chancery Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
telephone (202) 965-4760 or 4761
FAX (202) 337-2017
consulate general(s) Detroit

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] (1) 238-842 through 238-852
FAX [967] (1) 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

Economy

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 its 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 have made northern Yemen dependent on imports for practically all of its essential needs. Large trade deficits have been compensated for by remittances from Yemenis working abroad and by foreign aid. Because of the Gulf crisis, remittances have dropped substantially. 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. Nominal growth in 1994-95 is apt to be under 3% annually because of low oil prices and political deadlock that is causing a lack of economic cooperation and leadership.

National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $9 billion (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate: 3.1% (1993 est.)

National product per capita: $800 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 55% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% (December 1992)

Budget:
revenues $NA
expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports: $695 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables, dried and salted fish
partners Italy 55%, US 32%, Jordan 5% (1991)

Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, cement, machinery, chemicals
partners UAE 6%, Japan 6%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Kuwait 6%, US 6% (1991)

External debt: $7 billion (1993)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%, accounts for 18% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity 714,000 kW
production 1.224 billion kWh
consumption per capita 120 kWh (1992)

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

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

Economic aid:
recipient US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $389 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $3.2 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.4 billion

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

Exchange rates: Yemeni rials per US$1 - 12.0 (official); 70 (market rate, April 1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Highways:
total 15,500 km
paved 4,000 km
unpaved natural surface 11,500 km

Pipelines: crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km

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

Merchant marine: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,309 GRT/6,568 DWT, cargo 2, oil tanker 1

Airports:
total 46
usable 40
with permanent-surface runways 10
with runways over 3,659 m 0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m 18
with runways 1,220-2,439 m 11

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

Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,142,519; fit for military service 1,219,985; reach military age (14) annually 137,497 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $762 million, 14% of GDP (1992)