Yemen

Radio broadcast stations

AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios

325,000 (1993 est.)

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

100,000 (1993 est.)

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $3 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

Currency

Yemeni rial (YRl) (new currency)

Debt - external

$8 billion (1996)

Economic aid

recipient : ODA, $148 million (1993)

Economy - overview

The northern city Sanaa is the political capital of a united Yemen, and 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 GDP has been supplemented by remittances from Yemenis working abroad and by foreign aid. Since the Gulf crisis, however, remittances have dropped substantially. Floods in June 1996 caused the loss of much valuable topsoil in the agricultural sector, increasing the need for imports of foodstuffs. Oil production and GDP as a whole are expected to increase moderately in 1997.

Electricity - capacity

810,000 kW (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita

117 kWh (1995 est.)

Electricity - production

1.84 billion kWh (1994)

Exchange rates

Yemeni rials (YRl) per US$1 - 50.04 (new official fixed rate), 40.839 (1995), 12.010 (official fixed rate 1992-94); 490 (market rate, December 1994) note : on 29 March 1995 the official rate was changed from 12.01 Yemeni rials to 50.04 Yemeni rials per US dollar

Exports

total value: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities : crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables, dried and salted fish partners: China 23%, South Korea 19%, Japan 12%, Singapore 10%, Brazil 9%, Thailand 7% (1995)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $39.1 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 14% industry: 35% services : 51%

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $2,900 (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

2.8% (1996 est.)

Imports

total value: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities: textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, cement, machinery, chemicals partners: UAE 14%, Saudi Arabia 10%, US 8%, Malaysia 6%, UK 5% (1995)

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 price index

85% (1996 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.)

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

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

lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 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, 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

controls 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

total: 1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

Land use

arable land : 3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 30% forests and woodland: 4% other : 63% (1993 est.)

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

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

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 David G. NEWTON embassy: Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa mailing address : P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 238843 through 238852

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) chancery : Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760, 4761

Executive branch

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 NA October 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Aziz ABD AL-GHANI (since NA October 1994); 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) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections : president elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term; election last held 1 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); 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 House of Representatives vote - NA

FAX

[1] (202) 337-2017

FAX

[967] (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 symbolic eagle centered in the white band

Government type

republic

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, ISO (correspondent), 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 House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held NA April 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 189, Islaah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1

National capital

Sanaa

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 important are: General People's Congress (GPC), President Ali Abdallah SALIH; Yemeni Reform Grouping or Islaah, Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR; Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), Ali Salih UBAYD; Nasserite Unionist Party, leader NA; Baath Party, leader NA note: following the May-July 1994 civil war, President SALIH's General People's Congress and Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Yemeni Reform Grouping, or Islaah, formed a coalition government, but it is unclear whether this coalition will continue in light of the GPC's landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election

Political pressure groups and leaders

NA

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Military branches

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA%

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49 : 3,109,553 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males: 1,753,779 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - military age

18 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males: 148,864 (1997 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 48% (male 3,421,216; female 3,237,594) 15-64 years : 49% (male 3,454,912; female 3,479,395) 65 years and over: 3% (male 162,600; female 216,760) (July 1997 est.)

Birth rate

44.83 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate

9.17 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

Infant mortality rate

68.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Languages

Arabic

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 60.31 years male : 58.9 years female: 61.78 years (1997 est.)

Literacy

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

Nationality

noun: Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Population

13,972,477 (July 1997 est.) note: other estimates range as high as 16.6 million

Population growth rate

3.57% (1997 est.)

Religions

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

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years : 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

7.18 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Disputes - international

a large section of boundary with Saudi Arabia is 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 ZAMBIA

Airports

42 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 12 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 30 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m : 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m : 10 (1996 est.)

Highways

total: 51,392 km paved : 4,831 km unpaved: 46,561 km (1992 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,059 GRT/18,563 DWT ships by type : cargo 1, oil tanker 2 (1996 est.)

Pipelines

crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km

Ports and harbors

Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, Mocha, Nishtun

Railways

0 km