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Communications

Broadcast media (Radio) [time series]

broadcast stations: AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]

65,000 telephones; since unification in 1990, efforts are still being made to create a national domestic civil telecommunications network local: NA intercity: the network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, and troposcatter international: 3 INTELSAT (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, and 2 ARABSAT earth stations; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti

Broadcast media (Television) [time series]

broadcast stations: 10 televisions: NA

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $1.65 billion, 7.1% of GDP (1993) ZAIRE

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 3,135,649; males fit for military service 1,771,226; males reach military age (14) annually 181,057 (1995 est.)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for 26% of GDP; products - grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton, dairy, poultry, meat, fish; not self-sufficient in grain

Budget [time series]

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

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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

Economic aid [time series]

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

Electricity [time series]

capacity: 810,000 kW production: 1.8 billion kWh consumption per capita: 149 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates [time series]

Yemeni rials per US$1 - 12.0 (official); 90 (market rate, December 1994)

Exports [time series]

$1.75 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables, dried and salted fish partners: Germany 28%, Japan 15%, UK 9%, Austria 7%, China 7% (1992)

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$7 billion (1993)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Imports [time series]

$2.65 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, cement, machinery, chemicals partners: US 16%, UK 7%, Japan 6%, France 6%, Italy 6% (1992)

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate NA%, accounts for 18% of GDP

Industries [time series]

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) [time series]

145% (1994 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (National product) [time series]

GDP - purchasing power parity - $23.4 billion (1994 est.)

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$1,955 (1994 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

-1.4% (1994 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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. Growth in 1994-95 is constrained by low oil prices, rapid inflation, and political deadlock that are causing a lack of economic cooperation and leadership. However, a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia in February 1995 and the expectation of a rise in oil prices brighten Yemen's economic prospects.

Unemployment rate [time series]

30% (December 1994)

Geography

Area [time series]

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)

Climate [time series]

mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east

Coastline [time series]

1,906 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

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

Irrigated land [time series]

3,100 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

total 1,746 km, Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

Land use [time series]

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

Location [time series]

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

Map references [time series]

Middle East

Maritime claims [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Note [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

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

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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 governorate for the capital city of Sanaa

Capital [time series]

Sanaa

Constitution [time series]

16 May 1991

Digraph [time series]

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation in US) [time series]

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

Executive branch [time series]

chief of state: President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen); Vice President 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) cabinet: Council of Ministers

Diplomatic representation in the US (FAX) [time series]

[1] (202) 337-2017

Diplomatic representation in the US (FAX) [time series]

[967] (1) 251563

Flag [time series]

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

Legislative branch (House of Representatives) [time series]

elections last held 27 April 1993 (next to be held NA 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 [time series]

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)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, 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, WTO

Country name (Names) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

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 [time series]

18 years of age; universal

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador David NEWTON embassy: Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347 Sanaa; Sanaa, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-6330 telephone: [967] (1) 238843 through 238852

People

Age structure [time series]

0-14 years: 50% (female 3,551,953; male 3,776,358) 15-64 years: 48% (female 3,505,735; male 3,508,229) 65 years and over: 2% (female 216,210; male 169,989) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate [time series]

44.85 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate [time series]

8.01 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

58.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages [time series]

Arabic

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 62.51 years male: 61.57 years female: 63.5 years (1995 est.)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

noun: Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni

Net migration rate [time series]

3.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population [time series]

14,728,474 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

4.02% (1995 est.)

Religions [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

7.15 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Transportation

Airports [time series]

total: 46 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 4 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 2 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 10 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 12

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

total: 51,390 km paved: 4,830 km unpaved: 46,560 km (1992 est.)

Merchant marine [time series]

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

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km

Ports [time series]

Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, Mocha, Nishtun

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

0 km