Yemen Arab Republic

republicIndependence November 1918 (from Ottoman Empire)

Yemen Arab Republic as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 71 fields, the only edition to carry it.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalSanaa

Area195,000 km2

Corrected. Source files this entry under Yemen. The 1990 edition has separate entries for North and South Yemen. All corrections

Geography

14 fields

Land useshare of 195,000 km2

arable land 14%meadows and pastures 36%forest and woodland 8%other 42%NEGL% permanent crops; includes 1% irrigated

Total area

195,000km2

land area: 195,000 km2Comparative area: slightly smaller than South Dakota

Coastline

523km

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

1,209km total

Saudi Arabia 628 km, PDRY 581 km

Disputes

sections of the boundary with PDRY are indefinite or undefined; undefined section of boundary with Saudi Arabia

Climate

desert;
hot and humid along coast;
temperate in central mountains;
harsh desert in east

Terrain

narrow coastal plain (Tihama);
western mountains;
flat dissected plain in center sloping into desert interior of Arabian Peninsula

Natural resources

crude oil, rock salt, marble;
small deposits of coal, nickel, and copper;
fertile soil

Environment

subject to sand and dust storms in summer;
overgrazing;
soil erosion;
desertification

Note

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

People

13 fields

Population

7,160,981

(July 1990), growth rate 3.1% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

52Death

Ethnic divisions

Arab 90%Afro-Arab (mixed) 10%

Literacy

15%

(est.)

Labor force

NA; 70% agriculture and herding, 30% expatriate laborers (est.)

Government

Republic

18 fields

Type

republic; military regime assumed power in June 1974

Administrative divisions

11 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Al Bayda, Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahwit, Dhamar, Hajjah, Ibb, Marib, Sadah, Sana, Taizz

Constitution

28 December 1970, suspended 19 June 1974

Legal system

based on Turkish law, Islamic law, and local customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday

Proclamation of the Republic, 26 September (1962)

Executive branch

president, vice president, prime minister, four deputy prime ministers, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch

unicameral Consultative Assembly (Majlis ash-Shura)

State Security Court Chief of State--President Col. Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 18 July 1978); Vice President (vacant); Head of Government--Prime Minister Abd al-Aziz ABD AL-GHANI (since 12 November 1983, previously prime minister from 1975-1980 and co-Vice President from October 1980 to November 1983)

Political parties and leaders

no legal political parties; in 1983 President Salih started the General People's Congress, which is designed to function as the country's sole political party

Suffrage

universal at age 18 Consultative Assembly--last held 5 July 1988 (next to be held NA);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(159 total, 128 elected)

Communists

small number

Other political or pressure groups

conservative tribal groups, Muslim Brotherhood, leftist factions--pro-Iraqi Bathists, Nasirists, National Democratic Front (NDF) supported by the PDRY

Member of

ACC, Arab League, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Mohsin A. al-AINI;
Chancery at Suite 840, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037;
telephone (202) 965-4760 or 4761;
there is a Yemeni Consulate General in Detroit and a Consulate in San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Charles F. DUNBAR;
Embassy at address NA, Sanaa (mailing address is P. O. Box 1088, Sanaa);
telephone [967] (2) 271950 through 271958

Flag

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a large green five-pointed star centered in the white band;
similar to the flags of Iraq, which has three stars, and Syria, which has two stars--all green and five-pointed 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

The low level of domestic industry and agriculture make North Yemen dependent on imports for virtually all of its essential needs.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$5.5billion

per capita $820; real growth rate 19.7% (1988 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

16.9%

(1988)

Unemployment rate

13%

(1986)

External debt

$3.5billion

(December 1989 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$1.32 billionExpenditures

$2.18 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $588 million (1988 est.)

Overview

The low level of domestic industry and agriculture make North Yemen dependent on imports for virtually all of its essential needs. Large trade deficits are made up for by remittances from Yemenis working abroad and foreign aid. Once self-sufficient in food production, the YAR is now a major importer.

Land once used for export crops--cotton, fruit, and vegetables--has been turned over to growing qat, a mildly narcotic shrub chewed by Yemenis that has no significant export market. Oil export revenues started flowing in late 1987 and boosted 1988 earnings by about $800 million.

Exports

$853 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables;
partners--US 41%, PDRY 14%, Japan 12%

Imports

$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, and cement;
partners--Italy 10%, Saudi Arabia 9%, US 9.3%, Japan 9%, UK 8% (1985)

Industrial production

growth rate 2% in manufacturing (1988)

Electricity

415,000 kW capacity; 500 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

crude oil production, small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods;
food processing;
handicrafts;
fishing;
small aluminum products factory;
cement

Agriculture

accounts for 50% of GDP and 70% of labor force;
farm products--grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton, dairy, poultry, meat, goat meat;
not self-sufficient in grain

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (1970-88), $354 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.4 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $248 million

Currency

Yemeni riyal (plural--riyals); 1 Yemeni riyal (YR) = 100 fils

Exchange rates

Yemeni riyals (YR) per US$1--9.7600 (January 1990), 9.7600 (1989), 9.7717 (1988), 10.3417 (1987), 9.6392 (1986), 7.3633 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

7 fields

Airports, 19 total, 14 usable

permanent-surface runways

3runways over 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

9runways 1,220-2,439 m

system poor but improving;
new radio relay and cable networks;
50,000 telephones;
stations--3 AM, no FM, 17 TV;
satellite earth stations--1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT;
tropospheric scatter to PDRY;
radio relay to PDRY, Saudi Arabia, and Djibouti

Defense Forces

Army, Navy, Air Force, Police

3 fields

Military manpower

males 15-49

1,289,217fit for military service

734,403reach military age (18) annually

79,609

Defense expenditures

$358million

(1987)

Branches