Yemen
republic
Yemen as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 55 fields, one of 35 editions from 1991 to 2025.
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Geography
11 fieldsCoastline
- 1,906 km Contiguous zone: North--18 nm;
- South--24 nm;
- Continental shelf: North--200 meters (depth);
- South--edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
- Exclusive economic zone: North--no claim;
- South 200 nm;
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate
- desert;
- hot and humid along west coast;
- temperate in western mountains;
- 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
- crude oil, fish, rock salt, marble;
- small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper;
- fertile soil in west
Land use
- arable land 6%;
- permanent crops NEGL%;
- meadows and pastures 30%;
- forest and woodland 7%;
- other 57%;
- includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment
- subject to sand and dust storms in summer;
- scarcity of natural freshwater resources;
- overgrazing;
- soil erosion;
- desertification
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
10 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1991)
Nationality
- noun--Yemeni(s);
- adjective--Yemeni North--Arab 90%, Afro-Arab (mixed) 10%;
- South--almost all Arabs;
- a few Indians, Somalis, and Europeans North--Muslim 100% (Sunni and Shia);
- South--Sunni Muslim, some Christian and Hindu
Literacy
- 38% (male 53%, female 26%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) North--NA number of workers with agriculture and herding 70%, and expatriate laborers 30% (est.);
- South--477,000 with agriculture 45.2%, services 21.2%, construction 13.4%, industry 10.6%, commerce and other 9.6% (1983) North--NA;
- South--348,200 and the General Confederation of Workers of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen had 35,000 members
Government
Republic
17 fieldsAdministrative divisions
- 17 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah);
- Abyan, Adan, Al Bayda, Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Marib, Sadah, Sana, Shabwah, Taizz
Independence
- 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);
- the union is to be solidified during a 30-month transition period, which coincides with the remainder of the five-year terms of both legislatures
Legal system
based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Executive branch
five-member Presidential Council (president, vice president, two members from northern Yemen and one member from southern Yemen), prime minister
Legislative branch
unicameral House of Representatives; note--northern Yemen's Consultative Assembly (Majlis Chura) and southern Yemen's Supreme People's Council (Majlis al-Shab al-Ala) will combine to form the basis for the new unicameral House of Representatives
Judicial branch
- North--State Security Court;
- South--Federal High Court Chief of State and Head of Government President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen);
- Vice President Ali Salim al-BIDH (since 22 May 1990, secretary general of the Yemeni Socialist Party);
- Presidential Council Member Salim Salih MUHAMMED (southern Yemen);
- Presidential Council Member Kadi Abdul-Karim al-ARASHI (northern Yemen);
- Presidential Council Member Abdul-Aziz ABDUL-GHANI (northern Yemen);
- Prime Minister Haydar Abu Bakr al-ATTAS (since 22 May 1990, former president of South Yemen) General People's Congress, Ali Abdallah SALIH;
- Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP; formerly South Yemen's ruling party--a coalition of National Front, Bath, and Communist Parties), Ali Salim al-BIDH
Suffrage
- universal at age 18 House of Representatives--last held NA (next to be held 26-27 May, 12 June, and 24 July 1991);
- results--percent of vote NA;
- seats--(301);
- number of seats by party NA;
- note--the 301 members of the new House of Representatives will come from North Yemen's Consultative Assembly (159 members), South Yemen's Supreme People's Council (111 members), and appointments by the New Presidential Council (31 members)
Other political or pressure groups
conservative tribal groups, Muslim Brotherhood, leftist factions--pro-Iraqi Bathists, Nasirists, National Democratic Front (NDF)
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
- Ambassador Muhsin Ahmad al-AYNI;
- 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 Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa (mailing address is P. O. Box 22347 Sanaa, Republic of Yemen or Sanaa--Department of State, Washington, D. C. 20521-6330);
- telephone [967] (2) 238-842 through 238-852
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
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.
7 fieldsOverview
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 promising oil resources.
South Yemen's willingness to merge stemmed partly from the steady decline in Soviet economic support. North--The low level of domestic industry and agriculture have made northern Yemen dependent on imports for virtually all of its essential needs. Large trade deficits have been made up for by remittances from Yemenis working abroad and foreign aid.
Once self-sufficient in food production, northern Yemen has been 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.
South--This has been one of the poorest Arab countries, with a per capita GNP of about $500. A shortage of natural resources, a widely dispersed population, and an arid climate have made economic development difficult. The economy has grown at an average annual rate of only 2-3% since the mid-1970s.
The economy had been organized along socialist lines, dominated by the public sector. Economic growth has been constrained by a lack of incentives, partly stemming from centralized control over production decisions, investment allocation, and import choices.
GDP
- $5.3 billion, per capita $545;
- real growth rate NA% (1990 est.) North--16.9% (1988);
- South--0% (1989) North--13% (1986);
- South--NA% North--revenues $1.4 billion;
- expenditures $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $590 million (1988 est.);
- South--revenues and grants $435 million;
- expenditures $1.0 billion, including capital expenditure of $460 million (1988 est.) North--$606 million (f.o.b., 1989);
- commodities--crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables;
- partners--FRG 29%, US 26%, Netherlands 12%;
- South--$113.8 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
- commodities--cotton, hides, skins, dried and salted fish;
- partners--Japan, North Yemen, Italy North--$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
- commodities--textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, and cement;
- partners--Saudi Arabia 12%, France 6%, US 5%, Australia 5% (1985);
- South--$553.9 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
- commodities--grain, consumer goods, crude oil, machinery, chemicals;
- partners--USSR, UK, Ethiopia
Industries
- crude oil production and petroleum refining;
- small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods;
- food processing;
- handicrafts;
- fishing;
- small aluminum products factory;
- cement North--accounted for 26% 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;
- South--accounted for 17% of GNP and 45% of labor force;
- products--grain, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, fish, livestock;
- fish and honey major exports;
- most food imported
Economic aid
- US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $389 million;
- Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.9 billion;
- OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $3.2 billion;
- Communist countries (1970-89), $2.4 billion North Yemeni riyal (plural--riyals);
- 1 North Yemeni riyal (YR) = 100 fils;
- South Yemeni dinar (plural--dinars);
- 1 South Yemeni dinar (YD) = 1,000 fils North 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);
- South Yemeni dinars (YD) per US$1--0.3454 (fixed rate)
Communications
7 fieldsMerchant marine, 3 ships by typeone square, one ship
Telecommunications
- the North has a poor but improving system with new radio relay and cable networks, while the South has a small system of open-wire, radio relay, multiconductor cable, and radio communications stations;
- 65,000 telephones (est.);
- stations--4 AM, no FM, 22 TV;
- satellite earth stations--2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Intersputnik, 2 ARABSAT;
- radio relay to Saudi Arabia, and Djibouti
Defense Forces
Army, Navy, Air Force, Police
3 fieldsManpower availability
- males 15-49, 1,906,887;
- 1,084,122 fit for military service;
- 134,158 reach military age (14) annually
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Yemen.” The World Factbook 1991. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/yemen/1991.