Yemen

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

• 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

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

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.)

noun:

Yemeni(s)

adjective:

Yemeni

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

• 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

conventional long form:

Republic of Yemen

conventional short form:

Yemen

local long form:

Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah

local short form:

Al Yaman

• 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

• 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)

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

• 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

• 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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Muhsin Ahmad al-AYNI

chancery:

Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

telephone:

[1] (202) 965-4760, 4761

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

• 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

revenues:

$NA

expenditures:

$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

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

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

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

• 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

total:

51,390 km

paved:

4,830 km

unpaved:

46,560 km (1992 est.)

total:

3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,059 GRT/18,563 DWT

ships by type:

cargo 1, oil tanker 2

broadcast stations:

AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0

radios:

NA

broadcast stations:

10

televisions:

NA

• 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.)