Yemen

• large section of boundary with Saudi Arabia 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

• 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

lowest point:

Arabian Sea 0 m

highest point:

Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

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:

48% (male 3,302,489; female 3,122,246)

15-64 years:

50% (male 3,327,682; female 3,364,787)

65 years and over:

2% (male 158,018; female 207,956) (July 1996 est.)

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:

0.76 male(s)/female

all ages:

1.01 male(s)/female (1996 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

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, 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

• 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 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) was elected for a five-year term by the House of Representatives; election last held 1 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since NA October 1994) was appointed by the president

head of government:

• Prime Minister Abd al-Aziz ABD AL-GHANI (since NA October 1994) was appointed by the president;
• 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 was appointed by the president on advice of the prime minister

• elections last held 27 April 1993 (next to be held NA May 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 G. NEWTON

embassy:

Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa

mailing address:

P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa

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

• 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

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

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

total:

51,392 km

paved:

4,831 km

unpaved:

46,561 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 (1995 est.)

males age 15-49:

2,985,764

males fit for military service:

1,685,517

males reach military age (18) annually:

145,161 (1996 est.)