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

• very limited natural fresh water resources;
• inadequate supplies of potable water;
• overgrazing;
• soil erosion;
• desertification

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

0-14 years:

48% (male 4,016,052; female 3,859,079)

15-64 years:

49% (male 4,066,601; female 3,902,686)

65 years and over:

3% (male 280,152; female 263,393) (July 1998 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.06 male(s)/female (1998 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); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since NA October 1994)

head of government:

Acting Prime Minister Dr. Abd al-Karim Ali al-IRYANI (since NA April 1998)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister

elections:

• President SALIH was elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term, however, future presidents will be elected by direct, popular vote for five-year terms;
• election last held 1 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1999);
• vice president appointed by the president;
• prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president

election results:

Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of House of Representatives vote-NA

chief of mission:

Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI

chancery:

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

telephone:

[1] (202) 965-4760

chief of mission:

Ambassador Barbara K. BODINE

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 value:

$2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)

commodities:

crude oil, cotton, coffee, dried and salted fish

partners:

China 23%, South Korea 19%, Thailand 14%, Brazil 13%, Japan 12%, Thailand 7% (1995)

total value:

$2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)

commodities:

textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, cement, machinery, chemicals

partners:

US 12%, France 11%, UAE 10%, Saudi Arabia 7%, UK 5% (1995)

total:

64,725 km

paved:

5,243 km

unpaved:

59,482 km (1996 est.)

• a large section of boundary with Saudi Arabia is 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;
• a decision on the Islands is expected in mid-1998 ZAMBIA