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 4,118,292; female 3,971,886)

15-64 years:

49% (male 4,243,809; female 4,065,429)

65 years and over:

3% (male 278,133; female 264,681) (1999 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:

1.05 male(s)/female

total population:

1.04 male(s)/female (1999 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, 'Adan, Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Ataq, Dhamar, Hadhramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Ta'izz

note: there may be a new governorate for the capital city of Sanaa

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:

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Barbara K. BODINE

embassy:

Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa

mailing address:

P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa

• 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

lowest 10%:

2.3%

highest 10%:

30.8% (1992)

• 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, beef;
• fish

total:

64,725 km

paved:

5,243 km

unpaved:

59,482 km (1996 est.)