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

• petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble;
• small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper;
• fertile soil in west

total:

6.63 cu km/yr (4%/1%/95%)

per capita:

316 cu m/yr (2000)

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Yemeni(s)

adjective:

Yemeni

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.91 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis (2009)

conventional long form:

Republic of Yemen

conventional short form:

Yemen

local long form:

Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah

local short form:

Al Yaman

former:

Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]

name:

Sanaa

geographic coordinates:

15 21 N, 44 12 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 21 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah);
• Abyan, 'Adan (Aden), Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Amanat al 'Asimah (Sanaa City), 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Raymah, Sa'dah, San'a' (Sanaa), Shabwah, Ta'izz

• 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen was established 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]);
• note - previously North Yemen became independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and became a republic with the overthrow of the theocratic Imamate in 1962;
• South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)

chief of state:

President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990); Vice President Abd al-Rabuh Mansur HADI (Maj. Gen.); note - on 24 November 2011 President SALIH signed a GCC-brokered agreement to step down

head of government:

Interim Prime Minister Muhammad Salim BA SINDWAH (since 27 November 2011)

cabinet:

on 27 November 2011, Vice President HADI requested Interim Prime Minister Muhammad BA SINDWAH to form a new government following the resignation of President SALIH on 24 November; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term;
• election last held on 20 September 2006 (next to be held in February 2012);
• 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 vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faysal BIN SHAMLAN 21.8%, other 1%

• General People's Congress or GPC [Abdul-Kader BAJAMMAL];
• Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Muhammed Abdallah AL-YADUMI];
• Nasserite Unionist Party [Abd al-Malik al-MAKHLAFI];
• National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM];
• Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Yasin Said NU'MAN];
• note - there are at least seven more active political parties

chief of mission:

Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI

chancery:

2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 965-4760

FAX:

[1] (202) 337-2017

chief of mission:

Ambassador Gerald M. FEIERSTEIN

embassy:

Sa'awan Street, Sanaa

mailing address:

P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa

telephone:

[967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266

FAX:

[967] (1) 303-182

name:

"al-qumhuriyatu l-muttahida" (United Republic)

lyrics/music:

Abdullah Abdulwahab NOA'MAN/Ayyoab Tarish ABSI

note: adopted 1990; the music first served as the anthem for South Yemen before unification with North Yemen in 1990

lowest 10%:

2.9%

highest 10%:

30.8% (2005)

• grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton;
• dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry;
• fish

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

general assessment:

since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network

domestic:

• the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, GSM and CDMA mobile-cellular telephone systems;
• fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity remains low by regional standards

international:

• country code - 967;
• landing point for the international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG);
• satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat;
• microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti

• state-run TV with 2 stations;
• state-run radio with 2 national radio stations and 5 local stations;
• stations from Oman and Saudi Arabia can be accessed (2007)

total:

71,300 km

country comparison to the world: 66

paved:

6,200 km

unpaved:

65,100 km (2005)

• the International Maritime Bureau reports offshore waters in the Gulf of Aden are high risk for piracy;
• numerous vessels, including commercial shipping and pleasure craft, have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway;
• crew, passengers, and cargo are held for ransom;
• the presence of several naval task forces in the Gulf of Aden and additional anti-piracy measures on the part of ship operators reduced the incidence of piracy in that body of water by more than half in 2010

males age 16-49:

5,652,256

females age 16-49:

5,387,160 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

4,056,944

females age 16-49:

4,116,895 (2010 est.)

male:

287,141

female:

277,612 (2010 est.)

current situation:

• Yemen is a country of origin and, to a much lesser extent, a transit and destination country for men, women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• Yemeni children, mostly boys, migrate to the Yemeni cities, Saudi Arabia or, to a lesser extent, to Oman and are forced to work in domestic service, small shops, or as beggars;
• some of these children are subjected to prostitution;
• to a lesser extent, Yemen is also a source country for girls subjected to sex trafficking within the country and in Saudi Arabia

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - the Yemeni cabinet approved the country's accession to the 2000 UN Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Protocol and the government reportedly prosecuted and convicted traffickers;
• despite these efforts, the Yemeni Government did not take steps to address trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation or to institute formal procedures to identify and protect victims of trafficking (2011)