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:

3.57 cu km/yr (7%/2%/91%)

per capita:

162.4 cu m/yr (2005)

• 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

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.92 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.9 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2013 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 (2013)

total number:

1,334,288

percentage:

23 % (2006 est.)

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)

• 20 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah) and 1 municipality*;
• 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)

• adopted by referendum 16 May 1991 (following unification);
• amended several times, last in 2009;
• note - in early 2013, the Yemeni Government launched a National Dialogue to seek reforms and recommendations for a new constitution (2013)

chief of state:

President Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI (Field Marshal) (since 25 February 2012)

head of government:

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

cabinet:

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

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term based on constitution;
• however a special election was held on 21 February 2012 to remove Ali Abdallah SALIH based on a GCC-mediated deal during the political crisis of 2011 (next election to be held in 2014);
• vice president appointed by the president but position is vacant;
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI elected as a consensus president with about 50% popular participation; no other candidates

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of the president of the Court, 2 deputies, and nearly 50 judges; court organized into constitutional, civil, commercial, family, administrative, criminal, military, and appeals scrutiny divisions)

judge selection and term of office:

• judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council, chaired by the president of the republic and consisting of 10 high-ranking judicial officers;
• judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65

subordinate courts:

• appeal courts;
• district or first instance courts;
• commercial courts

• General People's Congress or GPC [Ali Abdallah SALIH, Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI]
• Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Muhammed Abdallah al-YADUMI, Abdul Wahab al-ANSI]
• Nasserite Unionist Party [Sultan al-ATWANI]
• Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Yasin Said NU'MAN]

note: there are at least seven more active political parties

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Adel Ali Ahmed AL-SUNAINI

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 (since 17 July 2010)

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

• 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

lowest 10%:

2.9%

highest 10%:

30.8% (2005)

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 (2006)

• 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: 67

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

• 18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• 2-year service obligation (2012)

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.)

refugees (country of origin):

5,221 (Ethiopia) (2012); 229,447 (Somalia) (2013)

IDPs:

306,964 (conflict in Sa'ada governorate; clashes between AQAP and government forces) (2013)

current situation:

• Yemen is a source and, to a much lesser extent, transit and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• some Yemeni children, mostly boys, migrate to Yemeni cities or across the border to Saudi Arabia and, less frequently Oman, where they end up as forced laborers in domestic service or small shops, beggars, or prostitutes;
• some of the large number of child workers in Yemen also face conditions of forced labor;
• other Yemeni children are conscripted into the government's armed forces or tribal or rebel militias;
• to a lesser degree, Yemen is a country of origin for girls trafficked within country or to Saudi Arabia to work as prostitutes in hotels and clubs;
• additionally, Yemen is a destination and transit country for women and children from the Horn of Africa who are looking for work or have received false job offers in the Gulf states but are subjected to sexual exploitation or forced labor upon arrival;
• reports indicate that adults and children are still sold or inherited as slaves in Yemen

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - Yemen does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• prolonged political, economic, and security crises impeded the government's modest anti-trafficking efforts;
• the government has not instituted formal procedures to identify and protect victims of trafficking or investigate or prosecute officials complicit in trafficking-related crimes;
• no known efforts have been made to investigate or punish the practice of chattel slavery;
• the government has taken some steps to prevent the recruitment of children in the armed forces, but it is unclear if efforts have been made to remove child soldiers from the military and provide them with protective or rehabilitative services;
• no progress has been made in implementing Yemen's 2008 national action plan on trafficking (2013)