YEMEN
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 527,970 km2; land area: 527,970 km2; includes Perim,
Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and
the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)
Comparative area: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Land boundaries: 1,746 km total; Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Coastline: 1,906 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: North--18 nm; South--24 nm;
Continental shelf: North--200 meters (depth); South--edge of
continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: North--no claim; South 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: undefined section of boundary with Saudi Arabia;
Administrative Line with Oman
Climate: desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in
western mountains; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
Terrain: 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
Natural resources: crude oil, fish, rock salt, marble; small
deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west
Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 30%; forest and woodland 7%; other 57%; includes irrigated
NEGL%
Environment: subject to sand and dust storms in summer; scarcity of
natural freshwater resources; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Note: controls Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and
the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes
PEOPLE
Population: 10,062,633 (July 1991), growth rate 3.2% (1991)
Birth rate: 51 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 16 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 121 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 51 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 7.4 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Yemeni(s); adjective--Yemeni
Ethnic divisions:
North--Arab 90%, Afro-Arab (mixed) 10%;
South--almost all Arabs; a few Indians, Somalis, and Europeans
Religion:
North--Muslim 100% (Sunni and Shia);
South--Sunni Muslim, some Christian and Hindu
Language: Arabic
Literacy: 38% (male 53%, female 26%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
North--NA number of workers with agriculture and herding 70%, and
expatriate laborers 30% (est.);
South--477,000 with agriculture 45.2%, services 21.2%, construction
13.4%, industry 10.6%, commerce and other 9.6% (1983)
Organized labor:
North--NA;
South--348,200 and the General Confederation of Workers of the
People's Democratic Republic of Yemen had 35,000 members
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Republic of Yemen
Type: republic
Capital: Sanaa
Administrative divisions: 17 governorates (muhafazat,
singular--muhafazah); Abyan, Adan, Al Bayda,
Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Dhamar,
Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Marib, Sadah, Sana,
Shabwah, Taizz
Independence: 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); the
union is to be solidified during a 30-month transition period, which
coincides with the remainder of the five-year terms of both legislatures
Constitution: 16 April 1991
Legal system: based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common
law, and local customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)
Executive branch: five-member Presidential Council (president,
vice president, two members from northern Yemen and one member from
southern Yemen), prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives;
note--northern Yemen's Consultative Assembly (Majlis Chura) and
southern Yemen's Supreme People's Council (Majlis al-Shab al-Ala)
will combine to form the basis for the new unicameral House of
Representatives
Judicial branch: North--State Security Court; South--Federal
High Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government President Ali Abdallah
SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen); Vice
President Ali Salim al-BIDH (since 22 May 1990, secretary general of the
Yemeni Socialist Party); Presidential Council Member Salim Salih
MUHAMMED (southern Yemen); Presidential Council Member Kadi Abdul-Karim
al-ARASHI (northern Yemen); Presidential Council Member Abdul-Aziz
ABDUL-GHANI (northern Yemen); Prime Minister Haydar Abu Bakr
al-ATTAS (since 22 May 1990, former president of South Yemen)
Political parties and leaders:
General People's Congress, Ali Abdallah SALIH;
Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP; formerly South Yemen's ruling party--a
coalition of National Front, Bath, and Communist Parties), Ali Salim
al-BIDH
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
House of Representatives--last held NA (next to be held
26-27 May, 12 June, and 24 July 1991);
results--percent of vote NA;
seats--(301); number of seats by party NA; note--the 301 members of
the new House of Representatives will come from North Yemen's
Consultative Assembly (159 members), South Yemen's Supreme People's
Council (111 members), and appointments by the New Presidential Council
(31 members)
Communists: small number in North, greater but unknown number
in South
Other political or pressure groups: conservative tribal groups,
Muslim Brotherhood, leftist factions--pro-Iraqi Bathists, Nasirists,
National Democratic Front (NDF)
Member of: ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77,
IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Muhsin Ahmad al-AYNI;
Chancery at Suite 840, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037;
telephone (202) 965-4760 or 4761; there is a Yemeni Consulate General in
Detroit and a Consulate in San Francisco;
US--Ambassador Charles F. DUNBAR; Embassy at Dhahr Himyar Zone,
Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa (mailing address is P. O. Box 22347 Sanaa,
Republic of Yemen or Sanaa--Department of State, Washington, D. C.
20521-6330); telephone 967 (2) 238-842 through 238-852
Flag: 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
ECONOMY
Overview: Whereas the northern city Sanaa is the political
capital of a united Yemen, the southern city Aden, with its refinery
and port facilities, is the economic and commercial capital. Future
economic development depends heavily on Western-assisted development
of promising oil resources. South Yemen's willingness to merge stemmed
partly from the steady decline in Soviet economic support.
North--The low level of domestic industry and agriculture have made
northern Yemen dependent on imports for virtually all of its essential
needs. Large trade deficits have been made up for by remittances from
Yemenis working abroad and foreign aid. Once self-sufficient in food
production, northern Yemen has been a major importer. Land once used for
export crops--cotton, fruit, and vegetables--has been turned over to
growing qat, a mildly narcotic shrub chewed by Yemenis that has no
significant export market. Oil export revenues started flowing in late
1987 and boosted 1988 earnings by about $800 million.
South--This has been one of the poorest Arab countries, with a per
capita GNP of about $500. A shortage of natural resources, a widely
dispersed population, and an arid climate have made economic development
difficult. The economy has grown at an average annual rate of only 2-3%
since the mid-1970s. The economy had been organized along socialist
lines, dominated by the public sector. Economic growth has been
constrained by a lack of incentives, partly stemming from centralized
control over production decisions, investment allocation, and import
choices.
GDP: $5.3 billion, per capita $545; real growth rate NA%
(1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
North--16.9% (1988);
South--0% (1989)
Unemployment rate:
North--13% (1986);
South--NA%
Budget:
North--revenues $1.4 billion; expenditures $2.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of $590 million (1988 est.);
South--revenues and grants $435 million; expenditures $1.0 billion,
including capital expenditure of $460 million (1988 est.)
Exports:
North--$606 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables;
partners--FRG 29%, US 26%, Netherlands 12%;
South--$113.8 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--cotton, hides, skins, dried and salted fish;
partners--Japan, North Yemen, Italy
Imports:
North--$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--textiles and other manufactured consumer goods,
petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, and cement;
partners--Saudi Arabia 12%, France 6%, US 5%, Australia 5%
(1985);
South--$553.9 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities--grain, consumer goods, crude oil, machinery,
chemicals;
partners--USSR, UK, Ethiopia
External debt: $5.75 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production:
North--growth rate 2% in manufacturing (1988);
South--growth rate NA% in manufacturing
Electricity: 670,000 kW capacity; 1,100 million kWh produced,
110 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: crude oil production and petroleum refining;
small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food
processing; handicrafts; fishing; small aluminum products factory; cement
Agriculture:
North--accounted for 26% of GDP and 70% of labor force; farm
products--grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee,
cotton, dairy, poultry, meat, goat meat; not self-sufficient in grain;
South--accounted for 17% of GNP and 45% of labor force;
products--grain, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, fish, livestock;
fish and honey major exports; most food imported
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $389
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $1.9 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $3.2 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $2.4 billion
Currency:
North Yemeni riyal (plural--riyals); 1 North Yemeni riyal
(YR) = 100 fils;
South Yemeni dinar (plural--dinars); 1 South Yemeni dinar
(YD) = 1,000 fils
Exchange rates:
North Yemeni riyals (YR) per US$1--9.7600 (January 1990), 9.7600 (1989),
9.7717 (1988), 10.3417 (1987), 9.6392 (1986), 7.3633 (1985);
South Yemeni dinars (YD) per US$1--0.3454 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: 15,500 km; 4,000 km bituminous, 11,500 km natural
surface (est.)
Pipelines: crude oil, 424 km; refined products, 32 km
Ports: Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Khalf, Mocha, Nishtun,
Ras Kathib, Salif
Merchant marine: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
4,309 GRT/6,568 DWT; includes 2 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and
lubricants (POL) tanker
Civil air: 15 major transport aircraft
Airports: 49 total, 40 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: the North has a poor but improving system with
new radio relay and cable networks, while the South has a small system of
open-wire, radio relay, multiconductor cable, and radio communications
stations; 65,000 telephones (est.); stations--4 AM, no FM, 22 TV;
satellite earth stations--2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Atlantic Ocean
INTELSAT, 1 Intersputnik, 2 ARABSAT; radio relay to Saudi Arabia, and
Djibouti
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,906,887;
1,084,122 fit for military service;
134,158 reach military age (14) annually
Defense expenditures: $1.06 billion, 20% of GDP (1990)