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Country Facts - Yemen

The People

Nationality

Yemeni(s)
 

Ethnic Composition

Predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans.

Religious Composition

Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindus.

Languages Spoken

Arabic

Education and Literacy

Yemen's overall adult literacy is around 38 percent. Among males it is 53 percent and females 26 percent.
(1990 est.)

Labor Force

Current information not available.

Geography

Land Mass Total

203,850 sq mi (527,970 sq km)
Note: 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)

Land

203,850 sq mi (527,970 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total:   1,084 mi (1,746 km)
Border countries:   Oman 178 mi (288 km), Saudi Arabia 905 mi (1,458 km)

Coastline

1,184 mi (1,906 km)

Maritime claim

Contiguous zone:  24 nm
Continental shelf:   200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone:   200 nm
Territorial sea:   12 nm

Climate/Weather

Mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; 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.

Elevation extremes

Lowest point:   Arabian Sea 0 ft (0 m)
Highest point:   Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 12,335 ft (3,760 m)

Natural Resources

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

Land use

Arable land 3%
Permanent crops 0%
Other 97%
(1998)

Natural hazards

Sandstorms and dust storms in summer.

Environment - current issues

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

Geography Note

Strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes.

Demographics

Population

18,701,257 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years: 47% Male: 4,468,928 Female: 4,317,648
15-64 years: 50.1% Male: 4,783,769 Female: 4,587,309
65 years and over: 2.9%  Male: 273,282 Female: 270,321
(2002)

Growth Rate

3.4% (2002)

Life Expectancy

60.59 years (2002)
Female: 62.46 years
Male: 58.81 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$820 (2001)

Infant Mortality

66.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.04 male(s)/female
(2002)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade
Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. Aided by higher oil prices in 1999-2000, Yemen worked to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. A high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. GDP growth for 2001 was 1.8 percent (down from over 5 percent in 2000) dropping further to 1.6 percent in 2002. Analysts predict a similar drop for 2003.

Unemployment

3 0% (1995)

Inflation Rate

10% (2001)

Industries

Crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement

Exports

US$3.9 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$3 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$14.8 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Singapore 9%, Japan 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999)

Top Import Partners

Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, France 7%, US 7%, Italy 6% (1999)

Top Exports

Crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish

Top Imports

Food and live animals, machinery and equipment

Debt - external

US$4.7 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$176.1 million (1995)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek
  Saturday - Thursday (Islamic workweek) Friday
Offices Saturday through Wednesday 8a.m. to 12:30p.m. and 4p.m. to 7p.m., and Thursday 8a.m. to noon. Closed Fridays.
Retail not currently available Closed
Banks Saturday through Wednesday 8a.m. to noon, and Thursday 8a.m. to 11:30a.m. In the summer, Saturday through Wednesday 7:30a.m. to 11:30a.m., and Thursday 7:30a.m. to 11a.m. Closed Fridays.
Government 9a.m. to 1p.m. Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays 2003 2004 2005
New Year's Day January 1 January 1 January 1
Festival of Sacrifice
(Eid Al Adha)¹		 February 12 February 2 January 21
Islamic New Year² March 5 February 22 February 10
Good Friday April 18 April 9 March 25
Easter³ April 20 April 11 March 27
Labor Day May 1 May 1 May 1
Day of National Unity May 22 May 22 May 22
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)*¹ May 24 May 14 May 2
United Factory Day July 7 July 7 July 7
Revolution Day, 1962
(Northern Yemen)		 September 26 September 26 September 26
Ascent of the Prophet (Lailat al Miraj, Islamic Observance)*² September 24 September 12 September 1
National Day (Aden) October 14 October 14 October 14
Start of Ramadan*³ October 27 October 15 October 4
Independence Day (SouthernYemen) November 30 November 14 November 14
End of Ramadan
(Eid Al Fitr)**¹		 November 26 November 14 November 3
Bank Holiday December 31 December 31 December 31

¹ Culmination of the Hajj or Holy Pilgrimage.*
² The lunar Islamic Hijra calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year.  The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons.
³ Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday.  In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
*¹ The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*² The Ascent of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the 27th day in the month of Rajab of the Islamic calendar.
*³ Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days.  Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
**¹ Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for three days.
Country information used by permission of World Trade Press