Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/ciatxtpc/yemen.cia

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                             THE WORLD FACTBOOK
                                      Yemen
                                    Geography


Location:
    Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between
    Oman and Saudi Arabia
Map references:
    Middle East
Area:
  total area:
    527,970 sq km
  land area:
    527,970 sq km
  comparative area:
    slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
  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 boundaries:
    total 1,746 km, Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Coastline:
    1,906 km
Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone:
    18 nm in the North; 24 nm in the South
  continental shelf:
    200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone:
    200 nm
  territorial sea:
    12 nm
International disputes:
    undefined section of boundary with Saudi Arabia; a treaty with Oman defining
    the Yemeni-Omani boundary was ratified in December 1992
Climate:
    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
Natural resources:
    petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead,
    nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west
Land use:
  arable land:
    6%
  permanent crops:
    0%
  meadows and pastures:
    30%
  forest and woodland:
    7%
  other:
    57%
Irrigated land:
    3,100 sq km (1989 est.)
                             THE WORLD FACTBOOK
                                      Yemen
                                    Geography
Environment:
  current issues:
    very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable
    water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
  natural hazards:
    sandstorms and dust storms in summer
  international agreements:
    party to - Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban;
    signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note:
    controls Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden,
    one of world's most active shipping lanes
                             THE WORLD FACTBOOK
                                      Yemen
                                     People


Population:
    14,728,474 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
  0-14 years:
    50% (female 3,551,953; male 3,776,358)
  15-64 years:
    48% (female 3,505,735; male 3,508,229)
  65 years and over:
    2% (female 216,210; male 169,989) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate:
    4.02% (1995 est.)
Birth rate:
    44.85 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate:
    8.01 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate:
    3.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
    58.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
  total population:
    62.51 years
  male:
    61.57 years
  female:
    63.5 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate:
    7.15 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
  noun:
    Yemeni(s)
  adjective:
    Yemeni
Ethnic divisions:
    predominantly Arab; Afro-Arab concentrations in western coastal locations;
    South Asians in southern regions; small European communities in major
    metropolitan areas
Religions:
    Muslim including Sha'fi (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish,
    Christian, and Hindu
Languages:
    Arabic
Literacy:
    age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
  total population:
    38%
  male:
    53%
  female:
    26%
Labor force:
    no reliable estimates exist, most people are employed in agriculture and
    herding or as expatriate laborers; services, construction, industry, and
    commerce account for less than half of the labor force
                             THE WORLD FACTBOOK
                                      Yemen
                                   Government


Names:
  conventional long form:
    Republic of Yemen
  conventional short form:
    Yemen
  local long form:
    Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
  local short form:
    Al Yaman
Digraph:
    YM
Type:
    republic
Capital:
    Sanaa
Administrative divisions:
    17 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, Adan, Al Bayda, Al
    Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Dhamar, Hadramaut, Hajjah, Ibb,
    Lahij, Marib, Sadah, Sana, Shabwah, Taizz
  note:
    there may be a new governorate for the capital city of Sanaa
Independence:
    22 May 1990 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)
National holiday:
    Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)
Constitution:
    16 May 1991
Legal system:
    based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal
    customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
    18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
  chief of state:
    President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of
    North Yemen); Vice President Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since NA October
    1994)
  head of government:
    Prime Minister Abd al-Aziz ABD AL-GHANI (since NA October 1994)
  cabinet:
    Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
    unicameral
  House of Representatives:
    elections last held 27 April 1993 (next to be held NA 1997); results -
    percent of vote by party NA; seats - (301 total) GPC 124, Islaah 61, YSP 55,
    others 13, independents 47, election nullified 1
Judicial branch:
    Supreme Court
                             THE WORLD FACTBOOK
                                      Yemen
                                   Government
Political parties and leaders:
    over 40 political parties are active in Yemen, but only three project
    significant influence; since the May-July 1994 civil war, President SALIH's
    General People's Congress (GPC) and Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's
    Yemeni Grouping for Reform, or Islaah, have joined to form a coalition
    government; the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), headed by Ali Salih UBAYD, has
    regrouped as a loyal opposition
Other political or pressure groups:
    NA
Member of:
    ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
    IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM,
    OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
  chief of mission:
    Ambassador Muhsin Ahmad al-AYNI
  chancery:
    Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
  telephone:
    [1] [phone], 4761
  FAX:
    [1] [phone]
US diplomatic representation:
  chief of mission:
    Ambassador David NEWTON
  embassy:
    Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa
  mailing address:
    P. O. Box 22347 Sanaa; Sanaa, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-6330
  telephone:
    [967] (1) 238843 through 238852
  FAX:
    [967] (1) 251563
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
                             THE WORLD FACTBOOK
                                      Yemen
                                     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 the country's moderate oil resources.
    Former South Yemen's willingness to merge stemmed partly from the steady
    decline in Soviet economic support. The low level of domestic industry and
    agriculture has made northern Yemen dependent on imports for practically all
    of its essential needs. Once self-sufficient in food production, northern
    Yemen has become a major importer. Land once used for export crops - cotton,
    fruit, and vegetables - has been turned over to growing a shrub called qat,
    whose leaves are chewed for their stimulant effect by Yemenis and which has
    no significant export market. Economic growth in former South Yemen has been
    constrained by a lack of incentives, partly stemming from centralized
    control over production decisions, investment allocation, and import
    choices. Yemen's large trade deficits have been compensated for by
    remittances from Yemenis working abroad and by foreign aid. Since the Gulf
    crisis, remittances have dropped substantially. Growth in 1994-95 is
    constrained by low oil prices, rapid inflation, and political deadlock that
    are causing a lack of economic cooperation and leadership. However, a peace
    agreement with Saudi Arabia in February 1995 and the expectation of a rise
    in oil prices brighten Yemen's economic prospects.
National product:
    GDP - purchasing power parity - $23.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate:
    -1.4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita:
    $1,955 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    145% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate:
    30% (December 1994)
Budget:
  revenues:
    $NA
  expenditures:
    $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
    $1.75 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities:
    crude oil, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables, dried and salted fish
  partners:
    Germany 28%, Japan 15%, UK 9%, Austria 7%, China 7% (1992)
Imports:
    $2.65 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
  commodities:
    textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar,
    grain, flour, other foodstuffs, cement, machinery, chemicals
  partners:
    US 16%, UK 7%, Japan 6%, France 6%, Italy 6% (1992)
External debt:
    $7 billion (1993)
Industrial production:
    growth rate NA%, accounts for 18% of GDP
Electricity:
  capacity:
    810,000 kW
  production:
    1.8 billion kWh
                             THE WORLD FACTBOOK
                                      Yemen
                                     Economy
  consumption per capita:
    149 kWh (1993)
Industries:
    crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of
    cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small
    aluminum products factory; cement
Agriculture:
    accounts for 26% of GDP; products - grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly
    narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton, dairy, poultry, meat, fish; not
    self-sufficient in grain
Economic aid:
  recipient:
    US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $389 million; Western (non-US)
    countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2 billion; OPEC
    bilateral aid (1979-89), $3.2 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $2.4
    billion
Currency:
    Yemeni rial (new currency);  1 North Yemeni riyal (YR) = 100 fils; 1 South
    Yemeni dinar (YD) = 1,000 fils
  note:
    following the establishment of the Republic of Yemen on 22 May 1990, the
    North Yemeni riyal and the South Yemeni dinar are to be replaced with a new
    Yemeni rial
Exchange rates:
    Yemeni rials per US$1 - 12.0 (official); 90 (market rate, December 1994)
Fiscal year:
    calendar year
                             THE WORLD FACTBOOK
                                      Yemen
                                 Transportation


Railroads:
    0 km
Highways:
  total:
    51,390 km
  paved:
    4,830 km
  unpaved:
    46,560 km (1992 est.)
Pipelines:
    crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km
Ports:
    Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, Mocha, Nishtun
Merchant marine:
  total:
    3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,059 GRT/18,563 DWT
  ships by type:
    cargo 1, oil tanker 2
Airports:
  total:
    46
  with paved runways over 3,047 m:
    2
  with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
    6
  with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m:
    1
  with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
    1
  with paved runways under 914 m:
    4
  with unpaved runways over 3,047 m:
    2
  with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
    8
  with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m:
    10
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
    12
                             THE WORLD FACTBOOK
                                      Yemen
                                 Communications


Telephone system:
    65,000 telephones; since unification in 1990, efforts are still being made
    to create a national domestic civil telecommunications network
  local:
    NA
  intercity:
    the network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, and troposcatter
  international:
    3 INTELSAT (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik, and 2
    ARABSAT earth stations; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti
Radio:
  broadcast stations:
    AM 4, FM 1, shortwave 0
  radios:
    NA
Television:
  broadcast stations:
    10
  televisions:
    NA
                             THE WORLD FACTBOOK
                                      Yemen
                                 Defense Forces


Branches:
    Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary (includes Police)
Manpower availability:
    males age 15-49 3,135,649; males fit for military service 1,771,226; males
    reach military age (14) annually 181,057 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - $1.65 billion, 7.1% of GDP (1993)