Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen
local short form: Al Yaman
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah

Government type

republic

Capital

Sanaa

Administrative divisions

19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate

National holiday

Unification Day, 22 May (1990)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Location

Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates

15 00 N, 48 00 E

Map references

Middle East

Area

total: 527,970 sq km
land: 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)
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

Land boundaries

total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

Coastline

1,906 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions)

territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

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

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 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: 2.75%
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 97.04% (1998 est.)

GDP

purchasing power parity - $16.25 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

1.9% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 15.5%
industry: 44.7%
services: 39.7% (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force

Industries

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.

Agriculture - products

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

Exports

$4.468 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities

crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish

Exports - partners

China 33.5%, Thailand 31.4%, Singapore 7.2%, South Korea 6.1% (2004)

Imports

$3.734 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities

food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Imports - partners

UAE 12.8%, Saudi Arabia 10.2%, China 9%, France 7.9%, Kuwait 4.4%, US 4.4%, India 4.3%, Turkey 4.1% (2004

Currency

Yemeni rial (YER)

Currency code

YER

Exchange rates

Yemeni rials per US dollar - 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002), 168.67 (2001), 161.72 (2000)

Fiscal year

Calendar year