Yemen

• Facts
• Press
• Yemen In the News

Facts

Background: North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border.
Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Area land: 527,968 sq km
Area water: 0 sq km
Coastline: 1,906 km
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
Country name conventional short form: Yemen
Country name former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]
Population: 24,133,492 (July 2011 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 43% (male 5,285,218/female 5,094,736); 15-64 years: 54.4% (male 6,666,600/female 6,459,414); 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 298,175/female 329,349) (2011 est.);
Population growth rate: 2.647% (2011 est.)
Birth rate: 33.49 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Death rate: 7.02 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female; under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female; 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female; 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female; total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2011 est.);
Infant mortality rate: total: 55.11 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 59.7 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 50.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.);
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63.74 years; male: 61.7 years; female: 65.87 years (2011 est.);
Total fertility rate: 4.63 children born/woman (2011 est.);
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.);
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 12,000 (2001 est.);
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA;
Nationality: noun: Yemeni(s); adjective: Yemeni;
Ethnic groups: predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans;
Religions: Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shia), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu;
Languages: Arabic (official);
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write; total population: 50.2%; male: 70.5%; female: 30% (2003 est.);
GDP (purchasing power parity): $61.88 billion (2010 est.); $58.82 billion (2009 est.); $56.67 billion (2008 est.);

GDP (official exchange rate): $30.02 billion (2010 est.);
GDP - real growth rate: 5.2% (2010 est.); 3.8% (2009 est.); 3.2% (2008 est.);
GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,600 (2010 est.); $2,600 (2009 est.); $2,600 (2008 est.);
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 8.2%; industry: 38.8%; services: 53% (2010 est.);
Population below poverty line: 45.2% (2003);
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.9%; highest 10%: 30.8% (2005);
Labor force: 6.832 million (2010 est.);
Labor force - by occupation: note: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force;
Unemployment rate: 35% (2003 est.);
Budget: revenues: $7.581 billion; expenditures: $9.345 billion (2010 est.);
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; natural gas production;
Industrial production growth rate: 9% (2010 est.);
Electricity - production: 5.665 billion kWh (2007 est.);
Electricity - consumption: 4.133 billion kWh (2007 est.);
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.);
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.);

Statistics: CIA World Factbook.

Press

Yemen in the News