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AlHajjarah, Yemen
The 11th-century village of Al Hajjarah on Haraz Mountains.
 
Yemen Flag
Flag of Yemen
Location map of Yemen. Where in the Middle East is Yemen?
Location map of Yemen
Yemen is a desert country in the Middle East on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, bordered in west by the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, in north by Saudi Arabia and in north east by Oman. Yemen has maritime borders with Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia.

With an area of 527,970 sq km (including the islands of Perim and Socotra), the country is about the size of Sweden or about twice the size of Wyoming.

26 million people live in the country. Largest city and the national capital is Sana'a, situated in a mountain valley at an altitude of 2,200 m, the Old City of Sana'a is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Yemen's primary seaport and economic center is Aden. Official language is Arabic.
 

Republic of Yemen - Al Yaman

Country Profile



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.
(Source: CIA - The World Factbook)

Yemen is a member state of the League of Arab States
 
 

Official Name:
Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
short form: Al Yaman
int'l long form: Republic of Yemen
int'l short form: Yemen

ISO Country Code: ye

Country Calling Code: +967

Capital City: Sana'a (Sanaa, pop, 1.6 million)

Other Cities: Aden, al Hodeidah, al Rayan, Taiz (Ta'izz), al Mokha, and al Mukala.


Government:
Presidential Republic
Unification of former south and north Yemen: 22 May 1990.
Independency: 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire)
1967 (South Yemen from the UK)
Constitution: Adopted 21 May 1990 and ratified in May 1991.

Geography:
Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Area: 527,970 km² (203,796 sq. mi.)
Terrain: Mountainous interior bordered by desert with a flat and sandy coastal plain.

Climate:
Temperate in the mountainous regions in the western part of the country, extremely hot with minimal rainfall in the remainder of the country. Humid on the coast.

People:
Nationality: Yemeni(s).
Population : 26 million (2014)
Ethnic group: Predominantly Arabs, minor Afro-Arabs, South Asians, and Europeans.
Religions: Islam including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jews, Christians, and Hindus.
Languages: Arabic.
Literacy: about 50% overall, including 30% of females.

Natural resources: Oil, natural gas, fish and seafood, rock salt, minor deposits of coal and copper.

Agriculture products: Coffee, cotton, fruits, vegetables, cereals, livestock and poultry; Qat (a shrub containing a natural amphetamine).

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.

Exports - commodities: crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish, liquefied natural gas.

Exports - partners: China 24.5%, UAE 16.5%, South Korea 10%, Saudi Arabia 10%, Kuwait 9.1%, India 8.5% (2015)

Imports - commodities: food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Imports - partners: UAE 20.9%, China 14.3%, Saudi Arabia 9.9%, Kuwait 7.4%, India 4.6% (2015)

Currency: Yemeni Rial (YER)

Yemen in Figures
Yemen key statistical data.
Yemen has been devastated by a war between forces loyal to President Hadi and those allied to the Houthi rebel movement. More than 7,600 people have been killed and 42,000 injured since March 2015, the majority in air strikes by a Saudi-led multinational coalition that backs the president, who fled first to Aden and later to to Saudi Arabia. The conflict and a blockade imposed by the coalition have also triggered a humanitarian disaster, leaving 70% of the population in need of aid.
(Source: BBC)


Due to political unrest in Yemen, the information on this page may not reflect current conditions in the country.

Note: External links will open in a new browser window.

Official Sites of Yemen


President of the Republic of Yemen
Official website of the President of Yemen.


Yemen Parliament
The House of Representatives. (out-of-date)


National Information Centre (in Arabic)
Yemen's National System for Information provides general information on the country.

Diplomatic Missions
Embassy of the Republic of Yemen
Washington D.C.
Yemen Embassy in London
Yemen Embassy in the UK.
Botschaft-Jemen-Berlin
Yemen Embassy in Berlin, Germany.
Yemen Embassies Abroad
Address list of Yemen Embassies Abroad.

Statistics
Central Statistical Organisation
National Statistical Office of Yemen.

Yemen in Figures
Yemen key statistical data.

Maps

Map of Yemen
Political Map of Yemen.
Topographic Map of Yemen
Yemen - Administrative Divisions
Map of Yemen's Administrative Divisions.

Google Earth Google Earth Yemen
Searchable map/satellite view of Yemen.
Google Earth Google Earth San'a'
Searchable map/satellite view of Yemen's capital city.
Google Earth Google Earth Aden
Searchable map/satellite view of the port city of Aden.

Map of the Red Sea
Political and topographic map of the Red Sea.
Map of Northern Africa and the Middle East
Political Map of of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East.
profile Map of Western Asia
Map of Western Asia and the Middle East region.


Old Walled City of Shibam
The 16th-century Old Walled City of Shibam, also known as the 'Manhattan of the desert', is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Image: Jean-Jacques Gelbart © Editions Gelbart

 

News


Yemen News Agency Saba
The state-run Yemen News Agency Saba's site provides Middle East and regional news as well as articles on Yemen.

Al Thawra
Official, daily newspaper (in Arabic).

Al Balagh
Weekly Yemeni newspaper (in Arabic)
Marebpress
News site.
Yemen Post
Not updated news from Yemen.
Yemen Times
Weekly Newspaper Online.

Adenpress
First Yemeni News Website in Europe (in Arabic and English).

Broadcasting
Yemen Radio
State run, official website of the station (in Arabic)

Television
Yemen Television
 

Bookmark/share this page
Instagram

Arts & Culture


Sana'a Festival
Sana'a Summer Festival.

Yemen Mocha Office
Yemeni Mocha coffee producer.
 
 

Business & Economy

Yemen is one of the Least Developed Countries that is highly dependent on declining oil resources for revenue. Petroleum accounts for roughly 25% of GDP and 63% of government revenue. Yemen has tried to counter the effects of its declining oil resources and ongoing attacks on its oil pipelines by diversifying its economy. As part of this efforts, Yemen now exports liquefied natural gas.

Central Bank of Yemen
Official website of Yemen's Central Bank.

IPA - General Investment Authority
Invest in Yemen, a guide to business in Yemen.

YemenBusiness.net
Yemen Business Directory.

Yemen Mocha Office
Yemeni Mocha coffee producer.

Telecommunication
TeleYemen
A Joint venture between Cable and Wireless Plc. and Yemen's Public Telecommunications Corporation.

__Transportation
Yemen Airways - Yemenia
Yemen's national carrier.

Aden Free Zone
Official website of the Aden free trade and port zone.
Port of Aden
Official website of the Yemen Ports Authority.

 
 
Travel and Tour Consumer Information


Destination Yemen - Travel and Tour Guides

Discover Yemen: Aden, Al Zabid, Sanaa, Shibam, the Socotra Archipelago.

Yemen Tourism
The official site of the Yemen Tourism Promotion Board.

__Travel
Yemen Explorer Tours
Yemen travel, information and services.


UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Yemen


Cutural
World Heritage Site Old City of Sana'a
Sana'a is situated in a mountain valley at an altitude of 2,200 m, the city has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years. In the 7th and 8th centuries the city became a major center for the propagation of Islam. This religious and political heritage can be seen in the 103 mosques, 14 hammams and over 6,000 houses, all built before the 11th century. Sana’a’s many-storeyed tower-houses built of rammed earth (pisé) add to the beauty of the site.

World Heritage Site Old Walled City of Shibam
The 'Manhattan of the desert'. The 16th-century city of Shibam with its impressive tower-like mudbrick-made buildings is one of the oldest examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction.

World Heritage Site Historic Town of Zabid
The town, named after Wadi Zabid was the capital of Yemen from the 13th to the 15th century. Tthe city played an important role in the Arab and Muslim world for many centuries, largely because of its famed Islamic University.

Natural
World Heritage Site Socotra Archipelago
Socotra, four islands and two rocky islets; they seems to be a prolongation of the Horn of Africa. Like Madagascar, the site is of universal importance because of its biodiversity with rich and distinct flora and fauna: 37% of Socotra’s 825 plant species, 90% of its reptile species and 95% of its land snail species are endemic only to this archipelago.
 

Yemen

Sanaa
Old city of Sanaa © YTPB

Dragon Trees Socotra
Dragon Trees Socotra Archipelago
Image: Rod Waddington

Education


Al Ahgaff University
Official website of the university (in Arabic).
National University
National University at Ta'izz (in Arabic).
Queen ARWA University
Sana'a, founded in 1996.
Sanaa Institute for Arabic Language
SIAL offers an Arabic language program in Standard Arabic and Yemeni Colloquial dialect, as well as courses in Yemeni culture.
Sana'a University
Official site of the university (in Arabic)
University of Aden
The University of Aden was established in 1975.
 
 

Environment & Nature


Environment - current issues:
Very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water.
Overgrazing leads to soil erosion and desertification.

Autma Environmental Protected Area
An important region of biodiversity on the extension of the As-sash mountain ranges.

Ethnobotany and Biogeography of Soqotra
The Soqotra Archipelago contains one of the richest and best-preserved dry tropical floras in the world, of which some 300 are endemic.
Socotra Archipelago Conservation and Development Programme (SCDP)
The main aim of the SCDP is to coordinate all government and donor efforts towards sustainable human development for the people of the Socotra Archipelago, while conserving the globally significant biodiversity of these unique islands.
 
 

History


Yemen History
Outline of Yemen's history.

 

Search


Open Directory Project: Yemen

Sources and additional Information about Yemen


BBC Country Profile: Yemen

GlobalEDGE: Yemen

The Heritage Foundation: Yemen

Human Rights Watch: Yemen

OEC: Yemen

Wikipedia: Yemen

The World Factbook -- Yemen

 
 Support UNICEF

Other countries and territories in the Middle East
Bahrain | Cyprus | Egypt | Gaza Strip | Iran | Iraq | Israel | Jordan | Kuwait | Lebanon | Oman
Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Syria | Turkey | West Bank | United Arab Emirates | Yemen
 
 
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