Yemen
Official Country Name
Yemen
Yemen Overview
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.
Yemen Economy
Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported average annual growth of 3.5% from 2000 through 2006. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. Oil revenues probably increased in 2006 as a result of higher prices. Yemen was on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. However, government dedication to the program waned in 2001 for political reasons. Yemen is struggling to control excessive spending and rampant corruption. Yemen is dependent on foreign aid to finance its budget deficits and development projects. In November, Yemen secured $4.7 billion in assistance from Arabian Gulf and Western donors.
Yemen Location
Yemen is located in Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Region
Yemen is located in Asia
Yemen Population
Yemen has population of 21,456,188 (July 2006 est.)
Yemen Climate
Yemen has mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
Yemen 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
Yemen Natural Resources
petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west
Ethnic Groups in Yemen
Yemen has the following ethnic groups - predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans
Yemen Religions
Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
Yemen Languages
Arabic
Yemen Capital
Yemen capital is Sanaa
Yemen Currency
Yemen currency is Yemeni rial
Map of Yemen
