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Yemen Country
Overview
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
Land boundaries:
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
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
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 (Shi'a), small numbers of
Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
Languages:
Arabic
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
local short form: Al Yaman
former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's
Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]
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
Independence:
22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen established 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]);
note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November of
1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent
on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Unification Day, 22 May (1990)
Constitution:
16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001
Legal system:
based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal
customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Flag description:
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 heraldic eagle centered in the white band
Currency (code):
Yemeni rial (YER)
Exchange rates:
Yemeni rials per US dollar - 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002),
168.67 (2001), 161.72 (2000)
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