Yemen flag
Basic fact of Yemen
Official name: Republic of Yemen
Capital: Sana‘a
Area: 527,970 sq km, 203,850 sq mi
Population 23,013,376 (2008 estimate)
Population growth rate: 3.46 percent (2008 estimate)
Population density: 44 persons per sq km, 113 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution:
Share urban 26 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 74 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities: Sana‘a, Aden, Ta‘izz, Al Ḩudaydah
Religious affiliations:
Muslim, including Shafi'i (Sunni Muslim) and Zaydi (Shia Muslim) 99 percent
Other (including Hindu and Christian) 1 percent
Life expectancy:
Total 62.9 years (2008 estimate)
Female 64.9 years (2008 estimate)
Male 61 years (2008 estimate)
Literacy rate:
Total 52.9 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 33.2 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 72.5 percent (2005 estimate)
Form of government: Republic
Total number of military personnel: 66,700 (2004)
Introduction:
Yemen, country in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula (Arabia). Tall mountains divide Yemen’s coastal stretches from a desolate desert interior. Yemen is sparsely populated—half of the country is uninhabitable—and its Arab people are largely rural. The site of several prosperous civilizations in ancient times, Yemen declined in importance and was a poor and forgotten land for more than a thousand years. The discovery of oil in the area in the late 20th century held out the prospect of economic development and an easier life for the people of Yemen.
The Republic of Yemen was created in 1990 out of the unification of the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY). The YAR was commonly called North Yemen, and the PDRY was generally referred to as South Yemen, although South Yemen was actually less to the south than to the east and southeast of North Yemen. Sana‘a (Sanaa) is the Republic of Yemen’s capital and largest city.
Yemen is bounded on the west by the Red Sea and on the south by the Gulf of Aden (an arm of the Arabian Sea, which is part of the Indian Ocean), and is separated from Africa by the narrow strait of Bab el Mandeb. To the north and northeast lies Saudi Arabia and to the east is Oman; these two countries are Yemen’s only contiguous neighbors. Yemen covers about 527,970 sq km (about 203,850 sq mi).
Sana’a, Yemen
Shoppers gather at the main entrance of Souk al-Melh (Salt Market) in the old eastern section of the city of Sana’a, capital of the Republic of Yemen. Located about 145 km (about 90 mi) northeast of the port of Al Ḩudaydah on the Red Sea, Sana’a serves as an important trading center for the nation. An ancient city, it first became an important center in the 4th century ad and retains much of its unique architecture.
Mud Buildings
Most buildings in the Hadhramaut region of southeastern Yemen are constructed in a traditional manner with bricks made of mud. The buildings can reach several stories in height.