A narrow coastal plain rises to interior highlands and the Rub al Khali desert. The country includes several islands, e.g., Perim and Socotra. Yemen is very poor, with a per capita income that is among the lowest in the world. There are oil reserves, and imported oil is processed into petroleum products for export. Other manufacturing, largely based on agricultural products, provides little revenue.
Salt is the only commercially exploitable mineral.
Handicrafts are important in the economy, as are remittances sent home by Yemenis working abroad. Yemen is the most populous nation on the Arabian peninsula. The great majority of the inhabitants are Arabs, about two thirds of which are Sunni Muslims and the rest Shiite Muslims. Arabic is the official language. It was conquered by Muslim Arabs in the 7th cent.