Yemen

**Yemen**, officially the **Republic of Yemen** is a nation in the Middle East. It is the old North Yemen and South Yemen, in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Saudi Arabia and Oman on the north and the east. To the south is the Guardafui Channel and Gulf of Aden, and to the west is the Red Sea. Yemen owns the island of Socotra (217 miles) to the south off the coast of East Africa. Yemen's capital city is Sana'a.

## History

In ancient times, Yemen was an important center of trade and power. Many powerful kingdoms were in Yemen, including the Sabaeans. Yemen was important in the trade of spices as well. It was known to the ancient Romans as _Arabia Felix_ ("Happy Arabia" in Latin). They called it Happy Arabia because the area was so beautiful and powerful.

In the 700s, Yemenis were among the first to join the new religion Islam. Since then, Yemenis have been staunch Muslims who were in the forefront of all Islam conquests. Men whose ancestors came from Yemen ruled Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) for centuries. The Ottoman Empire took control of North Yemen, and the British Empire took control of South Yemen, in the early 20th century. The two parts were united in 1990 and later fought civil wars. The latest one started in 2015. Some famous people including former President Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed, and thousands died of hunger.

Today, Yemen has over 35.5 million people. Most of them speak Arabic. The majority are Sunni Muslims; Shia is a large minority. Jews were a large minority in past centuries but most departed in the middle 20th century.

## Geography

Yemen is in Western Asia. It is on the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula. A number of Red Sea islands, including the Hanish Islands, Kamaran, and Perim, as well as Socotra in the Arabian Sea, belong to Yemen. Many of the islands are volcanic. For example, Jabal al-Tair had a volcanic eruption in 2007 and before that in 1883. The highest point in Yemen is Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb.

## Economy

Yemen is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the Arab World. There is a 35% unemployment rate, which means  35 out of every 100 people in the labor force don't have a job.

## Government

As a result of the 2011–2012 Yemeni uprising, the constitution of Yemen was rewritten. New elections were to be held in 2014. Some areas are controlled by armed militant groups. On 23 January 2015, the President, Prime Minister and Cabinet resigned. War continued, with Saudi Arabia and Iran supporting different sides.

### Governorates

As of February 2004, Yemen is divided into twenty governorates and one municipality called "Amanat Al-Asemah".

|Division|Capital City|Population 2004 Census !!Population 2006 est.!!Key||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Aden|589,419|634,710|1|
|'Amran|877,786|909,992|2|
|Zinjibar|433,819|454,535|3|
|Ad Dali'|470,564|504,533|4|
|Al Bayda'|577,369|605,303|5|
|Al-Hudaydah|2,157,552|2,300,179|6|
|Al-Jawf|443,797|465,737|7|
|Al-Ghaydah|88,594|96,768|8|
|Al-Mahweet|494,557|523,236|9|
|Sana'a|1,747,834|1,947,139|10|
|Dhamar|1,330,108|1,412,142|11|
|Al-Mukalla|1,028,556|1,092,967|12|
|Hajjah|1,479,568|1,570,872|13|
|Ibb|2,131,861|2,238,537|14|
|Lahij|722,694|761,160|15|
|Ma'rib|238,522|251,668|16|
|ElJabeen|394,448|418,659|17|
|Sa`dah|695,033|746,957|18|
|Sana'a|919,215|957,798|19|
|Ataq|470,440|494,638|20|
|Taiz|1,121,000|2,513,003|21|

The governorates are divided into 333 districts. The districts are divided into 2,210 sub-districts, and then into 38,284 villages (as of 2001).

## Demographics

Yemen has about 34 million people according to June 2023 estimates. 46% of the people are under 15 years old. Yemenis are mainly of Arab origin. Arabic is the official language.

Religion in Yemen is mostly of two main Islamic religious groups; 53% of the Muslim population is Sunni and 45% is Shiite according to the UNHCR.

According to 2009 estimates, life expectancy in Yemen is 63.27 years.

## Sport

Football is the most popular sport in Yemen. The Yemen national football team competes in the FIFA and the AFC leagues. The country also hosts many football clubs that compete in the national or international leagues.

Yemen's mountains have many opportunities for outdoor sports, such as rock climbing, hill climbing, and hiking. The coast of Yemen and Socotra island have opportunities for water sports, such as surfing, sailing, swimming, and scuba diving. Socotra island is one of the best surfing places in the world.

Yemen's biggest sports event was hosting the 2010 Gulf Cup of Nations.

## References

- Notes

## Other websites

- Yemen -Citizendium

## Infobox (country)

- **conventional long name**: Republic of Yemen
- **common name**: Yemen
- **native name**:

- **image flag**: Flag of Yemen.svg
- **image coat**: Emblem of Yemen (2).svg
- **coa size**: 130px
- **symbol type**: Emblem
- **national motto**:

"God, then Country, Revolution, Unity"
- **national anthem**:

"National anthem of Yemen, United Republic"

- **image map**: Yemen (orthographic projection).svg
- **capital**: Sanaa
- **capital exile**: Aden
- **religion year**: 2020
- **largest city**: capital
- **official languages**: Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic
- **demonym**: Yemenis, Yemeni
Demographics of Yemen, Yemenite
- **government type**: Unitary state, Unitary totalitarianism, totalitarian provisional republic
- **leader title1**: President of Yemen, Chairman
- **leader name1**: Rashad al-Alimi (disputed)
- **leader title2**: Prime Minister of Yemen, Prime Minister
- **leader name2**: Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak (disputed)
- **legislature**: Parliament
- **upper house**: Shura Council (Yemen), Shura Council
- **lower house**: House of Representatives (Yemen), House of Representatives
- **sovereignty type**: History of Yemen, Establishment
- **established event1**: Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen established<sup>a</sup>
- **established date1**:
30 October 1918
- **established event2**: Yemen Arab Republic established
- **established date2**: 26 September 1962
- **established event3**: South Yemen independence<sup>b</sup>
- **established date3**:
30 November 1967
- **established event4**: Yemeni unification, Unification
- **established date4**: 22 May 1990
- **established event5**: Constitution of Yemen, Current constitution
- **established date5**: 16 May 1991
- **established event6**: Yemeni Civil War (2014–present), Yemeni Civil War
- **established date6**: 16 September 2014
- **area km2**: 555,000
- **area rank**: 49th
- **area sq mi**: 214,000
- **percent water**: negligible
- **population estimate**: 34,449,825
- **population estimate year**: 2023
- **population estimate rank**: 48th
- **population density km2**: 44.7
- **population density sq mi**: 115.7
- **population density rank**: 160th
- **gdp ppp**: $65.603 billion
- **gdp ppp year**: 2022
- **gdp ppp rank**: 111th
- **gdp ppp per capita**: $2,078
- **gdp ppp per capita rank**: 213th
- **gdp nominal**: $28.134 billion
- **gdp nominal year**: 2022
- **gdp nominal rank**: 111th
- **gdp nominal per capita**: $891
- **gdp nominal per capita rank**: 195th
- **gini**: 36.7
- **gini year**: 2014
- **hdi**: 0.455
- **hdi year**: 2021
- **hdi change**: decrease
- **hdi rank**: 183rd
- **currency**: Yemeni rial
- **currency code**: YER
- **time zone**: Arabia Standard Time, AST
- **utc offset**: +3
- **drives on**: right
- **calling code**: Telephone numbers in Yemen, +967
- **cctld**: .ye,
- **footnote a**: From the Ottoman Empire.
- **footnote b**: From the United Kingdom.
- **ethnic groups**: 92.8% Arabs
3.7% Somalis
3.5% Demographics of Yemen, other
- **ethnic groups year**: 2000
- **religion**: *~99.1% Islam in Yemen, Islam (State religion, official)
**65% Sunni Islam, Sunni
**35% Shia Islam, Shia
*~0.9% Religion in Yemen, other