Yemen

Yemen

Country statistics

area:	527,970sq km (203,849sq mi) 18,862,999
capital (population):	Sana'a (1,590,624)
government:	Multi-party republic
ethnic groups:	Arab 96%
languages:	Arabic (official)
religions:	Sunni Muslim (Shaf'i order) 65%, Shi'a Muslim 35% (Zaidi order)
currency:	Yemen rial = 100 fils

Republic on the s tip of the Arabian peninsula. The Republic of Yemen lies on the s tip of the Arabian peninsula. Much of Yemen's interior forms part of the Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter) desert. The desert is bisected by a central plateau. A narrow coastal plain borders the Red and Arabian seas. The Arabian coastal plain includes Aden, the former capital of South Yemen, and the fertile Hadramaut valley. The w plain is backed by highlands, which rise to more than 3600m (12,000ft) near the capital Sana'a.

Climate and Vegetation

Most of Yemen is hot and rainless, except during the monsoon month of August. The highlands are the wettest part of Arabia and the temperature is moderated by altitude. Palm trees grow along the coast. Plants such as acacia and eucalyptus flourish in the interior. Thorn shrubs and mountain pasture are found in the highlands. The Rub al Khali is a barren desert.

History and Politics

The ancient kingdom of Sheba (Saba) flourished in present-day s Yemen between c.750 bc and 100 bc. The kingdom was renowned for its advanced technology and wealth, gained through its strategic location on important trade routes. Romans invaded the region in the 1st century bc.

Islam was introduced in ad 628. The Rassite dynasty of the Zaidi sect established a theocratic state, which lasted until 1962. In c.1000, the Fatimids conquered Yemen. In 1517, the area became part of the Ottoman Empire, and largely remained under Turkish control until 1918. In the 19th century, the Saudi Wahhabi sect ousted the Zaidi imams, but were in turn expelled by Ibrahim Pasha.

In 1839, the British captured Aden. In 1937, Britain formed the Aden Protectorate. Following the defeat of the Ottomans in World War 1, Imam Yahya of the Hamid al-Din dynasty ruled Yemen. In 1945, Yemen joined the Arab League. In 1948, Yahya was assassinated and Crown Prince Ahmed became imam. From 1958 to 1961, Yemen formed part of the United Arab Republic (with Egypt and Syria).

In 1962, a military coup overthrew the monarchy and established the Yemen Arab Republic. Civil war ensued between republicans (aided by Egypt) and royalists (aided by Saudi Arabia and Jordan). Meanwhile, the Aden Protectorate became part of the British Federation of South Arabia.

In 1967, the National Liberation Front forced the British to withdraw from Aden and founded the People's Republic of South Yemen. Marxists won the ensuing civil war in South Yemen and renamed it the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (1970). Border clashes between the two Yemens were frequent throughout the 1970s, and erupted into full-scale war in 1979.

In 1990, after lengthy negotiations, the two Yemens merged to form a single republic with Ali Abdallah Salih as president. Yemen's support for Iraq in the Gulf War (1991) led to the expulsion of 800,000 Yemeni workers from Saudi Arabia. A coalition government emerged from 1993 elections, but increasing economic and political tensions between North and South led to civil war in 1994. The South's brief secession from the union ended with victory for the Northern army. In 1995, Yemen reached agreements with Saudi Arabia and Oman over disputed boundaries, but clashed with Eritrea over the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea. In 2000, a suicide bomb attack on the USS Cole in Aden killed 17 US personnel. In 2001, President Salih offered support to the USA in its "war on terrorism".

Economy

Civil war devastated Yemen's economy, seriously damaging the country's infrastructure, such as the oil refinery at Aden. Yemen is a low-income developing nation (2000 GDP per capita, US$820). In 2000, unemployment stood at more than 30% and inflation at more than 10%. Nearly 50% of the population are under 15 years old. Agriculture employs 63% of the workforce, mainly at subsistence level. The major economic activity is livestock-raising, principally sheep. Crops include sorghum, wheat and barley. Oil extraction began in the nw in the 1980s. Natural gas is also exploited.

Political map

Physical map

Websites

http://www.yemenembassy.org