Home : Middle East Country Guides : Yemen : General information

Yemen » Key Facts

Middle East, Arabian Peninsula.

Area

536,869 sq km (207,286 sq miles).

Population

22.2 million (2007 estimate).

Population Density

40.04 per sq km.

Capital

Sana’a. Population: 1 million (2005 estimate).

Government

Republic since 1990.

The Republic of Yemen is bordered in the northwest, north and northeast by Saudi Arabia, in the east by Oman and in the south by the Gulf of Aden. To the west lies the Red Sea. The islands of Perim and Karam in the southern Red Sea are also part of the Republic. Yemen is predominantly mountainous, supporting terraced agriculture. The Hadramaut is a range of high mountains in the centre of the country. Highlands rise steeply in central Yemen, ranging in height from approximately 200m (656ft) to the 4,000m (13,123ft) peak of Jabal Nabi Shauib. In contrast is Tihama, a flat semi-desert coastal plain to the west, 50 to 100km (30 to 60 miles) wide. Surface water flows down from the mountains through the valleys during the rainy season and the area is cultivated for cotton and grain. In the east, the mountains drop away to the Rub al-Khali or ‘Empty Quarter’ of the Arabian Peninsula, a vast sea of sand. The arid coastal plains are fringed with sandy beaches.

Language

Arabic. English is widely spoken as a second language.

Religion

Sunni Muslim (especially in the north) and Shia Muslim, with some small Christian and Hindu communities. There is also a small Jewish minority.

Time

GMT + 3.

Social Conventions

Traditional values are still very much part of everyday life and visitors will be treated with traditional courtesies and hospitality. Many of the population work in agriculture, with several thousand dependent on fishing. The rest live and work in towns and there is a small nomadic minority living along the northern edges of the desert. Guns become more noticeable further north, slung over the shoulder and carried in addition to the traditional jambia (dagger). In towns, women are veiled with black or coloured cloth, while in the villages such customs are not observed. Yemenis commonly chew qat, a locally grown shrub bearing shoots that have a stimulant effect (similar to caffeine), chewed in markets and cafes but more stylishly sitting on cushions in a guestroom or mafrai at the top of a multistorey Yemeni house.

For the visitor, conservative casual clothes are suitable; visiting businesspeople are expected to wear suits. Men need to wear a jacket and tie for formal occasions and in smart dining rooms. Women are expected to dress modestly and beachwear and shorts should be confined to the beach or poolside. Smoking is forbidden during Ramadan. Foreigners are requested not to smoke, eat or drink in public.

Photography: Tourists should not take photos of women, military places, police personnel or installations.

Electricity

220/230 volts AC, 50Hz.

Head of Government

Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Mujawar since 2007.

Head of State

President Ali Abdullah Saleh since 1990.

Recent History

At the most recent election for the House of Representatives, in April 2003, the General People’s Congress (GPC) took an overall majority with 238 seats; most of the remainder were taken by Al-Islah. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was re-elected to a further seven-year term in the September 2006 presidential elections (despite previously declaring he would not run), winning 77% of the vote. It was, however, the first time he had faced a serious challenge at the polls. His main rival, Faisal al-Shamlan, gained 21.8% of the vote.

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Information in this section was last updated: Monday, June 30 - 2008

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