Yemen
Top Sights & Landmarks
Background
The Kingdom of Yemen (colloquially known as North Yemen) became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and in 1962 became the Yemen Arab Republic. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became the People's Republic of Southern Yemen (colloquially known as South Yemen). Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation and changed the country's name to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. The exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states, which were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement and brief civil war in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to delineate their border. Fighting in the northwest between the government and the Houthis, a Zaydi Shia Muslim minority, continued intermittently from 2004 to 2010, and then again from 2014 to the present. The southern secessionist movement was revitalized in 2007. Public rallies in Sana'a against then President Ali Abdallah SALIH -- inspired by similar Arab Spring demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt -- slowly gained momentum in 2011, fueled by complaints over high unemployment, poor economic conditions, and corruption. Some protests resulted in violence, and the demonstrations spread to other major cities. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) mediated the crisis with the GCC Initiative, an agreement in which the president would step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution. SALIH eventually agreed to step down and transfer some powers to Vice President Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI. After HADI's uncontested election victory in 2012, SALIH formally transferred all presidential powers. In accordance with the GCC Initiative, Yemen launched a National Dialogue Conference (NDC) in 2013 to discuss key constitutional, political, and social issues. HADI concluded the NDC in 2014 and planned to proceed with constitutional drafting, a constitutional referendum, and national elections. The Houthis, perceiving their grievances were not addressed in the NDC, joined forces with SALIH and expanded their influence in northwestern Yemen, which culminated in a major offensive against military units and rival tribes and enabled their forces to overrun the capital, Sana'a, in 2014. In 2015, the Houthis surrounded key government facilities, prompting HADI and the cabinet to resign. HADI fled first to Aden -- where he rescinded his resignation -- and then to Oman before moving to Saudi Arabia and asking the GCC to intervene militarily in Yemen. Saudi Arabia assembled a coalition of Arab militaries and began airstrikes, and ground fighting continued through 2016. In 2016, the UN initiated peace talks that ended without agreement. Rising tensions between the Houthis and SALIH culminated in Houthi forces killing SALIH. In 2018, the Houthis and the Yemeni Government participated in UN-brokered peace talks, agreeing to a limited cease-fire and the establishment of a UN mission. In 2019, Yemen’s parliament convened for the first time since the conflict broke out in 2014. Violence then erupted between HADI's government and the pro-secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) in southern Yemen. HADI's government and the STC signed a power-sharing agreement to end the fighting, and in 2020, the signatories formed a new cabinet. In 2020 and 2021, fighting continued as the Houthis gained territory and also conducted regular UAV and missile attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia. In 2022, the UN brokered a temporary truce between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition. HADI and his vice-president resigned and were replaced by an eight-person Presidential Leadership Council. Although the truce formally expired in 2022, the parties nonetheless refrained from large-scale conflict through the end of 2023. Saudi Arabia, after the truce expired, continued to negotiate with the Yemeni Government and Houthis on a roadmap agreement that would include a permanent ceasefire and a peace process under UN auspices.
Location
Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Area
Elevation
Detailed Geography Information
Coastline
1,906 km
Geography - note
strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and one of world's most active shipping lanes
Irrigated land
6,800 sq km (2012)
Land boundaries
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Natural hazards
sandstorms and dust storms in summer volcanism: limited volcanic activity; Jebel at Tair (Jabal al-Tair, Jebel Teir, Jabal al-Tayr, Jazirat at-Tair) (244 m), which forms an island in the Red Sea, became active in 2007; other historically active volcanoes include Harra of Arhab, Harras of Dhamar, Harra es-Sawad, and Jebel Zubair, although many of these have not erupted in over a century
Natural resources
Terrain
narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula
Population & Growth
Age Distribution
Demographic Longevity
Vital Dynamics
Detailed People & Society Information
Alcohol consumption per capita
0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
40.7% (2022 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
63.9% (2023 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 70.2 (2025 est.) youth dependency ratio: 64.8 (2025 est.) elderly dependency ratio: 5.4 (2025 est.) potential support ratio: 18.4 (2025 est.)
Ethnic groups
Gross reproduction rate
1.78 (2025 est.)
Health expenditure
4.3% of GDP (2015) 2.5% of national budget (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 42.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.) male: 49.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 39 deaths/1,000 live births
Languages
Literacy
female: 54.1% (2023 est.)
Major urban areas - population
3.292 million SANAA (capital), 1.080 million Aden, 941,000 Taiz, 772,000 Ibb (2023)
Maternal mortality ratio
118 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
20.8 years (2013 est.) note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
Nationality
noun: Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
17.1% (2016)
Physician density
0.1 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Population distribution
the vast majority of the population is found in the Asir Mountains (part of the larger Sarawat Mountain system), located in the far western region of the country
Refugees and internally displaced persons
Religions
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 20.2% (2025 est.) male: 33.1% (2025 est.) female: 7.3% (2025 est.)
Climate & Issues
mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
Land Cover
Air & Carbon Emissions
Water Resources & Use
Detailed Environmental Information
International environmental agreements
Urbanization
urban population: 39.8% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 3.71% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually: 4.837 million tons (2024 est.) percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 8% (2016 est.)
Capital & State Profile
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
National Identity & Symbols
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black
Detailed Government Information
Administrative divisions
22 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan (Aden), Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Amanat al 'Asimah (Sanaa City), 'Amran, Arkhabil Suqutra (Socotra Archipelago), Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Raymah, Sa'dah, San'a' (Sanaa), Shabwah, Ta'izz
Citizenship
citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Yemen; if the father is unknown, the mother must be a citizen dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years
Constitution
history: adopted by referendum 16 May 1991 (following unification)
Country name
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen] etymology: the name origin is unclear but may come from the Arabic word al-yamin, meaning "the right," as a reference to its geographic position in relation to Mecca
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
International organization participation
Judicial branch
highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the court president, 2 deputies, and nearly 50 judges; court organized into constitutional, civil, commercial, family, administrative, criminal, military, and appeals scrutiny divisions) judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council, which is chaired by the president of the republic and includes 10 high-ranking judicial officers; judges serve for life with mandatory retirement at age 65 subordinate courts: appeal courts; district or first instance courts; commercial courts
Legal system
mixed system of Islamic (sharia) law, Napoleonic law, English common law, and customary law
National heritage
total World Heritage Sites: 5 (4 cultural, 1 natural) selected World Heritage Site locales: Old Walled City of Shibam (c); Old City of Sana'a (c); Historic Town of Zabid (c); Socotra Archipelago (n); Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba, Marib (c)
Political parties
General People’s Congress or GPC (3 factions: pro-Hadi, pro-Houthi, pro-Salih) Nasserist Unionist People's Organization National Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party Southern Transitional Council or STC Yemeni Reform Grouping or Islah Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Economic Overview
low-income Middle Eastern economy; infrastructure, trade, and economic institutions devastated by civil war; oil/gas-dependent but decreasing reserves; massive poverty, food insecurity, and unemployment; high inflation
Size & Performance
GDP Sector Breakdown
Trade Balance
Budget Balance
Export Profile
Top Export Partners
Major Export Commodities
Import Profile
Top Import Partners
Major Import Commodities
Labor & Employment
Income Inequality
Detailed Economic Data
Agricultural products
Current account balance
-$2.419 billion (2016 est.) -$3.026 billion (2015 est.) -$1.488 billion (2014 est.) note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
Debt - external
$6.492 billion (2023 est.) note: present value of external debt in current US dollars
Exchange rates
Yemeni rials (YER) per US dollar - Exchange rates: 1,355.116 (2023 est.) 1,115.002 (2022 est.) 1,028.108 (2021 est.) 743.006 (2020 est.) 486.731 (2019 est.)
Industrial production growth rate
-1.1% (2018 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
Industries
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
29.1% (2022 est.) 26% (2021 est.) 19.6% (2020 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Remittances
20.05% of GDP (2023 est.) 16.02% of GDP (2022 est.) 19.44% of GDP (2021 est.) note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$1.251 billion (2022 est.) $1.688 billion (2021 est.) $969.613 million (2020 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Grid Infrastructure
Generation Mix
Fossil Fuels Production
Intensity & Nuclear
Digital Access
Active internet users as a percentage of the total population.
Fixed Broadband
Mobile Cellular
Broadcast Media
Aviation
Ports & Harbors
Merchant Marine
Active Duty Strengths
not available
Service & Defense Details
Yemeni Armed Forces: Yemeni National Army, Air Force and Air Defense, Navy and Coastal Defense Forces, Border Guard, Strategic Reserve Forces (includes Special Forces and Presidential Protection Brigades, which are under the Ministry of Defense but responsible to the president), Popular Committee Forces (aka Popular Resistance Forces; government-backed tribal militia) Ministry of Interior: Security Forces, Emergency Forces, Counterterrorism Units (2025) note 1: both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have raised and continue to back tribal and regionally based irregular forces in Yemen note 2: Houthi (alt Huthi; aka Ansarallah) forces include land, aerospace (air, missile), naval/coastal defense, presidential protection, special operations, internal security, and militia/tribal auxiliary components; a considerable portion--up to 70 percent by some estimates--of Yemen’s military and security forces defected in whole or in part to former president SALAH and the Houthi opposition in 2011-2015
the Yemeni Government forces have an inventory consisting primarily of older foreign-supplied weapons systems, mostly of Russian or Soviet origin (2025) note: Houthi rebel forces are armed largely with weapons seized from the Yemeni Government stockpiles, smuggled in from Iran, and manufactured copies of Iranian designs and pre-war Yemeni Government weapons
government forces under the Yemeni Ministry of Defense are responsible for both external and internal defense; their priorities are the Houthi separatists (aka Ansarallah), the terrorist groups al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham in Yemen (ISIS-Yemen), and maritime security, particularly against arms smuggling; in 2022, the Yemeni Government and the Houthis signed a truce, halting most fighting and establishing humanitarian measures; the former front lines of conflict, in some areas mirroring Yemen’s pre-unification borders, remain static; AQAP and ISIS-Yemen continue to be active in remote areas (2025)
limited available information; 18 is the legal minimum age for military service under the Yemeni Government (2025) note: there is widespread recruitment of fighters by numerous armed groups operating in Yemen; all parties to the civil war have been implicated in child soldier recruitment and use; in 2022, the Houthis signed a plan with the UN to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers; Houthi leaders previously pledged to end the use of child soldiers in 2012, as did the Government of Yemen in 2014; in 2019, the Saudi and UAE-led coalition committed to protect children in a memorandum of understanding signed with the UN