]! ^! North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. 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 South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. 
]" ^" Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia ^# 15 00 N, 48 00 E ^$ Middle East ^% `! 527,970 sq km `" 527,970 sq km `# 0 sq km `* includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) ^& slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming ^' `! 1,746 km `Y Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km ^( 1,906 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm `O 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin ^* mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east ^+ 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 ^, `% Arabian Sea 0 m `& Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m ^- petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west ^. `' 2.91% `( 0.25% `) 96.84% (2005) ^/ 5,500 sq km (2003) ^0 sandstorms and dust storms in summer ^1 very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes 
]# ^3 22,230,531 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 46.3% (male 5,239,003/female 5,047,301) `, 51.1% (male 5,781,491/female 5,585,152) `- 2.6% (male 281,121/female 296,463) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 16.7 years `. 16.6 years `/ 16.7 years (2007 est.) ^6 3.461% (2007 est.) ^7 42.67 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 8.05 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.038 male(s)/female `, 1.035 male(s)/female `- 0.948 male(s)/female `2 1.034 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 57.88 deaths/1,000 live births `. 62.48 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 53.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 62.52 years `. 60.61 years `/ 64.54 years (2007 est.) ^= 6.49 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.1% (2001 est.) ^? 12,000 (2001 est.) ^@ NA ^A `3 Yemeni(s) `4 Yemeni ^B predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans ^C Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu ^D Arabic ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 50.2% `. 70.5% `/ 30% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Yemen `7 Yemen `Z Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah `[ Al Yaman `\ Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen] ^H republic ^I `8 Sanaa `9 15 21 N, 44 12 E `: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz `* for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate ^K 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) ^L Unification Day, 22 May (1990) ^M 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 ^N based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994) `< Prime Minister Ali Muhammad al-MUJAWWAR (since 31 March 2007); Deputy Prime Minister Rashad Muhammad al-ALIMI `= Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister `> president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 20 September 2006 (next to be held in September 2013); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president `? Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faysal BIN SHAMLAN 21.8% ^Q a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) `> last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2009) `? percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14 ^R Supreme Court ^S General People's Congress or GPC [Abdul-Kader BAJAMMAL]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdal Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]; note - there are at least seven more active political parties ^T NA ^U AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) ^V `R Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI `S 2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 965-4760 `U [1] (202) 337-2017 ^W `R Ambassador Thomas C. KRAJESKI `_ Sa'awan Street, Sanaa `` P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa `T [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266 `U [967] (1) 303-182 ^X three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription), in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band 
]% ^Y Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported average annual growth of 3.5% from 2000 through 2006. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. Oil revenues probably increased in 2006 as a result of higher prices. Yemen was on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. However, government dedication to the program waned in 2001 for political reasons. Yemen is struggling to control excessive spending and rampant corruption. Yemen is dependent on foreign aid to finance its budget deficits and development projects. In November, Yemen secured $4.7 billion in assistance from Arabian Gulf and Western donors. ^Z $20.38 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $15.16 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 3.2% (2006 est.) ^] $900 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 12.5% `A 43.8% `B 43.7% (2006 est.) ^_ 5.759 million (2006 est.) ^` `* most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force ^a 35% (2003 est.) _! 45.2% (2003) _" `C 3% `D 25.9% (2003) _d 33.4 (1998) _# 14.8% (2006 est.) _V 15.7% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $7.314 billion `F $6.984 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _% 30% of GDP (2006 est.) _& grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish _' crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair _( 3% (2003 est.) _) 4.077 billion kWh (2004 est.) _* 3.792 billion kWh (2004 est.) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 387,500 bbl/day (2005 est.) _. 85,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ 370,300 bbl/day (2003) _0 NA bbl/day _W 3.72 billion bbl (2006 est.) _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _X 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Y 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Z 478.6 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $1.69 billion (2006 est.) _3 $8.214 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish _5 China 35.3%, India 16.2%, Thailand 11.9%, Japan 6.3%, South Korea 6.3%, Switzerland 5.5% (2005) _6 $5.042 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals _8 UAE 18.9%, Saudi Arabia 8.9%, Switzerland 8.6%, Kuwait 6.7%, China 6.1%, US 4.5% (2005) _[ $6.735 billion (2006 est.) _9 $5.469 billion (2006 est.) _: $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) _; Yemeni rial (YER) _< Yemeni rials per US dollar - 197.18 (2006), 192.67 (2005), 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 900,000 (2006) _? 2.075 million (2006) _@ `G since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network `H the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems `I country code - 967; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti _A AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) _B 7 (plus several repeaters) (1997) _C .ye _D 171 (2006) _E 220,000 (2005) 
]' _F 46 (2006) _G `! 16 `a 4 `J 8 `b 2 `c 1 `W 1 (2006) _R `! 30 `a 3 `J 7 `b 5 `c 11 `W 4 (2006) _^ gas 71 km; liquid petroleum gas 22 km; oil 1,284 km (2006) _H `! 71,300 km `K 6,200 km `L 65,100 km (2005) _S `! 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 15,400 GRT/18,072 DWT by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 `d 9 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, North Korea 2, Panama 3) (2006) _I Aden, Nishtun 
]( _J Army (includes Special Forces), Navy (includes Marines), Unified Yemen Air Force (includes Air Defense Force) (2006) _T in May 2001, Yemen's National Defense Council abolished compulsory military service and authorized a voluntary program for military service (2004) _K males age 18-49: 4,058,223 females age 18-49: 3,868,112 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 2,790,705 females age 18-49: 2,792,406 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 236,517 females age 18-49: 230,641 (2005 est.) _U 7% (2006 est.) _M a Coast Guard was established in 2002 
]) _N Saudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filled security barrier along sections of the fully demarcated border with Yemen to stem illegal cross-border activities _c `o 78,582 (Somalia) (2006) 