Yemen was unified as a nation in 1990 after decades of hostility between the Marxist south and North Yemen. Previously, it was divided into the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen and the Yemen Arab Republic. The country is located in the southwest tip of the Arabian peninsular with Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the east. It is separated from Africa by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Yemen - Facts and Figures

• Official name is Republic of Yemen.
• Yemen’s terrain is a narrow coastal plain merging into flat-topped hills and rugged mountains. Desert areas fill uplands and interior of the country.
• Climate is mostly desert, being hot and humid along the west coast, temperate in the western mountains and harsh and hot in the desert east.
• Yemen’s land boundaries total 1,746 kilometers and it has 1,906 kilometers of coastline.
• Area: 527,970 sq km of land area.
• Islam came to Yemen in the seventh century. North Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1918 and was free of British protection in 1967.
• Population is about 21.5 million. The majority of people are Arabs but you also find Afro-Arabs, South Asians and Europeans.
• The official language is Arabic.  (Buy Islamic Arabic Books here)
• Islam is the majority religion while there are also pockets of Jews, Christians and Hindus.
• Capital is Sanaa. Other large cities are Aden, Hodiedah and Tiaz.
• Major exports include crude oil, coffee and dried and salted fish. Yemen’s natural resources are petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, coal, gold, lead, nickel and copper.
• The local currency is the rial.
• Agricultural products are grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton, dairy products, livestock, poultry and fish.
• Major trading partners are Thailand, China, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, France, India, United States and Kuwait.
• Government is based on a parliamentary republic.

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