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NAVIGATION
Republic of Yemen
Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local short form: Al Yaman local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah |
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Government type:
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republic |
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Capital:
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Sanaa |
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Administrative divisions:
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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
note: there may be one additional governorate of the capital city of Sanaa |
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Independence:
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22 May 1990, Republic of Yemen was 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]; previously North Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) |
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National holiday:
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Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
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Constitution:
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16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
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Legal system:
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based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Field Marshall 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)
head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7% elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a seven-year term (recently extended from a five-year term by constitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president |
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Legislative branch:
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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)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GPC 238, Islah 46, YSP 8, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 4 elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2009) |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court |
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Political parties and leaders:
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there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab Socialist Baath Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]
note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election, but announced that it would participate in Yemen's first local elections, held in February 2001; these local elections aim to decentralize political power and are a key element of the government's political reform program |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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International organization participation:
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ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI
FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Edmund J. HULL
embassy: Dhahar Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 303-161 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182 |
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Flag description:
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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 |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. International donors, meeting in Paris in October 2002, agreed on a further $2.3 billion economic support package. Yemen has worked to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. A high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $15.7 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $840 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 22%
industry: 38% services: 40% (2001) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (1998) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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33.4 (1998) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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12.2% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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NA |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force |
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Unemployment rate:
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30% (1995 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
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Industries:
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crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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4% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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3.01 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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2.8 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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438,500 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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74,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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NA (2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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3.2 billion bbl (January 2002 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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480 billion cu m (January 2002 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
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Exports:
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$3.4 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
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Exports - partners:
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India 19.2%, Thailand 17.3%, China 11.6%, South Korea 11.2%, US 6.0% (2001) |
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Imports:
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$2.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
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Imports - partners:
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Saudi Arabia 11.3%, UAE 8.2%, China 7.6%, US 6.7%, France 5.5% (2001) |
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Debt - external:
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$6.2 billion (2002) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$2.3 billion to be disbursed 2003-07 |
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Currency:
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Yemeni rial (YER) |
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Currency code:
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YER |
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Exchange rates:
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Yemeni rials per US dollar - NA (2002), 168.672 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |