Capital: Sana'a
Currency: Yemeni Rial (YER)
Borders: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Yemen is located in the Middle East and borders Saudi Arabia to the
north, Oman in the east, the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden in the
south and the Red Sea in the west. The southwest tip of Yemen looks
out across the water toward Djibouti and Eritrea. The land area of
Yemen is 527,970 sq km. The total coastline measures 1906 km. The
terrain of Yemen is rugged and mountainous with narrow coastal
strips in the west and south. The mountains slope gently downwards
in the north, into the Ru'Al Khali Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia.
The west of Yemen is the highest area of the country and this is
where the tallest point can be found. Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb stands
at a height of 3760m. Western Yemen is the most fertile region of
the country. Yemen's valuable natural resources include petroleum,
fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel
and copper.North Yemen declared
independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1918 whilst the south
remained a British protectorate. Independence in the south was
announced in 1967. In 1990, North and South Yemen merged to form the
modern day republic. The day Yemen unified, the 22nd May 1990 has
now been turned into a national holiday.
The capital of Yemen is Sana'a. Other important
cities include Al Hudaydah, Ta'iz, Adan and Al Mukalli. Close to two
thirds of Yemen is uninhabited and indeed most of the population
lives in the big cities. The official language is Arabic and the
dominant religion is Islam. The national unit of currency is the
Yemeni Rial.
As one of the poorest nations in the Middle East, Yemen's economy
seems to suffer badly when oil prices plummet. Besides oil, the
other industries of Yemen include petroleum refining and food
processing. The majority therefore are agriculture-based. The
agricultural products of Yemen are grain, fruits, vegetables,
pulses, qat, coffee and cotton. Yemen's largest export partner is
Thailand. The transport network of Yemen consists of 69,263 km of
highways and the important port cities of Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al
Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha and Nishtun.
Yemen has a desert climate and is hot and humid on the west coast
and temperate in the western mountains. Yemen receives a high annual
rainfall and is affected by a monsoon season from March to May. The
interior desert region of Yemen is subject to an extremely hot, dry
climate. Temperatures have been recorded as high as 41°C. |
