 Republic of Yemen National name: Al Jumhuriyahal Yamaniyah Government: Parliamentary republic. Geography: Formerly divided into two nations, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and the Yemen Arab Republic, the Republic of Yemen occupies the southwest tip of the Arabian Peninsula on the Red Sea opposite Ethiopia, and extends along the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula on the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Saudi Arabia is to the north and Oman is to the east. The country is about the size of France. A 700-mile (1,130-km) narrow coastal plain in the south gives way to a mountainous region and then a plateau area. Area: 203,849 sq mi (527,970 sq km) Population (2003 est.): 19,349,881 (growth rate: 3.4%); birth rate: 43.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 65.0/1000; density per sq mi: 95 Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Sanaá, 1,778,900 Other large cities: Aden, 568,700; Hodiedah, 426,100; Tiaz, 317,600 Monetary unit: Rial Language: Arabic Ethnicity/race: predominantly Arab; Afro-Arab concentrations in western coastal locations; South Asians in southern regions; small European communities in major metropolitan areas Religion: Islam (Sunni and Shi'ite) Agriculture: grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish. Industries: crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement. Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west. |
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