Bhutan (2001) | Yemen (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 18 districts (dzongkhag, singular and plural); Bumthang, Chhukha, Chirang, Daga, Geylegphug, Ha, Lhuntshi, Mongar, Paro, Pemagatsel, Punakha, Samchi, Samdrup Jongkhar, Shemgang, Tashigang, Thimphu, Tongsa, Wangdi Phodrang
note: there may be two new districts named Gasa and Yangtse |
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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
39.99% (male 424,832; female 394,725) 15-64 years: 56.05% (male 591,152; female 557,498) 65 years and over: 3.96% (male 41,125; female 40,080) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 47% (male 4,468,928; female 4,317,648)
15-64 years: 50.1% (male 4,783,769; female 4,587,309) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 273,282; female 270,321) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, root crops, citrus, foodgrains; dairy products, eggs | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 49 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
Area | total:
47,000 sq km land: 47,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: 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) |
Area - comparative | about half the size of Indiana | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
Background | Under British influence a monarchy was set up in 1907; three years later a treaty was signed whereby the country became a British protectorate. Independence was attained in 1949, with India subsequently guiding foreign relations and supplying aid. A refugee issue of some 100,000 Bhutanese in Nepal remains unresolved; 90% of these displaced persons are housed in seven United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps. Maoist Assamese separatists from India, who have established themselves in the southeast portion of Bhutan, have drawn Indian cross-border incursions. | 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. |
Birth rate | 35.73 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 43.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$146 million expenditures: $152 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY95/96 est.) note: the government of India finances nearly three-fifths of Bhutan's budget expenditures |
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Thimphu | Sanaa |
Climate | varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,906 km |
Constitution | no written constitution or bill of rights; note - Bhutan uses 1953 Royal decree for the Constitution of the National Assembly; on 7 July 1998, a Royal edict was ratified giving the National Assembly additional powers | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Bhutan conventional short form: Bhutan |
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
Currency | ngultrum (BTN); Indian rupee (INR) | Yemeni rial (YER) |
Death rate | 14.03 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $120 million (1998) | $4.7 billion (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US and Bhutan have no formal diplomatic relations, although informal contact is maintained between the Bhutanese and US Embassy in New Delhi (India) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none; note - Bhutan has a Permanent Mission to the UN; address: 2 United Nations Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017; telephone [1] (212) 826-1919; the Bhutanese mission to the UN has consular jurisdiction in the US
consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
Disputes - international | refugee issue over the presence in Nepal of approximately 98,700 Bhutanese refugees, 90% of whom are in seven United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps | demarcation of delimited boundary with Saudi Arabia involves nomadic tribal affiliations; Yemen has asserted traditional fishing rights to islands ceded to Eritrea in ICJ ruling |
Economic aid - recipient | $73.8 million (1995) | $176.1 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy, one of the world's smallest and least developed, is based on agriculture and forestry, which provide the main livelihood for more than 90% of the population. Agriculture consists largely of subsistence farming and animal husbandry. Rugged mountains dominate the terrain and make the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive. The economy is closely aligned with India's through strong trade and monetary links. The industrial sector is technologically backward, with most production of the cottage industry type. Most development projects, such as road construction, rely on Indian migrant labor. Bhutan's hydropower potential and its attraction for tourists are key resources. The Bhutanese Government has made some progress in expanding the nation's productive base and improving social welfare. Model education, social, and environment programs in Bhutan are underway with support from multilateral development organizations. Each economic program takes into account the government's desire to protect the country's environment and cultural traditions. Detailed controls and uncertain policies in areas like industrial licensing, trade, labor, and finance continue to hamper foreign investment. | 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. Aided by higher oil prices in 1999-2000, Yemen 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 191.1 million kWh (1999) | 2.976 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 1.55 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 15 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 1.856 billion kWh (1999) | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
0.05% hydro: 99.95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Drangme Chhu 97 m highest point: Kula Kangri 7,553 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion; limited access to potable water | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35%, indigenous or migrant tribes 15% | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
Exchange rates | ngultrum per US dollar - 46.540 (January 2001), 44.942 (2000), 43.055 (1999), 41.259 (1998), 36.313 (1997), 35.433 (1996); note - the Bhutanese ngultrum is at par with the Indian rupee which is also legal tender | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 171.860 (December 2001), 168.678 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
King Jigme Singye WANGCHUCK (since 24 July 1972) head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Sangay NGEDUP (since NA 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers (Lhengye Shungtsog) nominated by the monarch, approved by the National Assembly; members serve fixed, five-year terms; note - there is also a Royal Advisory Council (Lodoi Tsokde), members nominated by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary, but democratic reforms in July 1998 give the National Assembly authority to remove the monarch with two-thirds vote |
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 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 election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7% |
Exports | $154 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $3.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cardamom, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit, electricity (to India), precious stones, spices | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | India 94%, Bangladesh | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Singapore 9%, Japan 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper triangle is yellow and the lower triangle is orange; centered along the dividing line is a large black and white dragon facing away from the hoist side | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.3 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14.8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
38% industry: 37% services: 25% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 40% services: 43% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 27 30 N, 90 30 E | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location between China and India; controls several key Himalayan mountain passes | 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 |
Highways | total:
3,285 km paved: 1,994 km unpaved: 1,291 km (1996) |
total: 69,263 km
paved: 9,963 km unpaved: 59,300 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 26% (1998) (1998) |
Imports | $269 million (c.i.f., 2000 est.) | $3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery and parts, vehicles, fabrics, rice | food and live animals, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | India 77%, Japan, UK, Germany, US | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, France 7%, US 7%, Italy 6% (1999) |
Independence | 8 August 1949 (from India) | 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) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9.3% (1996 est.) | NA% |
Industries | cement, wood products, processed fruits, alcoholic beverages, calcium carbide | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement |
Infant mortality rate | 108.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 66.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2000 est.) | 10% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO (observer) | ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 340 sq km (1993 est.) | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Appeal (the monarch); High Court (judges appointed by the monarch) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | NA
note: massive lack of skilled labor |
NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry and commerce 2% | most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force |
Land boundaries | total:
1,075 km border countries: China 470 km, India 605 km |
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 66% other: 26% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.75%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 97.04% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects | Arabic |
Legal system | based on Indian law and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Tshogdu (150 seats; 105 elected from village constituencies, 10 represent religious bodies, and 35 are designated by the monarch to represent government and other secular interests; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held NA (next to be held NA) election results: NA |
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)
elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held 27 April 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GPC 189, Islah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1; seats by party as of January 2002: GPC 223, Islah 64, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, YSP 2, independents 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
52.79 years male: 53.16 years female: 52.41 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 60.59 years
male: 58.81 years female: 62.46 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 42.2% male: 56.2% female: 28.1% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, between China and India | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,002 GRT/23,752 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Hong Kong 2 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | establishement of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed |
Military branches | Royal Bhutan Army, National Militia, Royal Bhutan Police, Royal Body Guards, Forest Guards (paramilitary) | Army (includes Special Forces, established in 1999), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $482.5 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 5.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
504,342 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 4,272,156 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
269,251 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,397,914 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 14 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
21,167 (2001 est.) |
males: 238,690 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | National Day (Ugyen WANGCHUCK became first hereditary king), 17 December (1907) | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun:
Bhutanese (singular and plural) adjective: Bhutanese |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | violent storms coming down from the Himalayas are the source of the country's name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent landslides during the rainy season | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbide | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km |
Political parties and leaders | no legal parties | 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 which were held in February 2001; these local elections aim to decentralize political power and are a key element of the government's political reform program |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Buddhist clergy; ethnic Nepalese organizations leading militant antigovernment campaign; Indian merchant community; United Front for Democracy (exiled) | NA |
Population | 2,049,412 (July 2001 est.)
note: other estimates range as low as 800,000 |
18,701,257 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.17% (2001 est.) | 3.4% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 37,000 (1997) | 1.05 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Lamaistic Buddhist 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25% | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | each family has one vote in village-level elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: domestic telephone service is very poor with few telephones in use international: international telephone and telegraph service is by landline through India; a satellite earth station was planned (1990) |
general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: 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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,000 (1997) | 291,359 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 32,042 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna | 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 |
Total fertility rate | 5.07 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.9 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 30% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |