Brunei (2002) | Yemen (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts (daerah-daerah, singular - daerah); Belait, Brunei and Muara, Temburong, Tutong | 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: 30.2% (male 54,038; female 51,833)
15-64 years: 67% (male 125,051; female 110,257) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 4,609; female 5,110) (2002 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, vegetables, fruits, chickens, water buffalo | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 49 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
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 (2002) |
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: 5,770 sq km
land: 5,270 sq km water: 500 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 | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
Background | The Sultanate of Brunei's heyday occurred between the 15th and 17th centuries, when its control extended over coastal areas of northwest Borneo and the southern Philippines. Brunei subsequently entered a period of decline brought on by internal strife over royal succession, colonial expansion of European powers, and piracy. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate; independence was achieved in 1984. Brunei benefits from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, the source of one of the highest per capita GDPs in the less developed countries. The same family has ruled Brunei for over six centuries. | 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 | 20.06 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 43.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.5 billion
expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.35 billion (1997 est.) |
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Bandar Seri Begawan | Sanaa |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid, rainy | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 161 km | 1,906 km |
Constitution | 29 September 1959 (some provisions suspended under a State of Emergency since December 1962, others since independence on 1 January 1984) | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: Negara Brunei Darussalam
conventional short form: Brunei |
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
Currency | Bruneian dollar (BND) | Yemeni rial (YER) |
Death rate | 3.38 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 | $4.7 billion (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gene B. CHRISTY
embassy: Third Floor, Teck Guan Plaza, Jalan Sultan, Bandar Seri Begawan mailing address: PSC 470 (BSB), FPO AP 96507 telephone: [673] (2) 229670 FAX: [673] (2) 225293 |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador PUTEH ibni Mohammad Alam
chancery: 3520 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1838 FAX: [1] (202) 885-0560 |
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 | Brunei established an exclusive economic fishing zone encompassing Louisa Reef in southern Spratly Islands in 1984, but makes no public territorial claim to the offshore reefs | 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 | $4.3 million (1995) (1995) | $176.1 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | This small, wealthy economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition. Crude oil and natural gas production account for nearly half of GDP. Per capita GDP is far above most other Third World countries, and substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production. The government provides for all medical services and subsidizes rice and housing. Brunei's leaders are concerned that steadily increased integration in the world economy will undermine internal social cohesion although it became a more prominent player by serving as chairman for the 2000 APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum. Plans for the future include upgrading the labor force, reducing unemployment, strengthening the banking and tourist sectors, and, in general, further widening the economic base beyond oil and gas. | 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 | 2.065 billion kWh (2000) | 2.976 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 2.22 billion kWh (2000) | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Bukit Pagon 1,850 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | seasonal smoke/haze resulting from forest fires in Indonesia | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 | Malay 67%, Chinese 15%, indigenous 6%, other 12% | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
Exchange rates | Bruneian dollars per US dollar - 1.8388 (January 2002), 1.8917 (2001), 1.7240 (2000), 1.6950 (1999), 1.6736 (1998), 1.4848 (1997); note - the Bruneian dollar is at par with the Singapore dollar | 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: Sultan and Prime Minister Sir HASSANAL Bolkiah (since 5 October 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister Sir HASSANAL Bolkiah (since 5 October 1967); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Cabinet Ministers appointed and presided over by the monarch; deals with executive matters; note - there is also a Religious Council (members appointed by the monarch) that advises on religious matters, a Privy Council (members appointed by the monarch) that deals with constitutional matters, and the Council of Succession (members appointed by the monarch) that determines the succession to the throne if the need arises elections: none; the monarch is hereditary |
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 | $3 billion f.o.b. (2000 est.) | $3.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, natural gas, refined products | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | Japan 42%, US 17%, South Korea 14%, Thailand 3% (1999) | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Singapore 9%, Japan 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | yellow with two diagonal bands of white (top, almost double width) and black starting from the upper hoist side; the national emblem in red is superimposed at the center; the emblem includes a swallow-tailed flag on top of a winged column within an upturned crescent above a scroll and flanked by two upraised hands | 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 - $6.2 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14.8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 45% services: 50% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 40% services: 43% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | 4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 4 30 N, 114 40 E | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | close to vital sea lanes through South China Sea linking Indian and Pacific Oceans; two parts physically separated by Malaysia; almost an enclave of Malaysia | 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 |
Heliports | 3 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 1,712 km
paved: 1,284 km unpaved: 428 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) |
Illicit drugs | drug trafficking and illegally importing controlled substances are serious offenses in Brunei and carry a mandatory death penalty | - |
Imports | $1.4 billion c.i.f. (2000 est.) | $3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals | food and live animals, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | Singapore 34%, UK 15%, Malaysia 15%, US 5% (1999) | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, France 7%, US 7%, Italy 6% (1999) |
Independence | 1 January 1984 (from UK) | 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 | 4% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, petroleum refining, liquefied natural gas, construction | 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 | 13.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 66.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (1999 est.) | 10% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, ARF, ASEAN, C, CCC, ESCAP, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | 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) | 2 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chief justice and judges are sworn in by the monarch for three-year terms) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 143,400 (1999 est.); note - includes foreign workers and military personnel
note: temporary residents make up 41% of labor force (1991) (1999 est.) |
NA |
Labor force - by occupation | government 48%, production of oil, natural gas, services, and construction 42%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 10% (1999 est.) | 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: 381 km
border countries: Malaysia 381 km |
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.57%
permanent crops: 0.76% other: 98.67% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.75%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 97.04% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Malay (official), English, Chinese | Arabic |
Legal system | based on English common law; for Muslims, Islamic Shari'a law supersedes civil law in a number of areas | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council or Majlis Masyuarat Megeri (a privy council that serves only in a consultative capacity; NA seats; members appointed by the monarch)
elections: last held in March 1962 note: in 1970 the Council was changed to an appointive body by decree of the monarch; an elected Legislative Council is being considered as part of constitutional reform, but elections are unlikely for several years |
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: 74.06 years
male: 71.68 years female: 76.56 years (2002 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: 88.2% male: 92.6% female: 83.4% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM or to median line
territorial sea: 12 NM |
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: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 348,476 GRT/340,635 DWT
ships by type: liquefied gas 7 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: United Kingdom 7 (2002 est.) |
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 | Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, Royal Brunei Police | Army (includes Special Forces, established in 1999), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $343 million (FY98) | $482.5 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.1% (FY98) | 5.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 108,921 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 4,272,156 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 62,864 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,397,914 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 14 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 3,005 (2002 est.) | males: 238,690 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 23 February (1984); note - 1 January 1984 was the date of independence from the UK, 23 February 1984 was the date of independence from British protection | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Bruneian(s)
adjective: Bruneian |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are very rare | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, timber | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | 3.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 135 km; petroleum products 418 km; natural gas 920 km | crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km |
Political parties and leaders | Brunei Solidarity National Party or PPKB in Malay [Haji Mohd HATTA bin Haji Zainal Abidin, president]; the PPKB is the only legal political party in Brunei; it was registered in 1985, but became largely inactive after 1988, it was revived in 1995 and again in 1998; it has less than 200 registered party members; other parties include Brunei People's Party or PRB (banned in 1962) and Brunei National Democratic Party (registered in May 1965, deregistered by the Brunei Government in 1988) | 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 | NA | NA |
Population | 350,898 (July 2002 est.) | 18,701,257 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.06% (2002 est.) | 3.4% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bandar Seri Begawan, Kuala Belait, Muara, Seria, Tutong | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 10, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 329,000 (1998) | 1.05 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 13 km (private line)
narrow gauge: 13 km 0.610-m gauge (2001 est.) |
0 km |
Religions | Muslim (official) 67%, Buddhist 13%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs and other 10% | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2002 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 | none | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: service throughout country is excellent; international service good to Europe, US, and East Asia
domestic: every service available international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean); digital submarine cable links to Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippines (2001) |
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 | 79,000 (1996) | 291,359 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 43,524 (1996) | 32,042 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | flat coastal plain rises to mountains in east; hilly lowland in west | 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 | 2.4 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.9 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (2001 est.) | 30% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | 209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m | none |