Mauritius (2001) | Yemen (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne | 17 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Ataq, Dhamar, Hadhramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Ta'izz
note: there may be three more governorates: Al Daleh, Shabwah, and the capital city of Sana'a |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
25.53% (male 153,691; female 150,094) 15-64 years: 68.24% (male 404,940; female 407,056) 65 years and over: 6.23% (male 29,588; female 44,456) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years:
47.21% (male 4,340,436; female 4,195,076) 15-64 years: 49.79% (male 4,598,301; female 4,402,402) 65 years and over: 3% (male 274,202; female 267,618) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 50 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
13 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total:
37 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
1,860 sq km land: 1,850 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues |
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 | almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
Background | Discovered by the Portuguese in 1505, Mauritius was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community. | 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 | 16.5 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 43.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.1 billion expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues:
$3 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Port Louis | Sanaa |
Climate | tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May) | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 177 km | 1,906 km |
Constitution | 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992 | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Mauritius conventional short form: Mauritius |
conventional long form:
Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
Currency | Mauritian rupee (MUR) | Yemeni rial (YER) |
Death rate | 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.9 billion (1998 est.) | $4.4 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mark W. ERWIN embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis mailing address: international mail: P. O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 208-2347, 208-2354, 208-9763 through 9767 FAX: [230] 208-9534 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Barbara K. BODINE 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 Usha JEETAH chancery: Suite 441, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983 |
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 | claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory); claims French-administered Tromelin Island | a June 2000 treaty delimited the boundary with Saudi Arabia, but final demarcation requires adjustments based on tribal considerations |
Economic aid - recipient | $42 million (1997) | $176.1 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on foreign investment. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Economic performance since 1991 has continued strong with solid growth and low unemployment. | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but was harmed by low oil prices in 1998. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to 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 of nearly 3.4% and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.172 billion kWh (1999) | 2.232 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.26 billion kWh (1999) | 2.4 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
91.27% hydro: 8.73% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Piton 828 m |
lowest point:
Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution, degradation of coral reefs | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, 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 | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
Exchange rates | Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 27.900 (January 2001), 26.250 (2000), 25.186 (1999), 22.993 (1998), 21.057 (1997), 17.948 (1996) | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 164.590 (October 2000), 160.683 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997), 94.157 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Cassam UTEEM (since 1 July 1992) and Vice President Angidi Verriah CHETTIAR (since 28 June 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 17 September 2000) and Deputy Prime Minister Paul BERENGER (since 17 September 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 28 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president and are responsible to the National Assembly election results: Cassam UTEEM reelected president and Angidi Verriah CHETTIAR elected vice president; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA% |
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 five-year term (a new constitution amendment extends the term by two years to a seven-year term); 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%, Najeeb Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7% |
Exports | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | UK 32%, France 19%, US 15%, Germany 6%, Italy 4% (1999 est.) | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Japan 3% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green | 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 - $12.3 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 29% services: 61% (1996) |
agriculture:
20% industry: 42% services: 38% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $820 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.5% (2000 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 17 S, 57 33 E | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | - | 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:
1,910 km paved: 1,834 km (including 36 km of expressways) unpaved: 76 km (1998) |
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%:
2.3% highest 10%: 30.8% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | minor consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally | - |
Imports | $2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals (1996) | food and live animals, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | France 14%, South Africa 11%, India 8%, UK 5% (1999 est.) | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, US 7%, France 7%, Italy 6% (1999) |
Independence | 12 March 1968 (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 | 8% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery; tourism | 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 | 17.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 68.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.3% (2000 est.) | 10% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, InOC, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, 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 | 170 sq km (1993 est.) | 5,674 sq km (1999) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 514,000 (1995) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | construction and industry 36%, services 24%, agriculture and fishing 14%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, transportation and communication 7%, finance 3% (1995) | 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 | 0 km | total:
1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land:
49% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 22% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 33.5% forests and woodland: 4% other: 46.5% (1999) |
Languages | English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bojpoori | Arabic |
Legal system | based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas | 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 (66 seats - 62 elected by popular vote, 4 appointed by the election commission from the losing political parties to give representation to various ethnic minorities; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 September 2000 (next to be held by September 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - MSM/MMM 52.3%, MLP/PMSD 36.9%, OPR 10.8%; seats by party - MSM/MMM 54, MLP/PMSD 6, OPR 2 |
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; latest seats by party: GPC 223, Islah 64, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, YSP 2, independents 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.25 years male: 67.26 years female: 75.31 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
60.21 years male: 58.45 years female: 62.05 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 82.9% male: 87.1% female: 78.8% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | World | Middle East |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM 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:
9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 61,909 GRT/87,313 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, combination bulk 2, container 2, liquefied gas 1, refrigerated cargo 2 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: India 1 (2000 est.) |
total:
4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,075 GRT/23,562 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | National Police Force (includes the paramilitary Special Mobile Force or SMF and National Coast Guard) | Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Presidential Guards, paramilitary (includes Police) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $11 million (FY97/98) | $414 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.3% (FY97/98) | 7.6% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
339,473 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
4,103,093 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
171,206 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
2,303,257 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 14 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
238,690 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 March (1968) | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun:
Mauritian(s) adjective: Mauritian |
noun:
Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | -0.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km |
Political parties and leaders | Hizbullah [Cehl Mohamed FAKEEMEEAH]; Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER] - in coalition with MSM; Mauritian Militant Renaissance or MMR [Dr. Paramhansa NABABSING]; Mauritian Social Democrat Party or PMSD [Charles Xavier-Luc DUVAL]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM [Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH] - governing party; Rodrigues Movement or OPR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY] | 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 to be 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 | various labor unions | NA |
Population | 1,189,825 (July 2001 est.) | 18,078,035 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10.6% (1992 est.) | 19% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.88% (2001 est.) | 3.38% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Port Louis | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Mocha, Nishtun |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 420,000 (1997) | 1.05 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Hindu 52%, Christian 28.3% (Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 2.3%), Muslim 16.6%, other 3.1% | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
small system with good service domestic: primarily microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries |
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 | 223,000 (1997) | 291,359 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 37,000 (1997) | 32,042 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau | 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 | 2.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.97 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.4% (1999 est.) | 30% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |