Qatar (2001) | Yemen (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ad Dawhah, Al Ghuwayriyah, Al Jumayliyah, Al Khawr, Al Wakrah, Ar Rayyan, Jarayan al Batinah, Madinat ash Shamal, Umm Salal | 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:
25.77% (male 101,155; female 97,086) 15-64 years: 71.75% (male 391,178; female 160,665) 65 years and over: 2.48% (male 13,625; female 5,443) (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 | fruits, vegetables; poultry, dairy products, beef; fish | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 49 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 2 (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:
2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 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:
11,437 sq km land: 11,437 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 | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
Background | Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for pearling into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Qatari economy was crippled by a continuous siphoning off of petroleum revenues by the amir who had ruled the country since 1972. He was overthrown by his son, the current Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani, in a bloodless coup in 1995. In 2001, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Oil and natural gas revenues enable Qatar to have a per capita income not far below the leading industrial countries of Western Europe. | 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 | 15.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 43.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3.9 billion expenditures: $4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Doha | Sanaa |
Climate | desert; hot, dry; humid and sultry in summer | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 563 km | 1,906 km |
Constitution | provisional constitution enacted 19 April 1972; in July 1999 Amir HAMAD issued a decree forming a committee to draft a permanent constitution | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form:
State of Qatar conventional short form: Qatar local long form: Dawlat Qatar local short form: Qatar note: closest approximation of the native pronunciation falls between cutter and gutter, but not like guitar |
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
Currency | Qatari rial (QAR) | Yemeni rial (YER) |
Death rate | 4.26 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $13.1 billion (2000 est.) | $4.7 billion (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Elizabeth Davenport MCKUNE embassy: 22 February Road, Doha mailing address: P. O. Box 2399, Doha telephone: [974] 488 4101 FAX: [974] 488 4298 note: workweek is Saturday-Wednesday |
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 Badr Umar al-DAFA chancery: 4200 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 274-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 237-0061 consulate(s) general: Houston |
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 | in March of 2001, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded the Hawar Islands to Bahrain and adjusted its maritime boundary with Qatar; a final border resolution was agreed to with Saudi Arabia in March of 2001 | 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 | $NA | $176.1 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | Oil accounts for more than 30% of GDP, roughly 80% of export earnings, and 66% of government revenues. Proved oil reserves of 3.7 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for 23 years. Oil has given Qatar a per capita GDP comparable to that of the leading West European industrial countries. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas exceed 7 trillion cubic meters, more than 5% of the world total, third largest in the world. Production and export of natural gas are becoming increasingly important. Long-term goals feature the development of offshore petroleum and the diversification of the economy. In 2000, Qatar posted its highest ever trade surplus of $6 billion, due mainly to high oil prices and increased natural gas exports. | 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 | 8.37 billion kWh (1999) | 2.976 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 9 billion kWh (1999) | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Qurayn Abu al Bawl 103 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection 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 | Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14% | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
Exchange rates | Qatari rials per US dollar - 3.6400 (fixed rate) | 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:
Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani (since 27 June 1995 when, as crown prince, he ousted his father, Amir KHALIFA bin Hamad Al Thani, in a bloodless coup); Crown Prince JASSIM bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, third son of the monarch (selected crown prince by the monarch 22 October 1996); note - Amir HAMAD also holds the positions of minister of defense and commander-in-chief of the armed forces head of government: Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Khalifa Al Thani, brother of the monarch (since 30 October 1996); Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani, brother of the monarch (since 20 January 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary note: in March 1999 Qatar held nationwide elections for a 29-member Central Municipal Council, which has consultative powers aimed at improving the provision of municipal services |
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 | $9.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $3.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products 80%, fertilizers, steel | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | Japan 52%, Singapore 9%, South Korea 8%, US, UAE (1998) | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Singapore 9%, Japan 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on 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 - $15.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14.8 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1% industry: 49% services: 50% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 40% services: 43% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 25 30 N, 51 15 E | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits | 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 | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
1,230 km paved: 1,107 km unpaved: 123 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 | $3.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, food, chemicals | food and live animals, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | UK 10%, Japan 8%, Germany 6%, US 6%, Italy 6% (1998) | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, France 7%, US 7%, Italy 6% (1999) |
Independence | 3 September 1971 (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 | NA% | NA% |
Industries | crude oil production and refining, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement | 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 | 21.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 66.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000) | 10% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, 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) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 80 sq km (1993 est.) | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 233,000 (1993 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | - | 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:
60 km border countries: Saudi Arabia 60 km |
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 0% other: 94% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.75%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 97.04% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language | Arabic |
Legal system | discretionary system of law controlled by the amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law is significant in personal matters | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (35 seats; members appointed)
note: the constitution calls for elections for part of this consultative body, but no elections have been held since 1970, when there were partial elections to the body; Council members have their terms extended every four years since |
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:
72.62 years male: 70.16 years female: 75.21 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: 79% male: 79% female: 80% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.) |
Location | Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: as determined by bilateral agreements or the 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:
25 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 677,992 GRT/1,049,447 DWT ships by type: cargo 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 7, petroleum tanker 6 (2000 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 | Army, Navy, Air Force, Public Security | Army (includes Special Forces, established in 1999), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $723 million (FY00/01) | $482.5 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 10% (FY00/01) | 5.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
312,116 note: includes non-nationals (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 4,272,156 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
163,642 (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:
6,797 (2001 est.) |
males: 238,690 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 3 September (1971) | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun:
Qatari(s) adjective: Qatari |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | haze, dust storms, sandstorms common | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, fish | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | 20.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 235 km; natural gas 400 km | crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 | none | NA |
Population | 769,152 (July 2001 est.) | 18,701,257 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.18% (2001 est.) | 3.4% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Doha, Halul Island, Umm Sa'id (Musay'id) | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 256,000 (1997) | 1.05 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 95% | 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 2.43 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 2.5 male(s)/female total population: 1.92 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 | suffrage is limited to municipal elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern system centered in Doha domestic: NA international: tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and UAE; submarine cable to Bahrain and UAE; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat |
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 | 142,000 (1997) | 291,359 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 43,476 (1997) | 32,042 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus three repeaters) (1997) | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel | 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 | 3.17 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.9 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 30% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |