Turks and Caicos Islands (2001) | Yemen (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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:
32.58% (male 2,996; female 2,908) 15-64 years: 63.51% (male 6,050; female 5,459) 65 years and over: 3.91% (male 316; female 393) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.8% (male 4,606,110; female 4,446,229)
15-64 years: 50.4% (male 4,972,946; female 4,778,034) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 272,921; female 273,641) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), citrus fruits; fish | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 8 (2000 est.) | 44 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 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:
4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (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:
430 sq km land: 430 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 | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
Background | The islands were part of the UK's Jamaican colony until 1962, when they assumed the status of a separate crown colony upon Jamaica's independence. The governor of The Bahamas oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence, the islands received a separate governor in 1973. Although independence was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed and the islands are presently a British overseas territory. | 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 | 24.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 43.23 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$47 million expenditures: $33.6 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997-1998 est.) |
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Cockburn Town (on Grand Turk) | Sanaa |
Climate | tropical; marine; moderated by trade winds; sunny and relatively dry | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 389 km | 1,906 km |
Constitution | introduced 30 August 1976; suspended in 1986; restored and revised 5 March 1988 | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Turks and Caicos Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Yemeni rial (YER) |
Death rate | 4.47 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.04 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $6.2 billion (2002) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 | none | Eritrea protests Yemeni fishing around the Hanish islands awarded to Eritrea by the ICJ in 1999; nomadic groups in border region with Saudi Arabia resist demarcation of boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | $4.1 million (1997) | $2.3 billion to be disbursed 2003-07 (2003-07 disbursements) |
Economy - overview | The Turks and Caicos economy is based on tourism, fishing, and offshore financial services. Most capital goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The US was the leading source of tourists in 1996, accounting for more than half of the 87,000 visitors; tourist arrivals had risen to 93,000 by 1998. Major sources of government revenue include fees from offshore financial activities and customs receipts. | 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. International donors, meeting in Paris in October 2002, agreed on a further $2.3 billion economic support package. Yemen has 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 | 4.6 million kWh (1999) | 2.8 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 5 million kWh (1999) | 3.01 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Hills 49 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, private cisterns collect rainwater | 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, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | black | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Yemeni rials per US dollar - NA (2002), 168.67 (2001), 161.72 (2000), 155.72 (1999), 135.88 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1953), represented by Governor Mervyn JONES (since 27 January 2000) head of government: Chief Minister Derek H. TAYLOR (since 31 January 1995) cabinet: Executive Council consists of three ex officio members and five appointed by the governor from among the members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister appointed by the governor |
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 | $4.7 million (1993) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | lobster, dried and fresh conch, conch shells | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | US, UK | India 21.1%, Thailand 16.9%, South Korea 11.2%, China 11.1%, Malaysia 7.7%, US 6.7%, Singapore 4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield is yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus | 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 - $128 million (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15.07 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 22%
industry: 38% services: 40% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,300 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.7% (1999 est.) | 4.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 45 N, 71 35 W | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | 30 islands (eight inhabited) | 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:
121 km paved: 24 km unpaved: 97 km (2000) |
total: 67,000 km
paved: 7,705 km unpaved: 59,295 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $46.6 million (1993) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food and beverages, tobacco, clothing, manufactures, construction materials | food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US, UK | US 10.4%, Saudi Arabia 9.5%, China 8.7%, UAE 6.9%, Russia 5.8%, France 4.7% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the 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% | 4% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tourism, offshore financial services | 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 | 18.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 65.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 69.98 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (1995) | 12.2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau) | ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 14 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 4,848 (1990 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | about 33% in government and 20% in agriculture and fishing; significant numbers in tourism, financial, and other services (1997 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 | 0 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: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 98% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.75%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 97.04% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official) | Arabic |
Legal system | based on laws of England and Wales, with a small number adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas | 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 (19 seats, of which 13 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 4 March 1999 (next to be held by NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - PDM 52.2%, PNP 40.9%, independent 6.9%; seats by party - PDM 9, PNP 4 |
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 2003 (next to be held NA April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GPC 238, Islah 46, YSP 8, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
73.52 years male: 71.37 years female: 75.77 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 60.97 years
male: 59.16 years female: 62.87 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, two island groups in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing 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 | none (2000 est.) | total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,623 GRT/23,752 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Hong Kong 2 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | establishment of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed |
Military branches | - | Army (includes Special Forces, established in 1999), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $482.5 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 5.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 4,443,312 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,493,612 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 14 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 249,292 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 30 August (1976) | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun:
none adjective: none |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | frequent hurricanes | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | spiny lobster, conch | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | 13.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 88 km; oil 1,174 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Derek H. TAYLOR]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Washington MISICK]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Wendal SWANN] | 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, 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 | 18,122 (July 2001 est.) | 19,349,881 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.41% (2001 est.) | 3.42% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grand Turk, Providenciales | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3 (one inactive), FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 8,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Baptist 41.2%, Methodist 18.9%, Anglican 18.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.7%, other 19.9% (1980) | 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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 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 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
fair cable and radiotelephone services domestic: NA international: 2 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 3,000 (1994) | 291,359 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1994) | 32,042 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (broadcasts from The Bahamas are received; cable television is established) (1997) | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps | 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 | 3.22 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.82 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (1997 est.) | 30% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |