Virgin Islands (2003) | Yemen (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three islands at the second order; Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Thomas | 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: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 26% (male 16,685; female 15,794)
15-64 years: 64.4% (male 36,241; female 44,157) 65 years and over: 9.5% (male 5,078; female 6,823) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.4% (male 5,067,762/female 4,881,333)
15-64 years: 51% (male 5,568,078/female 5,375,263) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 275,878/female 287,874) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruit, vegetables, sorghum; Senepol cattle | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish |
Airports | 2 (2002) | 46 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 30
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
Area | total: 352 sq km
land: 349 sq km water: 3 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 | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
Background | During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848. | 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 | 15.8 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 42.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $364.4 million
expenditures: $364.4 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.) |
revenues: $5.616 billion
expenditures: $5.719 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Charlotte Amalie | name: Sanaa
geographic coordinates: 15 21 N, 44 12 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | subtropical, tempered by easterly trade winds, relatively low humidity, little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season May to November | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east |
Coastline | 188 km | 1,906 km |
Constitution | Revised Organic Act of 22 July 1954 | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: United States Virgin Islands
conventional short form: Virgin Islands former: Danish West Indies |
conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen] |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 5.68 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.3 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5.347 billion (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between the Virgin Islands and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. KRAJESKI
embassy: Sa'awan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of the US) | chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: 2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
Disputes - international | none | Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; Saudi Arabia still maintains the concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier along sections of the border with Yemen in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities; Yemen protests Saudi erection of a concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities in sections of the boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) |
Economy - overview | Tourism is the primary economic activity, accounting for more than 70% of GDP and 70% of employment. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year. The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and watch assembly. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are a small but growing component of the economy. One of the world's largest petroleum refineries is at Saint Croix. The islands are subject to substantial damage from storms. The government is working to improve fiscal discipline, support construction projects in the private sector, expand tourist facilities, reduce crime, and protect the environment. | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, has reported meager growth since 2000. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. Oil revenues increased in 2005 due to higher prices. Yemen was on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. However, government dedication to the program waned in 2001 for political reasons. Yemen is struggling to control excessive spending and rampant corruption. The people have grown increasingly upset over the economic situation. In July 2005, a reduction in fuel subsidies sparked riots; over 20 Yemenis were killed and hundreds were injured. |
Electricity - consumption | 957.9 million kWh (2001) | 2.827 billion kWh (2003 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 1.03 billion kWh (2001) | 3.848 billion kWh (2003 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Crown Mountain 474 m |
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
Environment - current issues | lack of natural freshwater resources | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 78%, white 10%, other 12%
note: West Indian 81% (49% born in the Virgin Islands and 32% born elsewhere in the West Indies), US mainland 13%, Puerto Rican 4%, other 2% |
predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 192.67 (2005), 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002), 168.67 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (Since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (since 5 January 1999) and Lieutenant Governor Vargrave RICHARDS (since NA January 2003) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 5 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL reelected governor; percent of vote - Dr. Charles Wesley TURNBULL (Democrat) 50.5%, John de JONGH 24.4% |
chief of state: President 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; Deputy Prime Ministers Rashid Muhammad al-ALIMI, Alawi Salah al-SALAMI, Ahmad Muhammad Abdallah al-SUFAN cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 20 September 2006 (next to be held September 2013); 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 77.2%, Faisal bin SHAMLAN 21.8% |
Exports | NA (2001) | 370,300 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish |
Exports - partners | US, Puerto Rico | China 36.5%, Chile 19.2%, Thailand 12.5%, Japan 5.4%, South Korea 4.4%, US 4.1% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | white, with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I; the coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in one talon and three arrows in the other with a superimposed shield of vertical red and white stripes below a blue panel | 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 - $2.4 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 47.2% services: 39.3% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2001 est.) | 2.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 20 N, 64 50 W | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
Geography - note | important location along the Anegada Passage - a key shipping lane for the Panama Canal; Saint Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean | 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: 856 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: the only US possession where driving on the left side of the road is practiced (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003) |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | crude oil, foodstuffs, consumer goods, building materials | food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US, Puerto Rico | UAE 14.6%, Saudi Arabia 11.6%, China 9.1%, Kuwait 5%, India 4.5% (2005) |
Independence | - | 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen 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]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November of 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, petroleum refining, watch assembly, rum distilling, construction, pharmaceuticals, textiles, electronics | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 59.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 64.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 54.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (1992) | 11.8% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC | AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 50 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 5,500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | US District Court of the Virgin Islands (under Third Circuit jurisdiction); Territorial Court (judges appointed by the governor for 10-year terms) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 49,000 (2002 est.) | 5.83 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry 20%, services 79% (1990 est.) | note: 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: 15%
permanent crops: 6% other: 79% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.91%
permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.84% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Spanish, Creole | Arabic |
Legal system | based on US laws | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Senate (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 8, ICM NA, no party affiliation NA note: the Virgin Islands elects one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 6 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004); results - Donna M. CHRISTIAN-CHRISTENSON (Democrat) reelected |
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 in April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.59 years
male: 74.73 years female: 82.68 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 62.12 years
male: 60.23 years female: 64.11 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | 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 economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 15,400 GRT/18,072 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 9 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 3, North Korea 2, Panama 3) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | a Coast Guard was established in 2002 |
Military branches | - | Army (includes Special Forces), Navy (includes Marines), Unified Yemen Air Force (includes Air Defense Force) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $992.2 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 6.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Transfer Day (from Denmark to the US), 27 March (1917) | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: Virgin Islander |
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
Natural hazards | several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
Natural resources | sun, sand, sea, surf | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west |
Net migration rate | 0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 71 km; liquid petroleum gas 22 km; oil 1,284 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Arturo WATLINGTON]; Independent Citizens' Movement or ICM [Usie RICHARDS]; Republican Party [Gary SPRAUVE] | there are more than 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]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdal Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 124,778 (July 2003 est.) | 21,456,188 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 45.2% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 1.02% (2003 est.) | 3.46% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted, Cruz Bay, Port Alucroix | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 11, shortwave 0 (2002) | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Baptist 42%, Roman Catholic 34%, Episcopalian 17%, other 7% | 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: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.82 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.87 male(s)/female (2003 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: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; note - indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: modern, uses fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay international: submarine cable and satellite communications; satellite earth stations - NA |
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: country code - 967; 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 | 65,000 (1997) | 798,100 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,000 (1992) | 2 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2002) | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly hilly to rugged and mountainous with little level land | 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 | 2.22 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 6.58 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.9% (March 1999) | 35% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |