Yemen (2001) | Northern Mariana Islands (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 |
none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order: Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 19.9% (male 8,332/female 7,646)
15-64 years: 78.5% (male 26,121/female 36,982) 65 years and over: 1.6% (male 646/female 635) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle |
Airports | 50 (2000 est.) | 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | 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) |
total: 477 sq km
land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. |
Birth rate | 43.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.51 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $193 million
expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY01/02 est.) |
Capital | Sanaa | Saipan |
Climate | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October |
Coastline | 1,906 km | 1,482 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 | Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978; Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Currency | Yemeni rial (YER) | - |
Death rate | 9.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.3 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.4 billion (2000) | NA |
Dependency status | - | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
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Disputes - international | a June 2000 treaty delimited the boundary with Saudi Arabia, but final demarcation requires adjustments based on tribal considerations | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $176.1 million (1995) | extensive funding from US |
Economy - overview | 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. | The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.232 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh |
Electricity - production | 2.4 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans | Asian 56.3%, Pacific islander 36.3%, Caucasian 1.8%, other 0.8%, mixed 4.8% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 164.590 (October 2000), 160.683 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997), 94.157 (1996) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | 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% |
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 Juan N. BABAUTA (since 14 January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENAVENTE (since 14 January 2002) 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 3 November 2001 (next to be held November 2005) election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 42.8% |
Exports | $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish | garments |
Exports - partners | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Japan 3% (1999) | US (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | 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 | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $14.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
20% industry: 42% services: 38% (1998) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $820 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 48 00 E | 15 12 N, 145 45 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 | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
69,263 km paved: 9,963 km unpaved: 59,300 km (1999) |
total: 362 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 30.8% (1992) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and equipment | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, US 7%, France 7%, Italy 6% (1999) | US, Japan (2000) |
Independence | 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) | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA |
Industries | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 68.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2000 est.) | 1.2% (1997 est.) |
International organization participation | 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) | Interpol (subbureau) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 5,674 sq km (1999) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court |
Labor force | NA | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (June 1995) |
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 | NA |
Land boundaries | total:
1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 33.5% forests and woodland: 4% other: 46.5% (1999) |
arable land: 13.04%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 82.61% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic | Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census) |
Legal system | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation |
Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005); House of Representatives - last held 1 November 2003 (next to be held 5 November 2005) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Covenant Party 9, Republican Party 7, Democratic Party 1, independent 1 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.21 years male: 58.45 years female: 62.05 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.88 years
male: 73.31 years female: 78.61 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | 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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | 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.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Presidential Guards, paramilitary (includes Police) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $414 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 7.6% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
4,103,093 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | 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 | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) |
Nationality | noun:
Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west | arable land, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | 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 |
Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [NA]; Covenant Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 18,078,035 (July 2001 est.) | 80,362 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 19% (1992 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.38% (2001 est.) | 2.61% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Mocha, Nishtun | Saipan, Tinian |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 1.05 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.71 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 0.78 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-670; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 291,359 (1999) | 21,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 32,042 (2000) | 3,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) |
Terrain | 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 | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 6.97 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.27 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (1995 est.) | NA |
Waterways | none | - |