Yemen (2001) | Saint Pierre and Miquelon (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 (territorial collectivity of France); note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are two communes - Saint Pierre, Miquelon at the second order |
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: 24% (male 861/female 825)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 2,330/female 2,251) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 335/female 410) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish | vegetables; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 50 (2000 est.) | 2 (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: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 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.) |
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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: 242 sq km
land: 242 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes eight small islands in the Saint Pierre and the Miquelon groups |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming | 1.5 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. | First settled by the French in the early 17th century, the islands represent the sole remaining vestige of France's once vast North American possessions. |
Birth rate | 43.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $70 million
expenditures: $60 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Sanaa | Saint-Pierre |
Climate | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east | cold and wet, with much mist and fog; spring and autumn are windy |
Coastline | 1,906 km | 120 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
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: Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
conventional short form: Saint Pierre and Miquelon local long form: Departement de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon local short form: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon |
Currency | Yemeni rial (YER) | - |
Death rate | 9.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.4 billion (2000) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | self-governing territorial collectivity of France |
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 |
none (territorial collectivity of France) |
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 |
none (territorial collectivity of France) |
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) | approximately $60 million in annual grants from France |
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 inhabitants have traditionally earned their livelihood by fishing and by servicing fishing fleets operating off the coast of Newfoundland. The economy has been declining, however, because of disputes with Canada over fishing quotas and a steady decline in the number of ships stopping at Saint Pierre. In 1992, an arbitration panel awarded the islands an exclusive economic zone of 12,348 sq km to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Canada, although it represents only 25% of what France had sought. The islands are heavily subsidized by France to the great betterment of living standards. The government hopes an expansion of tourism will boost economic prospects. Recent test drilling for oil may pave the way for development of the energy sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.232 billion kWh (1999) | 40.06 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 2.4 billion kWh (1999) | 43.08 million kWh (2002) |
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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | recent test drilling for oil in waters around Saint Pierre and Miquelon may bring future development that would impact the environment |
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 | Basques and Bretons (French fishermen) |
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) | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Albert DUPUY (since 10 January 2005)
head of government: President of the General Council Marc PLANTAGENEST (since NA) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held, first round - 21 April 2002, second round - 5 May 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the General Council is elected by the members of the council |
Exports | $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish | fish and fish products, soybeans, animal feed, mollusks and crustaceans, fox and mink pelts |
Exports - partners | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Japan 3% (1999) | Belgium 41.3%, US 19.9%, Spain 14.9%, France 10%, Germany 4.1% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | a yellow sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a dark blue background with yellow wavy lines under the ship; on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections; the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern; the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one above the other; these three heraldic arms represent settlement by colonists from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
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 - $7,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 48 00 E | 46 50 N, 56 20 W |
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 | vegetation scanty |
Highways | total:
69,263 km paved: 9,963 km unpaved: 59,300 km (1999) |
total: 114 km
paved: 69 km unpaved: 45 km |
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 | meat, clothing, fuel, electrical equipment, machinery, building materials |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, US 7%, France 7%, Italy 6% (1999) | France 37.6%, Canada 25.3%, Ireland 25.2%, Italy 5.1% (2004) |
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 (territorial collectivity of France; has been under French control since 1763) |
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 | fish processing and supply base for fishing fleets; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 68.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.54 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2000 est.) | 2.1% (1991-96 average) |
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) | UPU, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 5,674 sq km (1999) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Superior Tribunal of Appeals or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel |
Labor force | NA | 3,261 (1999) |
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 | fishing 18%, industry (mainly fish-processing) 41%, services 41% (1996 est.) |
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: 0% other: 86.96% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic | French (official) |
Legal system | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French law with special adaptations for local conditions, such as housing 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 |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats - 15 from Saint Pierre and 4 from Miquelon; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: elections last held 19 and 26 March 2000 (next to be held NA April 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PS 12, PRG 2, UDF-RPR 5 note: Saint Pierre and Miquelon elect 1 seat to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1995 (next to be held NA September 2004); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR 1; Saint Pierre and Miquelon also elects 1 seat to the French National Assembly; elections last held, first round - 9 June 2002, second round - 16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UDF 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.21 years male: 58.45 years female: 62.05 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.46 years
male: 76.13 years female: 80.9 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: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1982 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | Northern North America, islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Newfoundland (Canada) |
Map references | Middle East | North America |
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 France |
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.) |
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National holiday | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni |
noun: Frenchman(men), Frenchwoman(women)
adjective: French |
Natural hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer | persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west | fish, deepwater ports |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -4.99 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 |
Left Radical Party or PRG [leader NA]; Rassemblement pour la Republique or RPR (now UMP) [leader NA]; Socialist Party or PS [leader NA]; Union pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 18,078,035 (July 2001 est.) | 7,012 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 19% (1992 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.38% (2001 est.) | 0.21% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Mocha, Nishtun | Saint-Pierre |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (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 | Roman Catholic 99% |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 508; radiotelephone communication with most countries in the world; 1 earth station in French domestic satellite system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 291,359 (1999) | 4,800 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 32,042 (2000) | 0 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 0 (there are, however, two repeaters which rebroadcast programs from France, Canada, and the US) (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 | mostly barren rock |
Total fertility rate | 6.97 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.03 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (1995 est.) | 9.8% (1997) |
Waterways | none | - |