Yemen (2001) | Seychelles (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 |
23 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Louis, Anse Royale, Baie Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade, Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe), Grand' Anse (on Praslin), La Digue, La Riviere Anglaise, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe La Rue, Port Glaud, Saint Louis, Takamaka |
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: 26.4% (male 10,839/female 10,601)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 26,709/female 28,025) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 1,622/female 3,392) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish | coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; broiler chickens; tuna fish |
Airports | 50 (2000 est.) | 15 (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: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (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: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (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: 455 sq km
land: 455 sq km water: 0 sq km |
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. | A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came in 1976. Socialist rule was brought to a close with a new constitution and free elections in 1993. The most recent presidential elections were held in 2001; President RENE, who had served since 1977, was re-elected. In April 2004 RENE stepped down and Vice President James MICHEL was sworn in as president. |
Birth rate | 43.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.22 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $318.3 million
expenditures: $298.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Sanaa | Victoria |
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; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May) |
Coastline | 1,906 km | 491 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 | 18 June 1993 |
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: Republic of Seychelles
conventional short form: Seychelles |
Currency | Yemeni rial (YER) | - |
Death rate | 9.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.34 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.4 billion (2000) | $218.1 million (2004 est.) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to the Seychelles |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Claude Sylvestre MOREL
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 972-1785 FAX: [1] (212) 972-1786 |
Disputes - international | a June 2000 treaty delimited the boundary with Saudi Arabia, but final demarcation requires adjustments based on tribal considerations | together with Mauritius, Seychelles claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory) |
Economic aid - recipient | $176.1 million (1995) | $16.4 million (1995) |
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. | Since independence in 1976, per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the old near-subsistence level. Growth has been led by the tourist sector, which employs about 30% of the labor force and provides more than 70% of hard currency earnings, and by tuna fishing. In recent years the government has encouraged foreign investment in order to upgrade hotels and other services. At the same time, the government has moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting the development of farming, fishing, and small-scale manufacturing. A sharp drop illustrated the vulnerability of the tourist sector in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf war, and once again following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Growth slowed in 1998-2002, and fell in 2003, due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors, but resumed in 2004, erasing a persistent budget deficit. Tight controls on exchange rates and the scarcity of foreign exchange have impaired short-term economic prospects. The black market value of the Seychelles rupee is half the official exchange rate; without a devaluation of the currency the tourist sector may remain sluggish as vacationers seek cheaper destinations such as Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.232 billion kWh (1999) | 202.8 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) | 218 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans | mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab |
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) | Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 5.5 (2004), 5.4007 (2003), 5.48 (2002), 5.8575 (2001), 5.7138 (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 James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 31 August-2 September 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: France Albert RENE re-elected president; percent of vote - France Albert RENE (SPPF) 54.19%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN (UO) 44.95%, Philippe BOULLE 0.86%; note - the first time that presidential elections have been held separately from legislative elections; France Albert RENE stepped down 14 April 2004 and Vice President James MICHEL was sworn in as president |
Exports | $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish | canned tuna, frozen fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports) |
Exports - partners | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Japan 3% (1999) | UK 27.7%, France 15.8%, Spain 12.6%, Japan 8.6%, Italy 7.5%, Germany 5.6% (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 | five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $14.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
20% industry: 42% services: 38% (1998) |
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 28.7% services: 68.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $820 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 48 00 E | 4 35 S, 55 40 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 | 41 granitic and about 75 coralline islands |
Highways | total:
69,263 km paved: 9,963 km unpaved: 59,300 km (1999) |
total: 373 km
paved: 315 km unpaved: 58 km (1997 est.) |
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 | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, US 7%, France 7%, Italy 6% (1999) | Saudi Arabia 15.5%, Spain 13.3%, France 10.3%, Singapore 7%, South Africa 6.8%, Italy 6.7%, UK 4.7% (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) | 29 June 1976 (from UK) |
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 | fishing; tourism; processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 68.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 15.53 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2000 est.) | 5% (2004 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) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 5,674 sq km (1999) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | NA | 30,900 (1996) |
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 | agriculture 10%, industry 19%, services 71% (1989) |
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: 2.22%
permanent crops: 13.33% other: 84.45% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic | Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2002 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 English common law, French civil law, and customary law |
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 National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats - 25 elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least 10% of the vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4-6 December 2002 (next to be held by 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 54.3%, SNP 42.6%, DP 3.1%; seats by party - SPPF 23, SNP 11 note: the 9 awarded seats are apportioned according to the percentage that each party won of the total vote |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.21 years male: 58.45 years female: 62.05 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.82 years
male: 66.41 years female: 77.4 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: 91.9% male: 91.4% female: 92.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
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
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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.) |
total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 42,223 GRT/63,538 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Nigeria 1) (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Presidential Guards, paramilitary (includes Police) | Seychelles Defense Force: Army, Coast Guard (includes Navy Wing, Air Wing), National Guard (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $414 million (FY99) | $12.3 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 7.6% (FY99) | 1.8% (2004) |
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) | Constitution Day (National Day), 18 June (1993) |
Nationality | noun:
Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni |
noun: Seychellois (singular and plural)
adjective: Seychellois |
Natural hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer | lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west | fish, copra, cinnamon trees |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -5.54 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 or DP [James MANCHAM, Daniel BELLE]; Mouvement Seychellois pour la Democratie [Jacques HODOUL]; Seychelles National Party or SNP (formerly the United Opposition or UO) [Wavel RAMKALAWAN]; Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE, James MICHEL] - the governing party |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Roman Catholic Church; trade unions |
Population | 18,078,035 (July 2001 est.) | 81,188 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 19% (1992 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.38% (2001 est.) | 0.43% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Mocha, Nishtun | Victoria |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 2 (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 82.3%, Anglican 6.4%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.1%, other Christian 3.4%, Hindu 2.1%, Muslim 1.1%, other non-Christian 1.5%, unspecified 1.5%, none 0.6% (2002 census) |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 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: effective system
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago international: country code - 248; direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 291,359 (1999) | 21,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 32,042 (2000) | 54,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 2 (plus 9 repeaters) (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 | Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs |
Total fertility rate | 6.97 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.75 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (1995 est.) | NA |
Waterways | none | - |