Yemen (2002) | Angola (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 |
18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47% (male 4,468,928; female 4,317,648)
15-64 years: 50.1% (male 4,783,769; female 4,587,309) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 273,282; female 270,321) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.4% (male 2,454,209/female 2,407,083)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 3,059,339/female 2,955,060) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 139,961/female 175,134) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish |
Airports | 49 (2001) | 243 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 32
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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) |
total: 211
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 80 (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: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
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. | Angola has begun to enjoy the fruits of peace since the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but UNITA renewed fighting after being beaten by the MPLA at the polls. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and strengthened the MPLA's hold on power. DOS SANTOS has pledged to hold national elections in 2006. |
Birth rate | 43.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 44.64 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $9.013 billion
expenditures: $9.562 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Sanaa | Luanda |
Climate | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) |
Coastline | 1,906 km | 1,600 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 | 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992; note - new constitution has not yet been approved |
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 Angola
conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republica de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola |
Currency | Yemeni rial (YER) | - |
Death rate | 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 25.9 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.7 billion (2001) | $10.45 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Cynthia EFFIRD
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: American Embassy Luanda, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (2) 445-481, 447-028, 446-224 FAX: [244] (2) 446-924 |
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 Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKIDI
chancery: 2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: Houston and New York |
Disputes - international | demarcation of delimited boundary with Saudi Arabia involves nomadic tribal affiliations; Yemen has asserted traditional fishing rights to islands ceded to Eritrea in ICJ ruling | 90,000 Angolan refugees were repatriated by 2004, the remaining refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia are expected to return in 2005; many Cabinda exclave secessionists have sought shelter in neighboring states |
Economic aid - recipient | $176.1 million (1995) (1995) | $383.5 million (1999) |
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 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. 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 and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. | Angola has been an economy in disarray because of a quarter century of nearly continuous warfare. An apparently durable peace was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI in February 2002, but consequences from the conflict continue including the impact of widespread land mines. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and more than half of exports. Much of the country's food must still be imported. To fully take advantage of its rich natural resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to continue reforming government policies and to reduce corruption. While Angola made progress in further lowering inflation, from 325% in 2000 to about 106% in 2002, the government has failed to make sufficient progress on reforms recommended by the IMF such as increasing foreign exchange reserves and promoting greater transparency in government spending. Increased oil production supported 7% GDP growth in 2003 and 12% growth in 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.976 billion kWh (2000) | 1.587 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) | 1.707 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
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: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water |
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, Desertification, Law of the Sea, 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 | Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% |
Exchange rates | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 171.860 (December 2001), 168.678 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997) | kwanza per US dollar - 83.541 (2004), 74.606 (2003), 43.53 (2002), 22.058 (2001), 10.041 (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 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% |
chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was appointed Prime Minister on 6 December 2002, but this is not a position of real power cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by universal ballot for a five-year term; President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held September 2006) election results: DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed |
Exports | $3.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish | crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton |
Exports - partners | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Singapore 9%, Japan 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999) | US 38%, China 35.9%, Taiwan 6.8%, France 6.5% (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 | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $14.8 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17%
industry: 40% services: 43% (1998) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 67% services: 25% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2001 est.) | 11.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 48 00 E | 12 30 S, 18 30 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 | the province of Cabinda is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Highways | total: 69,263 km
paved: 9,963 km unpaved: 59,300 km (1999) |
total: 51,429 km
paved: 5,328 km unpaved: 46,101 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 26% (1998) (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states |
Imports | $3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and equipment | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, France 7%, US 7%, Italy 6% (1999) | South Korea 28.3%, Portugal 13.1%, US 9.3%, South Africa 7.4%, Brazil 5.6%, Japan 4.8%, France 4.4% (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) | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1% (2000) |
Industries | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement | petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing; brewing; tobacco products; sugar; textiles, ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 66.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 191.19 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 203.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 178.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2001 est.) | 43.8% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) | 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | NA | 5.41 million (2004 est.) |
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 85%, industry and services 15% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
total: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.75%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 97.04% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.41%
permanent crops: 0.24% other: 97.35% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages |
Legal system | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets |
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; seats by party as of January 2002: GPC 223, Islah 64, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, YSP 2, independents 7 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held September 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, others 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, others 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 60.59 years
male: 58.81 years female: 62.46 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 38.43 years
male: 37.28 years female: 39.64 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: 66.8% male: 82.1% female: 53.8% (2001 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo |
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 |
Merchant marine | total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,002 GRT/23,752 DWT
ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Hong Kong 2 (2002 est.) |
total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 26,123 GRT/42,879 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 4 (2005) |
Military - note | establishement 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 | Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MdG), Air and Air Defense Forces (FANA) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $482.5 million (FY01) | $183.58 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.2% (FY01) | 10.6% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 4,272,156 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,397,914 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 14 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 238,690 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
Natural hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km | gas 214 km; liquid natural gas 14 km; liquid petroleum gas 30 km; oil 837 km; refined products 56 km (2004) |
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 which were held in February 2001; these local elections aim to decentralize political power and are a key element of the government's political reform program |
Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed leadership: Lucas NGONDA, Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [Isaias SAMAKUVA], largest opposition party has engaged in years of armed resistance; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS], ruling party in power since 1975; Social Renewal Party or PRS [disputed leadership: Eduardo KUANGANA, Antonio MUACHICUNGO]
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but only won a few seats and have little influence in the National Assembly |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO, Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province |
Population | 18,701,257 (July 2002 est.) | 11,190,786 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 70% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.4% (2002 est.) | 1.9% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun | Cabinda, Luanda, Soyo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2000) |
Radios | 1.05 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) |
Sex ratio | 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: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 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: telephone service limited mostly to government and business use; HF radiotelephone used extensively for military links
domestic: limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter international: country code - 244; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 291,359 (1999) | 96,300 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 32,042 (2000) | 130,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 6 (2000) |
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 | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau |
Total fertility rate | 6.9 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.27 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (1995 est.) | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,300 km (2004) |