Yemen (2002) | Mayotte (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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 |
none (territorial collectivity of France) |
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: 46.6% (male 39,927; female 39,628)
15-64 years: 51.7% (male 48,237; female 40,210) 65 years and over: 1.7% (male 1,429; female 1,448) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish | vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), coffee, copra |
Airports | 49 (2001) | 1 (2001) |
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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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) |
- |
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: 374 sq km
land: 374 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly more than twice 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. | Mayotte was ceded to France along with the other islands of the Comoros group in 1843. It was the only island in the archipelago that voted in 1974 to retain its link with France and forego independence. |
Birth rate | 43.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 43.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $73 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.) |
Capital | Sanaa | Mamoutzou |
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; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November) |
Coastline | 1,906 km | 185.2 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 | 28 September 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 Mayotte
conventional short form: Mayotte |
Currency | Yemeni rial (YER) | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) |
Death rate | 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.58 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.7 billion (2001) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | territorial collectivity of France |
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 |
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 | 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 | claimed by Comoros |
Economic aid - recipient | $176.1 million (1995) (1995) | $107.7 million (1995); note - extensive French financial assistance |
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. | Economic activity is based primarily on the agricultural sector, including fishing and livestock raising. Mayotte is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future development of the island are heavily dependent on French financial assistance, an important supplement to GDP. Mayotte's remote location is an obstacle to the development of tourism. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.976 billion kWh (2000) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production | 3.2 billion kWh (2000) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
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: Benara 660 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | NA |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans | NA |
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) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) |
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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean-Jacques BROT (since 3 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Younoussa BAMANA (since NA 1977) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year term |
Exports | $3.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $3.44 million f.o.b. (1997) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish | ylang-ylang (perfume essence), vanilla, copra, coconuts, coffee, cinnamon |
Exports - partners | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Singapore 9%, Japan 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999) | France 80%, Comoros 15%, Reunion |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $14.8 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $85 million (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17%
industry: 40% services: 43% (1998) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $600 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 48 00 E | 12 50 S, 45 10 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 | part of Comoro Archipelago; 18 islands |
Highways | total: 69,263 km
paved: 9,963 km unpaved: 59,300 km (1999) |
total: 93 km
paved: 72 km unpaved: 21 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 26% (1998) (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $141.3 million f.o.b. (1997) |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and equipment | food, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, metals, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, France 7%, US 7%, Italy 6% (1999) | France 66%, Africa 14%, Southeast Asia 11% (1997) |
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) |
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 | newly created lobster and shrimp industry, construction |
Infant mortality rate | 66.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 67.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2001 est.) | NA% |
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) | FZ |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | NA |
Irrigated land | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel |
Labor force | NA | NA |
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 | - |
Land boundaries | total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.75%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 97.04% (1998 est.) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic | Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population |
Legal system | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French 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; 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 General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 7 October 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA note: Mayotte elects one member of the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held as a special election on NA June 2005); results - percent of vote by party - UMP-RPR 55.08%, UDF 44.92%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 60.59 years
male: 58.81 years female: 62.46 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 60.21 years
male: 58.12 years female: 62.37 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique |
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 |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 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.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | establishement of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed | defense is the responsibility of France; small contingent of French forces stationed on the island |
Military branches | Army (includes Special Forces, established in 1999), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $482.5 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.2% (FY01) | - |
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) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
noun: Mahorais (singular and plural)
adjective: Mahoran |
Natural hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer | cyclones during rainy season |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 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 |
Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf MOUSSA]; Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM [Younoussa BAMANA]; Federation of Mahorans or RPR [Moustoifa MOHAMED]; Movement for Department Status Mayotte or MDM [Younoussa BEN ALI]; Socialist Party or PS (local branch of French Parti Socialiste) [Ibrahim ABUBACAR]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE]; note - may no longer be in existence |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 18,701,257 (July 2002 est.) | 170,879 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.4% (2002 est.) | 4.41% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun | Dzaoudzi |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 1.05 million (1997) | NA |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km (2002) |
Religions | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu | Muslim 97%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.2 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2002 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: small system administered by French Department of Posts and Telecommunications
domestic: NA international: microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communications to Comoros (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 291,359 (1999) | 12,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 32,042 (2000) | 0 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 3 (2001) |
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 | generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks |
Total fertility rate | 6.9 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.15 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (1995 est.) | 45% (1997) (1997) |
Waterways | none | none |