Yemen (2004) | Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) (2008) | |
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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: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate |
none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.6% (male 4,751,776; female 4,582,277)
15-64 years: 50.6% (male 5,166,437; female 4,973,543) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 273,199; female 277,635) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish | fodder and vegetable crops; sheep, dairy products; fish, squid |
Airports | 44 (2003 est.) | 6 (2007) |
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 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
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 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
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: 12,173 sq km
land: 12,173 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the two main islands of East and West Falkland and about 200 small islands |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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. | Although first sighted by an English navigator in 1592, the first landing (English) did not occur until almost a century later in 1690, and the first settlement (French) was not established until 1764. The colony was turned over to Spain two years later and the islands have since been the subject of a territorial dispute, first between Britain and Spain, then between Britain and Argentina. The UK asserted its claim to the islands by establishing a naval garrison there in 1833. Argentina invaded the islands on 2 April 1982. The British responded with an expeditionary force that landed seven weeks later and after fierce fighting forced an Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982. |
Birth rate | 43.16 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues: $3.729 billion
expenditures: $4.107 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $66.2 million
expenditures: $67.9 million (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Sanaa | name: Stanley
geographic coordinates: 51 42 S, 57 51 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in September; ends third Sunday in April |
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 marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain occurs on more than half of days in year; average annual rainfall is 24 inches in Stanley; occasional snow all year, except in January and February, but does not accumulate |
Coastline | 1,906 km | 1,288 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 | 3 October 1985; amended 1997 and 1998 |
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: none
conventional short form: Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) |
Currency | Yemeni rial (YER) | - |
Death rate | 8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $6.044 billion (2003) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. KRAJESKI
embassy: Saawan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 303-151 through 159 FAX: [967] (1) 303-160/161/162/164/165 |
none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) |
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 (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) |
Disputes - international | Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; nomadic groups in border region with Saudi Arabia resist demarcation of boundary in accordance wih 2000 Jeddah Treaty; Yemen protests Saudi erection of a concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities in sections of the boundary | Argentina, which claims the islands in its constitution and briefly occupied them by force in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force; UK continues to reject Argentine requests for sovereignty talks |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) | $0 (1997 est.) |
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. It has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices, but now benefits from current high 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. International donors, meeting in Paris in October 2002, agreed on a further $2.3 billion economic support package. Yemen has worked to maintain tight control over spending and to implement additional components of the IMF program. A markedly high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. Plans include a diversification of the economy, encouragement of tourism, and more efficient use of scarce water resources. | The economy was formerly based on agriculture, mainly sheep farming, but today fishing contributes the bulk of economic activity. In 1987 the government began selling fishing licenses to foreign trawlers operating within the Falkland Islands' exclusive fishing zone. These license fees total more than $40 million per year, which help support the island's health, education, and welfare system. Squid accounts for 75% of the fish taken. Dairy farming supports domestic consumption; crops furnish winter fodder. Exports feature shipments of high-grade wool to the UK and the sale of postage stamps and coins. The islands are now self-financing except for defense. The British Geological Survey announced a 200-mile oil exploration zone around the islands in 1993, and early seismic surveys suggest substantial reserves capable of producing 500,000 barrels per day; to date, no exploitable site has been identified. An agreement between Argentina and the UK in 1995 seeks to defuse licensing and sovereignty conflicts that would dampen foreign interest in exploiting potential oil reserves. Tourism, especially eco-tourism, is increasing rapidly, with about 30,000 visitors in 2001. Another large source of income is interest paid on money the government has in the bank. The British military presence also provides a sizeable economic boost. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.8 billion kWh (2001) | 14.88 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 3.01 billion kWh (2001) | 16 million kWh (2005) |
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: Mount Usborne 705 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | overfishing by unlicensed vessels is a problem; reindeer were introduced to the islands in 2001 for commercial reasons; this is the only commercial reindeer herd in the world unaffected by the 1986 Chornobyl disaster |
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: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans | British |
Exchange rates | Yemeni rials per US dollar - NA (2003), 175.625 (2002), 168.672 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (1999) | Falkland pounds per US dollar - 0.4993 (2007), 0.5434 (2006), 0.5504 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003)
note: the Falkland pound is at par with the British pound |
Executive branch | chief of state: President 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor Alan HUCKLE (since 25 August 2006); Chief Executive Chris SIMPKINS (since March 2003); note - Dr. Tim THOROGOOD will assume the position of Chief Executive in January 2008 cabinet: Executive Council; three members elected by the Legislative Council, two ex officio members (chief executive and the financial secretary), and the governor elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch |
Exports | NA (2001) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish | wool, hides, meat, fish, squid |
Exports - partners | China 31.7%, Thailand 20.3%, India 15.6%, South Korea 4.9%, Malaysia 4.3% (2003) | Spain 81.9%, US 6%, UK 4.5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Falkland Island coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a white ram (sheep raising was once the major economic activity) above the sailing ship Desire (whose crew discovered the islands) with a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto DESIRE THE RIGHT |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $15.09 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15.2%
industry: 45% services: 39.7% (2003) |
agriculture: 95%
industry: NA% services: NA% (1996) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 48 00 E | 51 45 S, 59 00 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 | deeply indented coast provides good natural harbors; short growing season |
Highways | total: 67,000 km
paved: 7,705 km unpaved: 59,295 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | 227.9 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals | fuel, food and drink, building materials, clothing |
Imports - partners | UAE 12.9%, Saudi Arabia 10.2%, China 8.9%, US 4.9%, Kuwait 4.4%, France 4.1% (2003) | UK 72.5%, US 15.1%, Netherlands 8.5% (2006) |
Independence | 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen 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]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November of 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK; also claimed by Argentina) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | 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 and wool processing; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 63.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 68.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 58.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10.8% (2003 est.) | 3.6% (1998) |
International organization participation | AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ICFTU, UPU |
Irrigated land | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court (chief justice is a nonresident); Magistrates Court (senior magistrate presides over civil and criminal divisions); Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
Labor force | 5.79 million (2003 est.) | 1,724 (est.) (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: 95% (mostly sheepherding and fishing)
industry and services: 5% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.24% other: 96.98% (2001) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (99% permanent pastures, 1% other) (2005) |
Languages | Arabic | English |
Legal system | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common 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 2003 (next to be held NA April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14 |
unicameral Legislative Council (10 seats; 2 members are ex officio and 8 are elected by popular vote; to serve four-year terms); presided over by the governor
elections: last held 17 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.36 years
male: 59.53 years female: 63.29 years (2004 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.) |
NA |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of southern Argentina |
Map references | Middle East | South America |
Maritime claims | 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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 19,766 GRT/24,794 DWT
by type: cargo 1, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Hong Kong 2, Lebanon 1 registered in other countries: 5 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military - note | establishment of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army (including Special Forces), Naval Forces and Coastal Defenses (including Marines), Air Force (including Air Defense Forces), Republican Guard | no regular military forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $885.6 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 7.9% (2003) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 4,617,064 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,590,720 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 255,426 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) |
Nationality | noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
noun: Falkland Islander(s)
adjective: Falkland Island |
Natural hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer | strong winds persist throughout the year |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west | fish, squid, wildlife, calcified seaweed, sphagnum moss |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA |
Pipelines | gas 88 km; oil 1,174 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | there are more than 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 Ba'th 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, represents the remnants of the former South Yemeni leadership; leaders of the 1994 secessionist movement have been pardoned by President SALIH and some are now returning to Yemen from exile |
none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 20,024,867 (July 2004 est.) | 3,105 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 15.7% (2001) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.44% (2004 est.) | 2.44% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 7, shortwave 0 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service) (2006) |
Religions | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu | primarily Anglican, Roman Catholic, United Free Church, Evangelist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutheran, Seventh-Day Adventist |
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: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 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: country code - 967; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
general assessment: NA
domestic: government-operated radiotelephone and private VHF/CB radiotelephone networks provide effective service to almost all points on both islands international: country code - 500; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) with links through London to other countries |
Telephones - main lines in use | 542,200 (2002) | 2,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 411,100 (2002) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 2 (British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to members of UK Forces as well as islanders); cable television is available in Stanley (2006) |
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 | rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains |
Total fertility rate | 6.75 children born/woman (2004 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 35% (2003 est.) | full employment; labor shortage (2001) |