Yemen (2005) | Aruba (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 (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.5% (male 4,905,831/female 4,727,177)
15-64 years: 50.8% (male 5,364,711/female 5,172,811) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 274,166/female 282,367) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 19.7% (male 9,943/female 9,761)
15-64 years: 70.2% (male 33,553/female 36,661) 65 years and over: 10.1% (male 4,046/female 6,054) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish | aloes; livestock; fish |
Airports | 44 (2004 est.) | 1 (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: 1
2,438 to 3,047 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.) |
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Area | total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
total: 193 sq km
land: 193 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly larger than 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. | Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990. |
Birth rate | 43.07 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 12.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.251 billion
expenditures: $4.568 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $507.9 million
expenditures: $577.9 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | Sanaa | name: Oranjestad
geographic coordinates: 12 31 N, 70 02 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,906 km | 68.5 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 | 1 January 1986 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen] |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Aruba |
Death rate | 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 7.61 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.4 billion (2004 est.) | $478.6 million (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | - | member country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Aruba; the Consul General to Netherlands Antilles is accredited to Aruba |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note - Mr. Henry BAARH, Minister Plenipotentiary for Aruba at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Disputes - international | Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; despite resistance from nomadic groups, the demarcation of the Saudi Arabia-Yemen boundary established under the 2000 Jeddah Treaty is almost complete; 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) (2003-07 disbursements) | $11.3 million (2004) |
Economy - overview | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, has reported strong growth since 2000, but its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. 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. Yemen has worked to maintain tight control over spending and to implement additional components of the IMF program, but a 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. | Tourism is the mainstay of the small, open Aruban economy, with offshore banking and oil refining and storage also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Over 1.5 million tourists per year visit Aruba, with 75% of those from the US. Construction continues to boom, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the country's oil refinery reopened in 1993, providing a major source of employment, foreign exchange earnings, and growth. Tourist arrivals have rebounded strongly following a dip after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The island experiences only a brief low season, and hotel occupancy in 2004 averaged 80%, compared to 68% throughout the rest of the Caribbean. The government has made cutting the budget and trade deficits a high priority. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.827 billion kWh (2002 est.) | 716.1 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 3.04 billion kWh (2002 est.) | 770 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Ethnic groups | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans | mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%, other 20% |
Exchange rates | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002), 168.67 (2001), 161.72 (2000) | Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - NA (2007), 1.79 (2006), 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003) |
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 BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980); represented by Governor General Fredis REFUNJOL (since 11 May 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Nelson O. ODUBER (since 30 October 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for four-year terms; election last held in 2005 (next to be held by 2009) election results: Nelson O. ODUBER elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA |
Exports | 370,300 bbl/day (2003) | 230,600 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish | live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment |
Exports - partners | Thailand 33.8%, China 30.3%, Singapore 7.8% (2004) | Netherlands 27.7%, Panama 25.5%, Colombia 12.8%, Venezuela 11.1%, US 9.4%, Netherlands Antilles 7.1% (2006) |
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 | blue, with two narrow, horizontal, yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15.5%
industry: 44.7% services: 39.7% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 33.3% services: 66.3% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2004 est.) | 2.4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 48 00 E | 12 30 N, 69 58 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 | a flat, riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches; its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean; the temperature is almost constant at about 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit) |
Highways | total: 67,000 km
paved: 7,705 km unpaved: 59,295 km (1999 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transit point for US- and Europe-bound narcotics with some accompanying money-laundering activity; relatively high percentage of population consumes cocaine |
Imports | NA | 235,000 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals | machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | UAE 12.2%, Saudi Arabia 9.7%, China 8.8%, France 7.3%, India 4.4%, US 4.4%, Kuwait 4.2% (2004) | US 53.6%, Netherlands 12.9%, UK 3.6% (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 (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
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; commercial ship repair | tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 61.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 66.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 56.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 14.75 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.2% (2004 est.) | 3.4% (2005) |
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, WTO (observer) | Caricom (observer), ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITUC, UNESCO (associate), UNWTO (associate), UPU, WCL, WMO |
Irrigated land | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) | 0.01 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Common Court of Justice of Aruba (judges are appointed by the monarch) |
Labor force | 5.98 million (2004 est.) | 41,500 (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: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% note: most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining |
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: 10.53%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.47% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic | Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 66.3%, Spanish 12.6%, English (widely spoken) 7.7%, Dutch (official) 5.8%, other 2.2%, unspecified or unknown 5.3% (2000 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 Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence |
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 Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 23 September 2005 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - MEP 43%, AVP 32%, MPA 7%, RED 7%, PDR 6%, OLA 4%, PPA 2%; seats by party - MEP 11, AVP 8, MPA 1, RED 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.75 years
male: 59.89 years female: 63.71 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 74.83 years
male: 71.8 years female: 77.91 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 97.3% male: 97.5% female: 97.1% (2000 census) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela |
Map references | Middle East | Central America and the Caribbean |
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 |
Merchant marine | total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 19,766 GRT/24,794 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 2 (2005) |
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Military - note | a Coast Guard was established in 2002 | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Military branches | Army (includes Special Forces), Naval Forces and Coastal Defenses (includes Marines), Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Republican Guard (2002) | no regular indigenous military forces; the Netherlands maintains a detachment of marines, a frigate, and an amphibious combat detachment in the neighboring Netherlands Antilles (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $885.5 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 7.8% (2003) | - |
National holiday | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) | Flag Day, 18 March (1976) |
Nationality | noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
noun: Aruban(s)
adjective: Aruban; Dutch |
Natural hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer | lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west | NEGL; white sandy beaches |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
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]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; 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 |
Aliansa/Aruban Social Movement or MSA [Robert WEVER]; Aruban Liberal Organization or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Movement or MPA [Monica ARENDS-KOCK]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Mike EMAN]; People's Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson O. ODUBER]; Real Democracy or PDR [Andin BIKKER]; RED [Rudy LAMPE]; Workers Political Platform or PTT [Gregorio WOLFF] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 20,727,063 (July 2005 est.) | 100,018
note: estimate based on a revision of the base population, fertility, and mortality numbers, as well as a revision of 1985-1999 migration estimates from outmigration to inmigration, which is assumed to continue into the future; the new results are consistent with the 2000 census (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45.2% (2003) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.45% (2005 est.) | 1.522% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aden, Nishtun | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 2, FM 16, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu | Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, other (includes Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish) 10% |
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: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.915 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.668 male(s)/female total population: 0.906 male(s)/female (2007 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: modern fully automatic telecommunications system
domestic: increased competition through privatization; 3 wireless service providers are now licensed international: country code - 297; landing site for the PAN-AM submarine telecommunications cable system that extends from the US Virgin Islands through Aruba to Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and the west coast of South America; extensive interisland microwave radio relay links (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 542,200 (2002) | 38,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 411,100 (2002) | 108,200 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 1 (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 | flat with a few hills; scant vegetation |
Total fertility rate | 6.67 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.85 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 35% (2003 est.) | 6.9% (2005 est.) |