The World Factbook (1982)/Yemen (Sanaa)

by the Central Intelligence Agency

YEMEN (SANAA)

(See reference map VI)

LAND

194,250 km² (parts of border with Saudi Arabia and Southern Yemen undefined); 20% agricultural, 1% forested, 79% desert, waste, or urban

Land boundaries: 1,528 km

WATER

Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 12 nm (plus 6 nm "necessary supervision zone")

Coastline: 523 km

PEOPLE

Population: 5,490,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.3%

Nationality: noun—Yemeni(s); adjective—Yemeni

Ethnic divisions: 90% Arab, 10% Afro-Arab (mixed)

Religion: 100% Muslim

Language: Arabic

Literacy: 15% (est.)

Labor force: almost entirely agriculture and herding

GOVERNMENT

Official name: Yemen Arab Republic

Type: republic; military regime assumed power in June 1974

Capital: Sanaa

Political subdivisions: 8 provinces

Legal system: based on Turkish law, Islamic law, and local customary law; first constitution promulgated December 1970, suspended June 1974; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic, 26 September

Branches: President, Prime Minister, Cabinet; Constituent Assembly

Government leaders: Col. 'Ali 'Abdallah SALIH, President; 'Abd Al-KARIM IRYANI, Prime Minister

Communists: small number

Political parties or pressure groups: conservative tribal groups, some Muslim Brotherhood followers, leftist sentiment represented by pro-Iraqi Ba'thists, Nasirists, small clandestine groups supported by Yemen (Aden)

Member of: Arab League, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ISCON, ITU, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

ECONOMY

GNP: $3.8 billion (FY79), $740 per capita

Agriculture: sorghum and millet, qat (a mild narcotic), cotton, coffee, fruits and vegetables; largely self-sufficient in food

Major industries: cotton textiles and leather goods produced on a small scale; handicraft and some fishing; small aluminum products factory

Electric power: 100,500 kW capacity (1980); 220 million kWh produced (1980), 41 kWh per capita

Exports: $12.7 million (f.o.b., 1980); qat, cotton, coffee, hides, vegetables

Imports: $1,685.0 million (f.o.b., 1980); textiles and other manufactured consumer goods, petroleum products, sugar, grain, flour, other foodstuffs, and cement

Major trade partners: China, Yemen (Aden), USSR, Japan, UK, Australia, Saudi Arabia

Budget: (1978-79) total receipts $909 million, current expenditure $409 million, development expenditure $590 million

Monetary conversion rate: 1 Yemeni rial=US$0.22 (1980)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

COMMUNICATIONS

Railroads: none

Highways: 3,477 km total; 467 km bituminous; 435 km crushed stone and gravel; 2,575 km earth, sand, and light gravel

Ports: 1 major (Al Hudaydah), 2 minor

Civil air: 10 major transport aircraft

Airfields: 26 total, 15 usable; 4 with permanent—surface runways; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 8 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: system inadequate; consists of meager open-wire lines and low-power radiocommunication stations; 5,000 telephones (0.1 per 100 popl.); 2 AM stations, no FM, 2 TV stations; 1 Indian Ocean satellite station

DEFENSE FORCES

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,008,000; 560,000 fit for military service; about 59,000 reach military age (18) annually

Military budget: for fiscal year ending 30 June 1979, $156 million; 22% of central government budget