+967 is the dialing code for Yemen.
The Republic of Yemen was formed in 1990 when conservative North Yemen and Socialist South Yemen merged. At that time, an unusually democratic regime was created for the region with multi-party systems and free elections, but the cooperation grinned and after a brief civil war the north side came to dominate. Separatist efforts in both the north and the south have led to recurring unrest. Since 2015, full war with neighboring states is raging. The capital is held by Iran-backed rebels, who are fighting bomb attacks by a Saudi-led Sunni alliance on the government’s side. Human need is growing in the wake of the war.
- Abbreviationfinder: Brief profiles of Yemen, including geography, history, politics, economics as well as common acronyms about this country.
Geography and climate
As one of countries that start with Y, Yemen is on the surface slightly larger than Sweden. The country was formed when North and South Yemen united in 1990. The former border went diagonally through present-day Yemen and divided it into a northwestern and a southeastern part. Former South Yemen was larger to the surface, but had a smaller population.
Yemen borders the Red Sea in the west and the Aden Bay and the Arabian Sea in the south. In the east lies Oman and in northern Saudi Arabia. The land borders have been disputed. This is especially true of the border with Saudi Arabia, which cuts straight through al-Rub al-Khali, one of the world’s largest sand deserts. A number of islands also belong to Yemen, including Perim in the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait at the inlet to the Red Sea, as well as Suqutra, which lies off the tip of the Horn of Africa, 35 land miles from Yemen’s coast.
- BagLib: General information about Yemen, covering geography, climate, travel tips and popular sights.
Along the coast towards the Red Sea lies a narrow plain, Tihama, which is essentially dry. There are, however, occasional oases and through the plain occasionally run dry rivers, wadier. When filled with water, arable farming can be run in the area. The water comes from the mountain ranges with peaks over 3,000 meters running from north to south just a few miles inside the coast. In the mountain landscape there are sinks with relatively fertile soil.
Country Facts
Geography
Cultivated land | 44.5 % |
Land area | 527968 km 2 |
Population and health
Population development | 2.47 ‰ |
Urban population (Urbanization) | 34.6 % |
Death rate | 6.28 per 1000 residents |
Life expectancy: Women | 67.41 years |
Life expectancy: Men | 63.05 years |
Birth rate | 29.98 births per 1000 residents |
HDI index | 0.498 |
Population | 26737317 |
Infant mortality | 48.93 deaths / 1000 births |
Population Graph Source: Countryaah.com
Energy
Electricity, production | 6185 million kWh |
Energy consumption per resident | 278.2 kg. oil per resident |
Natural gas, production | 10300 million cubic meters |
Crude oil, production | 2 million tons |
Infrastructure
Internet users | 19.1 per 100 residents |
Mobile subscriptions | 66 per 100 residents |
Passenger cars | 35 per 1000 residents |
Business and economics
Unemployment | 27% of the workforce |
GDP | 2700 per resident |
Primary occupations | 75 % |
Secondary profession | 12.5 % |
Tertiary professions | 12.5 % |
Along the southern coast is also a high plateau, whose highest altitude reaches 2,000 meters above sea level. Through the plateau, parallel to the coast, runs the great valley Wadi Hadramawt. From the mountains along the coasts the land slopes inland and turns into desert.
The climate varies with the height above the sea. In Tihama in the west it is hot and humid, but because the air is not cooled down it rarely rains. In the inland desert areas and in the lowlands farthest east, the precipitation is even more sparse. In some places it can go up to ten years without it raining. In the mountainous regions the climate is more temperate. The summers are pleasantly warm and rainy while the winters are cool and dry with occasional frost.
In the areas where the rainy periods fill sinks with water, mosquitoes are spreading malaria, which is one of Yemen’s recurring weather-related health problems.
Surface
266 000 km2 (2018)
Time
Swedish + 2 hours
Adjacent country (s)
Saudi Arabia, Oman
Capital with number of residents
Sanaa 2 800 000 (including suburbs)
Other major cities
Taizz 556 000, Hodeidah 471 000 Aden 693,000 (estimation 2010)
Highest mountain
Nabi Shuayb (3760 m asl)
2014
December
Bomb against huthier
December 31st
More than 33 people are killed when a bomb explodes in a cultural center in the province of Ibb, where the hut movement gathered for a party.
Government approved, with conditions
December 18
Despite all the contradictions, the new government in Parliament is approved. But Prime Minister Bahah is forced to agree to the condition of not applying UN sanctions against Yemenis, in effect exempting President Saleh and skin leaders.
Schoolchildren die in bombing
December 16th
At two car bomb attacks aimed at gunmen in the city of Rada, at least 31 people were killed, including 20 schoolchildren under twelve in a bus.
Violence in protest in Aden
December 8
A manifestation organized by the southern movement in the port city of Aden leads to clashes. Police shoot protesters with bullets and tear gas. Several people are injured.
Attacks against Iranian diplomat
December 2
A car bomb against Iran’s embassy in Sanaa requires three lives. The ambassador escapes. Al Qaeda claims to be behind the attack, the second of the year against Iran’s interests in the country.
November
Al Qaeda snorts at IS “caliphate”
November 21st
According to the Islamic State (IS) jihadist movement, the caliphate movement encompassed in Iraq and Syria now includes Yemen. Al-Qaeda’s foothills on the Arabian peninsula, Aqap, call the play “illegitimate”.
Fighting against al Qaeda
November 15
The al-Jazira channel reports that 60 Houthis were killed when the movement invaded the Rada district of al-Bayda, held by al-Qaeda. Confrontations between al-Qaeda and huthirbelas have been a daily phenomenon for a total of about 400 deaths.
Sanctions against Saleh
November 7
UN Security Council introduces sanctions against ex-President Saleh and two military leaders for the Huthirbells. The three are charged with travel bans and may freeze any assets. The reason is that they are considered to threaten stability. Saleh’s party The General People’s Congress (AFK) then withdraws its support for the new government and demands that the cooperation be renegotiated. The huhire rebels also question the government and demand a change of minister.
Bahah forms government
November 2
Parties and groupings enter into an agreement and urge Prime Minister Bahah to form a national unity government made up of both technocrats and representatives of various political camps. A week later, Bahah presents a government of 34 ministers, five of whom are women.
October
The South raises the tone
October 14
Thousands of South Yemenis gather in the port city of Aden for a three-day meeting to demand independence for southern Yemen. The mass protest is being organized by a new alliance formed by larger separatist groups, primarily a movement called al-Hirak.
Huthier enters port city
October 14
The Huthirebels occupy the port of al-Hudayda. Through the harbor a large part of the goods are imported to Sanaa. The rebels also advance in the provinces of Dhamar, Ibb and al-Bayda south of Sanaa. They soon master the highway between the capital and the largest port city of Aden.
Bahah becomes prime minister
October 13
President Hadi appoints another head of government, on the proposal of the hut movement. The new Prime Minister is Khaled Bahah. He comes from Hadramawt Province in the east and has a career as an oil minister and diplomat behind him.
Suicide bombings in Sanaa
October 9
At least 47 people are killed when a suicide bomber unleashes an explosive charge at a huhima manifesto against the appointment of the new prime minister. No group is to blame for the attack, according to the BBC’s deadliest in Sanaa since 2012, but suspicions fall on al-Qaeda. In Hadramawt, a suicide bomber takes 20 soldiers to death.
Disgusted with the government
October 7
President Hadi appoints Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak as prime minister, but the huhirebells claim that negotiations are still ongoing.
September
The Huthis take Sanaa
September 21
The Huthirebels occupy the government headquarters, the radio and several military installations in the capital. Prime Minister Muhammad Basindawa resigns after criticizing President Hadi. Shortly thereafter, the rebels and the government are reported to have signed an agreement mediated by the UN: President Hadi is to appoint political advisers from the skin movement and from the separatist movement in southern Yemen within three days. The rebels, for their part, must dismantle protest camps and retreat. A party-neutral head of government and a national government shall be appointed. But the leaders of the Hutians proclaim victory and the rebels show no sign of wanting to leave their positions in the capital. A total of 200 people are reported to have been killed in the fighting outside Sanaa between huhire rebels and government loyal militia.
Fighting and curfew
September 19
At the same time as the protests in Sanaa, the fighting between huhirebel and the loyalist militia continues north of the capital. In just three days, the fighting is reported to require over 80 lives. The fighting reaches the city and the government in the face of nightly curfew.
The contradictions degenerate
September 9th
The government’s promises have not soothed the protesters who continued their protests in Sanaa. When police try to break a blockade on the way to the airport, one person is killed and about 40 injured. The Chief of Police Special Forces is dismissed, but the unrest worsens. Seven activists are shot to death as they try to storm government buildings. In a suburb, huhire rebels and government forces clash as the rebels try to drive in a wagon loaded with weapons into the city. Negotiations between the rebels and the government begin with UN envoys as mediators.
Promises from the President
2 September
President Hadi gives in to the pressure and announces that the government should be replaced and that fuel prices should be lowered. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) decides to lend over half a billion dollars to Yemen over a three-year period. The money will be used for economic reform, to stabilize the state’s finances and to strengthen economic growth.
August
Huth leaders urge to protest
August 17th
Abd al-Malik al-Huthi, the leader of the rebels, calls for the sharp increases in fuel prices to be withdrawn. He also wants to see a government transformation. In a televised speech, he urges sympathizers across the country to protest. At the end of the month, armed militiamen travel to tent camps around Sanaa to increase pressure on the government. In northern Yemen, there are also clashes between the Houthis and the loyalist militia.
July
Fuel prices shock high
July 30
Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the government removed the subsidies on fuel. Protests erupt in Sanaa and other major cities.
The master is replaced
July 15
President Hadi has fired the military commander of Amran province, writes Yemen Times. At the same time, the commander of Hadramawt province in the south-east, where the al-Qaeda terror network is established, is dismissed. Among other things, al-Qaeda has managed to take hold and for a short time keep the airport in the city of Sayun.
Rebels take Amran
July 8
After fierce battles, the Huhira rebels occupy the walled old town of Amran just five miles north of the capital Sanaa. In Amran, President Saleh and the influential clan al-Ahmar belong. According to the UN, hundreds of people are killed in the fighting and tens of thousands of families are fleeing. After negotiations, the rebels agree to allow the army to regain control, but the Huthis remain in the area.
June
Yemen becomes a WTO member
June 26
Yemen becomes a member of the World Trade Organization and thus the WTO ‘s 160th member country.
Saleh’s media closes
June 12
Signs of a power struggle between deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh and President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi are starting to emerge today. Hadi closes the newspaper and TV channel Yemen today owned by Saleh. Both media have been accused of running a campaign against Hadi’s government. The President’s force also surrounds a mosque that Saleh controls and Hadi begins to move troops. According to an anonymous official, Hadi suspects Saleh is preparing for a coup.
Ministers replaced after protests
June 11
President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi is reshaping the government since thousands of Yemenis have gone out in the capital to protest electricity cuts and high fuel prices. Hadi replaces the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Information, the Minister of Petroleum and the Minister responsible for the electricity supply.
The Huthi movement is approaching Sanaa
Government flights bomb the positions of the Huthirbells in the province of Amran in the north and support ground troops trying to drive away the rebels controlling a highway to the capital Sanaa. Since the beginning of the year, the skin movement has advanced from its home province farthest north to the capital farther south. In June, the rebels will move ever closer to the capital.
May
Police headquarters are attacked by al-Qaeda
24th of May
Al Qaeda is believed to be behind a raid on a Sayun police headquarters in southern Yemen. A security source says that a total of 27 people lost their lives.
Bracket for al-Qaeda is taken
May 9
The government offensive against al-Qaeda continues and harvests around 40 terrorists’ lives at the beginning of the month. On the tenth day of the offensive, one of al-Qaeda’s most important strongholds in the province of Shabwa is taken. A month later, an army spokesman claims that more than 500 al-Qaeda men have been killed in the government’s offensive. The United States has temporarily closed its embassy following a series of attacks against foreign diplomats.
Attack on the presidential palace
May 9
Several soldiers and insurgents are killed when the president’s bodyguard is attacked by suspected al-Qaeda supporters at the presidential palace in Sanaa. The United States has temporarily closed its embassy following a series of attacks against foreign diplomats.
April
Offensive against al Qaeda
April 29
The government has launched an offensive to drive al-Qaeda out of moorings in the southern province of Abyan. During two days of attacks with American drones and government flights, around 70 people are killed. After the air strikes, ground troops are deployed in several cities.
al-Qaeda attacks Aden
April 4th
At least twenty people are killed when al-Qaeda attacks an army headquarters in the port city of Aden in the south.
March
Be afraid of roadblocks
24th of March
At least 20 soldiers are killed in a raid on a military roadblock in the eastern province of Hadramawt. The terror network al-Qaeda is suspected to be behind the deed.
Migrants in accident at sea
March 9
At least 42 migrants from the Horn of Africa are dropping in a boat accident off the coast of Shabwah.
Security manager is replaced
March 8th
Interior Minister Abd al-Qadir Qahtan is replaced because he has failed to improve security in the country. He is replaced by Abdu Husein al-Tarib, who in turn will remain in the post until October.
February
Federation proposal clear
February 10
A political committee was set up in January to decide whether the future federation decides that there should be six states, four in the north and two in the south. The capital city of Sanaa should have a stand-alone position. The decision is criticized by leaders from the south, where the separatist movement intends to continue fighting for independence. The Huthi rebels in the north reject the proposal, citing that Shiite-dominated areas would end up in a state without natural resources and connections to the sea.
Fragile truce
February 4th
A ceasefire is concluded between the huthirebels and the clan-affiliated hashid in the north after fighting between them for nearly a week took nearly 150 lives. However, the ceasefire does not include the leading clan in the hashid, al-Ahmar, whose stronghold the Huthi people took in at the end of January.
January
Point of Reconciliation Conference
January 25
A national reconciliation conference, initiated in March 2013, is formally concluded after major contradictions. Representatives of southern Yemen have turned to a proposal to divide the country into a federation of six units – four in northern Yemen and two in the south. The proposal is sensitive because it controls how the seats in Parliament should be distributed. The South Yemenites want a unity for northern Yemen and one for the south. The conference agreed that President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi should remain in office until the constitution is clear and presidential elections can be held.
Diplomat dies in kidnapping attempt
January 18
An Iranian diplomat is shot dead in Sanaa. The attack is the fourth against an employee at a foreign embassy since October 2013.
Try to stop clan battles
January 10
Armistice closes between Shiite Muslim huthirebels and Sunni Muslim warriors who fought each other in the city of Dammaj in the north since October. Dammaj is the focal point for Sunni fundamentalist Salafists. The fighting has spread and they continue, despite the cease-fire, when the Huthis come into conflict with the clan-affiliated hashid accused of supporting the Sunnis.