Chapter 128
GDP: purchasing power parity--$NA
GDP--real growth rate: NA%
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$NA
GDP--composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40%-45% (1996 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: 12,000
Labor force--by occupation: animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: phosphate mining, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity--production: 85 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity--consumption: 85 million kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture--products: fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads)
Exports: $NA
Exports--commodities: phosphates 62%
Exports--partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts
Imports: $NA
Imports--commodities: fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs
Imports--partners: Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts
Debt--external: $NA
Economic aid--recipient: $NA
Currency: 1 Moroccan dirham (DH) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Moroccan dirhams (DH) per US$1--9.320 (January 1999), 9.604 (1998), 9.527 (1997), 8.716 (1996), 8.540 (1995), 9.203 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 2,000
Telephone system: sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations--2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: NA
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 6,200 km paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est.)
Ports and harbors: Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)
Airports: 12 (1998 est.)
Airports--with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (1998 est.)
Airports--with unpaved runways: total: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 3 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: NA
Military expenditures--dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international: claimed and administered by Morocco, but sovereignty is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue; the UN-administered cease-fire has been in effect since September 1991
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@World -----
Geography
Map references: World, Time Zones
Area: total: 510.072 million sq km land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area--comparative: land area about 15 times the size of the US
Land boundaries: the land boundaries in the world total 251,480.24 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Coastline: 356,000 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm claimed by most, but can vary continental shelf: 200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of exploitation; others claim 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm claimed by most, but can vary exclusive economic zone: 200 nm claimed by most, but can vary territorial sea: 12 nm claimed by most, but can vary note: boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Climate: two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Terrain: the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m
Natural resources: the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 32% other: 31% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,481,250 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Environment--current issues: large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
Environment--international agreements: selected international environmental agreements are included under the Environment--international agreements entry for each country and in the Selected International Environmental Agreements appendix
People
Population: 5,995,544,836 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 30% (male 934,816,288; female 884,097,095) 15-64 years: 63% (male 1,905,701,066; female 1,861,265,079) 65 years and over: 7% (male 179,094,601; female 230,570,707) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.3% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 56 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63 years male: 61 years female: 65 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.8 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Government
Data code: none; there is no FIPS 10-4 country code for the World, so the Factbook uses the "W" data code from DIAM 65-18 "Geopolitical Data Elements and Related Features," Data Standard No. 3, March 1984, published by the Defense Intelligence Agency; see the Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes appendix
Administrative divisions: 266 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
Legal system: all members of the UN (excluding Yugoslavia) plus Nauru and Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
Economy
Economy--overview: Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) dropped to 2% in 1998 from 4% in 1997 because of continued recession in Japan, severe financial difficulties in other East Asian countries, and widespread dislocations in the Russian economy. The US economy continued its remarkable sustained prosperity, growing at 3.9% in 1998, and accounted for 22% of GWP. Western Europe's economies grew at roughly 2.5%, not enough to cut deeply into the region's high unemployment; these economies produced 21% of GWP. China, the second largest economy in the world, continued its rapid growth and accounted for 11% of GWP. Japan posted a decline of 2.6% in 1998 and its share in GWP dropped to 7.4%. As usual, the 15 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations experienced widely different rates of growth. Russia's national product dropped by 5% whereas the nations of central and eastern Europe grew by 3.4% on average. The developing nations varied widely in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements--typically based on ethnicity--gain momentum, e.g., in the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of more than 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems, the industrialized countries have inadequate resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. In 1998, serious financial difficulties in several high-growth East Asia countries cast a shadow over short-term global economic prospects. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999 poses serious economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 1998, see the individual country entries.)
GDP: GWP (gross world product)--purchasing power parity?$39 trillion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 2% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$6,600 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): all countries 25%; developed countries 2% to 4% typically; developing countries 10% to 60% typically (1998 est.) note: national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from stable prices in Japan to hyperinflation in a number of Third World countries
Labor force: NA
Labor force--by occupation: NA
Unemployment rate: 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 5%-12% unemployment (1998 est.)
Industries: dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1997 est.)
Electricity--production: 12.3427 trillion kWh (1994)
Electricity--production by source: fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA%
Electricity--consumption: 12.3427 trillion kWh (1994)
Exports: $5 trillion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports--commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports--partners: in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries
Imports: $5 trillion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports--commodities: the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports--partners: in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries
Debt--external: $2 trillion for less developed countries (1998 est.)
Economic aid--recipient: traditional worldwide foreign aid $50 billion (1995 est.)
Communications
Telephones: NA
Telephone system: domestic: NA international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: NA
Televisions: NA
Transportation
Railways: total: 1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note--fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV)--Atlantique line broad gauge: 251,153 km standard gauge: 710,754 km narrow gauge: 239,430 km
Highways: total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km
Ports and harbors: Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Merchant marine: total: 28,310 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 495,299,489 GRT/764,129,056 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 23, bulk 5,745, cargo 8,766, chemical tanker 1,326, combination bulk 319, combination ore/oil 227, container 2,615, liquefied gas tanker 802, livestock carrier 60, multifunction large-load carrier 90, oil tanker 4,521, passenger 392, passenger-cargo 126, railcar carrier 19, refrigerated cargo 1,067, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1,117, short-sea passenger 484, specialized tanker 118, vehicle carrier 493 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: ground, maritime, and air forces at all levels of technology
Military expenditures--dollar figure: aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1998 remained at approximately the 1997 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1998 est.)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP: roughly 2% of gross world product (1998 est.)
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@Yemen -----
Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 48 00 E
Map references: Middle East
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)
Area--comparative: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Land boundaries: total: 1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Coastline: 1,906 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 18 nm in the North; 24 nm in the South continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
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
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west
Land use: arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 30% forests and woodland: 4% other: 63% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 3,600 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer
Environment--current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Environment--international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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
People
Population: 16,942,230 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 48% (male 4,118,292; female 3,971,886) 15-64 years: 49% (male 4,243,809; female 4,065,429) 65 years and over: 3% (male 278,133; female 264,681) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.34% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 43.31 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 9.88 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
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: 1.05 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 69.82 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 59.98 years male: 58.17 years female: 61.88 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 7.06 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni
Ethnic groups: predominantly Arab; Afro-Arab concentrations in western coastal locations; South Asians in southern regions; small European communities in major metropolitan areas
Religions: Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
Languages: Arabic
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman
Data code: YM
Government type: republic
Capital: Sanaa
Administrative divisions: 17 governorates (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Ataq, Dhamar, Hadhramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Ta'izz note: there may be a new governorate for the capital city of Sanaa
Independence: 22 May 1990 Republic of Yemen was established with and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)
National holiday: Proclamation of the Republic, 22 May (1990)
Constitution: 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994
Legal system: based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Lt. Gen. 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 NA October 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Abd al-Karim Ali al-IRYANI (since NA April 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: President SALIH was elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term, however, future presidents will be elected by direct, popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 1 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); 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 House of Representatives vote--NA
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held NA April 2001) 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 note: in May 1997, the president created a consultative council, sometimes referred to as the upper house of Parliament; its 59 members are all appointed by the president
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General SALAAM] 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 Islaah--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
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
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
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara K. BODINE embassy: Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa
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 symbolic eagle centered in the white band
Economy
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 was harmed by low oil prices in 1998. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to foreign debt relief and restructuring. Yemen will work in 1999 to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. The high population growth rate of 3.3%, internal political dissension, and continued low prices make the government's task especially difficult.
GDP: purchasing power parity--$12.1 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate: 1.8% (1998 est.)
GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$740 (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector: agriculture: 16% industry: 46% services: 38% (1996)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 30.8% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 11% (1998 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force--by occupation: most people are employed in agriculture and herding or as expatriate laborers; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-half of the labor force
Unemployment rate: 30% (1995 est.)
Budget: revenues: $2.3 billion expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 budget est.)
Industries: crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity--production: 1.9 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)