Region: Middle East

Capital: Sanaa

Population: 23,013,376 (July 2008 est.)

Surface area: 527,970 sq km

Currency: Yemeni rial (YER)

GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity US $2,300 (2007 est.)

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.
Economy – Overview:

Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported average annual growth in the range of 3-4% from 2000 through 2007. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on declining oil resources, but the country is trying to diversify its earnings. In 2006 Yemen began an economic reform program designed to bolster non-oil sectors of the economy and foreign investment. As a result of the program, international donors pledged about $5 billion for development projects. In addition, Yemen has made some progress on reforms over the last year that will likely encourage foreign investment. Oil revenues probably increased in 2007 as a result of higher prices.
Major Export Commodities: crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish

Remittances: US $1,162 million (2006)

Human Development Index 2007/2008 ranking: 153 out of 177

Official Development Assistance and Major Development Partners: Net ODA in 2006 was US $134.84 million. Major development partners include the IDA, Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

Total External Debt: US $6.044 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

United Nations membership date: 30 September 1947

New York Mission:

Permanent Mission of the Republic of Yemen to the United Nations
413 East 51st Street

New York, N.Y. 10022
Telephone: 212-355-1730 / 1731
Fax: 212-750-9613
Website: http://www.un.int/yemen/

Sources:

CIA World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. www.cia.gov 

World Development Indicators. World Bank www.worldbank.org

Development, Recipient Aid Charts. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. www.oecd.org

Human Development Report 2007/2008.United Nations Development Programme. www.undp.org

Updated June 2008