Yemen

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Republic of Yemen

National name: Al-Jumhuriyah al-Yamaniyah

Current government officials

Language: Arabic

Ethnicity/race: predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans

Religions: Islam (including Sunni and Shiite), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

Literacy rate: 63.9% (2010 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2011 est.): $57.97 billion; per capita $2,300. Real growth rate: -10.5%. Inflation: 19.5%. Unemployment: 35% (2003 est.). Arable land: 3%. Agriculture: grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish. Labor force: 6.956 million (2011 est.); most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force. 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. Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, copper, fertile soil in west. Exports: $8.662 billion (2011 est.): crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish. Imports: $8.248 billion (2011 est.): food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals. Major trading partners: Thailand, China, Singapore, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, India, U.S., Kuwait (2011).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1.075 million (2011); mobile cellular: 11.668 million (2011). Radio broadcast stations: state-run TV with 2 stations; state-run radio with 2 national radio stations and 5 local stations; stations from Oman and Saudi Arabia can be accessed (2007). Radios: 1.05 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997). Televisions: 470,000 (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 33,206 (2012). Internet users: 2.349 million (2009).

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 71,300 km ; paved: 6,200 km; unpaved: 65,100 km (2005 est.). Ports and harbors: Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun. Airports: 57 (2012).

International disputes: Saudi Arabia has reinforced its concrete-filled security barrier along sections of the fully demarcated border with Yemen to stem illegal cross-border activities

Major sources and definitions