Yemen

Extracted Attributes

• Coastline

  2,000 kilometers

• Population

  35.2 million (2024 estimate)

• Total Area

  455,503 square kilometers

• Official Name

  Republic of Yemen

• Economic Dependency

  Oil production (70-75% of government revenue)

• Largest Governorate

  Hadramawt, Yemen

• Constitutional Capital

  Sanaa, Yemen

• Global Peace Index Rank

  Least peaceful country (2024)

• Human Development Index Rank

  184th (2025)

Timeline

• Establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic in North Yemen following a civil war. (Source: undefined)

  1962-09-26

• The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) gains independence from the British Aden Protectorate. (Source: undefined)

  1967-11-30

• Unification of North and South Yemen to form the modern Republic of Yemen. (Source: undefined)

  1990-05-22

• Start of the Yemeni Revolution as part of the Arab Spring, protesting poverty and corruption. (Source: undefined)

  2011-01-27

• President Ali Abdullah Saleh officially resigns and transfers power to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. (Source: undefined)

  2012-02-27

• Houthi rebels take control of the capital city, Sanaa, escalating the civil war. (Source: undefined)

  2014-09-21

• Southern Yemeni separatists (Southern Transitional Council) seize control of Aden. (Source: undefined)

  2018-01-28

• United Nations reports approximately 24 million people in Yemen require humanitarian aid. (Source: undefined)

  2019-12-31

• President Hadi resigns and transfers executive powers to the Presidential Leadership Council. (Source: undefined)

  2022-04-07

• The United States and allies launch military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen following Red Sea shipping disruptions. (Source: Document a7a96b3e-b0a7-41e7-a179-b42068a2117b)

  2024-01-11

Yemen

Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Including the Socotra Archipelago, mainland Yemen is located in southern Arabia; bordering Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the northeast, the south-eastern part of the Arabian Sea to the east, the Gulf of Aden to the south, and the Red Sea to the west, sharing maritime borders with Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia across the Horn of Africa. Covering roughly 455,503 square kilometres (175,871 square miles), with a coastline of approximately 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles), Yemen is the second largest country on the Arabian Peninsula by area, and the largest by population. Sanaa is its constitutional capital and largest city. Yemen's estimated population is 34.7 million, mostly Arab Muslims, which is estimated to be greater than that of Saudi Arabia It is a member of the Arab League, the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Owing to its geographic location, Yemen has been at the crossroads of many civilisations for over 7,000 years. The Sabaeans formed a thriving commercial kingdom that influenced parts of modern Ethiopia and Eritrea. In 275 CE, it was succeeded by the Himyarite Kingdom, which spanned much of Yemen's present-day territory and was heavily influenced by Judaism. Christianity arrived in the fourth century, followed by the rapid spread of Islam in the seventh century. From its conversion to Islam, Yemen became a center of Islamic learning, and Yemenite troops played a crucial role in early Islamic conquests. Much of Yemen's architecture survived until modern times. For centuries, it was a primary producer of coffee, exported through the port of Mocha. Various dynasties emerged between the 9th and 16th centuries. During the 19th century, the country was divided between the Ottoman and British empires. After World War I, the Kingdom of Yemen was established, which in 1962 became the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) following a civil war. In 1967, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) gained its independence from the British Aden Protectorate, becoming the first and only communist state in the Middle East and the Arab world. In 1990, the two Yemeni states united to form the modern Republic of Yemen, with Ali Abdullah Saleh serving as the first president until his resignation in 2012 in the wake of the Arab Spring. Since 2011, Yemen has been enduring a political crisis, marked by street protests against poverty, unemployment, corruption, and President Saleh's plan to amend Yemen's constitution and eliminate the presidential term limit. By 2015, the country became engulfed by an ongoing civil war with multiple entities vying for governance, including the Presidential Leadership Council of the internationally recognized government, and the Houthi movement's Supreme Political Council. This conflict, which has escalated to involve various foreign powers, has led to a severe humanitarian crisis. Yemen is one of the least developed countries in the world, facing significant obstacles to sustainable development, and is one of the poorest countries in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2019, the United Nations reported that Yemen had the highest number of people in need of humanitarian aid, amounting to about 24 million individuals, or nearly 75% of its population. As of 2020, Yemen ranked the highest in the Fragile States Index and second-worst on the Global Hunger Index, surpassed only by the Central African Republic. As of 2024, Yemen is regarded as the world's least peaceful country by the Global Peace Index. Additionally, it is ranked 184th on the Human Development Index as of 2025. Yemen is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to climate change and among the least prepared to handle its effects.

Web Search Results

• Yemen

  Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Including the Socotra Archipelago, mainland Yemen is located in southern Arabia; bordering Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the northeast, the south-eastern part of the Arabian Sea to the east, the Gulf of Aden to the south, and the Red Sea to the west, sharing maritime borders with Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia across the Horn of Africa. Covering roughly 455,503 square kilometres (175,871 square miles), with a coastline of [...] Yemen is one of the least developed countries in the world, facing significant obstacles to sustainable development, and is one of the poorest countries in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2019, the United Nations reported that Yemen had the highest number of people in need of humanitarian aid, amounting to about 24 million individuals, or nearly 75% of its population. As of 2020, Yemen ranked the highest in the Fragile States Index and second-worst on the Global Hunger Index, surpassed [...] > Yemen is a land with no lord, an empty province. It would be not only possible but easy to capture, and should it be captured, it would be master of the lands of India and send every year a great amount of gold and jewels to Constantinople.

• Yemeni civil war (2014–present)

  The Yemeni civil war (Arabic: الحرب الأهلية اليمنية, romanized: al-ḥarb al-ʾahlīyah al-yamanīyah) is an ongoing multilateral civil war that began in late 2014 mainly between the Rashad al-Alimi-led Presidential Leadership Council and the Mahdi al-Mashat-led Supreme Political Council, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the official government of Yemen.

• Yemen country brief | Australian Government Department of Foreign ...

  Yemen is divided into 20 governorates, the largest of which is Hadramawt. Yemen's population of approximately 35.2 million (2024) has more than doubled since 1975, making Yemen the second most populous country on the Arabian Peninsula. [...] The Republic of Yemen occupies the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea to the south and Oman to the north-east. Of Yemen's 200 islands, the largest is Socotra, about 354km to the south of mainland Yemen. [...] Yemen is the poorest economy in the Arabian Peninsula. It is a small oil producer and does not belong to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Unlike many regional oil producers, Yemen relies heavily on foreign oil companies that have production-sharing agreements with the government. Income from oil production has historically constituted around 70-75% of government revenue and approximately 90% of exports. In October 2022, the Yemeni government was forced to stop oil

• Yemen country profile - BBC News

  Yemen has been in state of political crisis since 2011, when a fresh wave of protests in 2011, inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, forced President Ali Abdallah Saleh to resign. [...] BBC News # Yemen country profile Share page About sharing Related topics Yemen crisis Despite its ancient roots as the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, the modern Republic of Yemen is a relatively new state. It was created after communist South Yemen merged with North Yemen in 1990, following years of strife, but tensions have never been far below the surface. [...] 2018 - Southern Yemeni separatists, the Southern Transitional Council - backed by the United Arab Emirates - seize control of Aden, the main city in the south. 2019 - Separatists and government sign power-sharing agreement to end conflict in southern Yemen. 2022 - President Hadi resigns after losing the support of the Saudi-led coalition and the Presidential Leadership Council takes power. ## Related topics Middle East Yemen Yemen crisis ## More on this story

• Yemen - The New York Times

  Yemen’s history is characterized by conflict; rarely has the region that constitutes modern-day Yemen been controlled in its entirety by a single power. The area gained its independence in the early 20th century, with the Yemen Arab Republic established in the north in 1962 and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen established in the south in 1970. [...] Yemen’s history is characterized by conflict; rarely has the region that constitutes modern-day Yemen been controlled in its entirety by a single power. The area gained its independence in the early 20th century, with the Yemen Arab Republic established in the north in 1962 and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen established in the south in 1970. [...] Yemen’s history is characterized by conflict; rarely has the region that constitutes modern-day Yemen been controlled in its entirety by a single power. The area gained its independence in the early 20th century, with the Yemen Arab Republic established in the north in 1962 and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen established in the south in 1970.

• Image

  

• Country

  Yemen

• Instance Of

  Q6256

• Population

  28,250,420

• Coordinates

  Lat: 15.5, Lon: 48.0

• Inception Date

  5/22/1990