YEMEN

Republic of Yemen

Al-Jumhuriyah al-Yamaniyah

CAPITAL: Şan'ā'

FLAG: The national flag is a tricolor of red, white, and black horizontal stripes.

ANTHEM: Al-Watani (Peace to the Land).

MONETARY UNIT: The Yemeni riyal (yr) is a paper currency of 100 fils. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 fils and notes of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 riyals. yr1 = $0.00519 (or $1 = yr192.67) as of 2005.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is being introduced, but local measures remain in common use.

HOLIDAYS: Labor Day, 1 May; Day of National Unity, 22 May; National Day, 14 October; Independence Day, 30 November. Movable Muslim holidays include Laylat al-Miraj, 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-'Adha', Milad an-Nabi, and 1st of Muharram.

TIME: 3 pm = noon GMT.

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

Yemen is located in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It is slightly larger than twice the size of the state of Wyoming with a total area of 527,970 sq km (203,850 sq mi). Yemen shares boundaries with Saudi Arabia on the n, Oman on the e, Gulf of Aden on the s, and the Red Sea on the w, and has a total land boundary length of 1,746 km (1,085 mi) plus a coastline of 1,906 km (1,184 mi).

TOPOGRAPHY

The topography of Yemen features a narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains. Dissected upland desert plains in the center of the country slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula. The highest known point is the summit of Jabal Hadhur, rising 3,760 m (12,336 ft) above the Red Sea coast. The western part of the country contains fertile soil in its highland plateaus which rise from about 1,200 to 3,000 m (4,000 to 10,000 ft). A system of wadis drain mountain slopes into the desert and into the Gulf of Aden.

In December 2004, an earthquake centered in the Indian Ocean caused a tsunami that affected many of the nearby countries. There were only two confirmed deaths in Yemen, but damage to coastal fishing villages and businesses was severe.

CLIMATE

Extreme humidity combines with high temperatures—as high as 54°c (129°f) in the shade—to produce a stiflingly hot climate. Winds blowing northwest in summer and southwest in winter bring little rain but cause severe sandstorms. During January and February, however, the temperature averages about 20°c (68°f). The climate of the highlands is generally considered the best in Arabia. Summers are temperate and winters are cool, with some frost. Temperatures vary from 22°c (72°f) in June, the hottest month, to 14°c (57°f) in January. Rainfall in the highlands ranges from 41 cm (16 in) at Şan'ā' to 81 cm (32 in) in the monsoon area of the extreme southwest. The average year-round temperature at Şan'ā' is 18°c (64°f).

FLORA AND FAUNA

Vegetation is sparse along the coast, but in the highlands and wadis, it is plentiful. Acacia, date palm, and many fruit trees are common. Many varieties of grapes are cultivated. Custard apple, euphorbia, and spurge grow in abundance. Alpine roses, balsam, basil, wild elder, and Judas tree are among the flowers and herbs. Wild mammals include the baboon, gazelle, leopard, and mountain hare. Scorpions and millipedes are everywhere, but snakes are less common. Many varieties of birds are found, including the bustard, hawk, vulture, raven, parrot, hornbill, honeysucker, and weaver finch. More than 27,000 varieties of insects and over 600 specimens of flowering plants have been collected in Yemen. There are at least 66 species of mammals and 93 species of birds found throughout the country.

ENVIRONMENT

Yemen's main environmental problems have long been scarcity of water, soil erosion, and desertification. Water pollution is a problem due to contaminants from the oil industry, untreated sewage, and salinization. The nation has 4 cu km of renewable water resources with 92% of annual withdrawals used for farming activity and 1% for industrial purposes.

Natural forests in mountainous areas have been destroyed by agricultural clearing and livestock overgrazing. The National Environmental Council, established in 1976, disseminates information on conservation. In response to the nation's environmental needs, the government of Yemen has created laws governing the use of the country's water supply. Law Number 42 (1991) protects water and marine life.

According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), threatened species included 6 types of mammals, 14 species of birds, 2 types of reptiles, 1 species of amphibian, 11 species of fish, 2 types of mollusks, and 159 species of plants. Endangered species include the northern bald ibis, the South Arabian leopard, slender-billed curlew, and two species of turtle (green sea and hawksbill). Queen of Sheba's gazelle and the Saudi Gazelle have become extinct in the wild.

POPULATION

The population of Yemen in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 20,727,000, which placed it at number 51 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 4% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 46% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 103 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–10 was expected to be 3.3%, a rate the government viewed as too high. Yemen's fertility rate, at 6.8 births per woman, is among the highest in the world. The projected population for the year 2025 was 39,644,000. The overall population density was 39 per sq km (102 per sq mi), with most of the population concentrated in the Tihama foothills and central highlands of Yemen. Most of southern Yemen is very sparsely populated.

The UN estimated that 26% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 5.15%. The capital city, Şan'ā', had a population of 1,469,000 in that year. Other large cities and their estimated populations include Ta'izz (2,363,000), Al 'udaydah (Hodiedah) (2,004,049), and 'Aden (568,700), the chief port.

MIGRATION

There were 1,168,199 citizens of Yemen working abroad in 1986. Most were working in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. When Yemen took Iraq's side in the war that followed its 1990 annexation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia effectively expelled an estimated 800,000–1,000,000 Yemeni workers by revoking their work privileges. These workers had been sending home some $3 billion a year in remittances.

Many people from the Wadi Hadramawt in southern Yemen have worked abroad in East Africa, India, and Indonesia for centuries. Following independence and the establishment of a leftist regime in the PDRY, more than 300,000 people fled to the north, including about 80,000 Yemenis from the YAR, and virtually all minority groups left the country. Subsequent political upheavals resulted in further emigration.

In 1992 more than 60,000 Yemenis returned from the Horn of Africa, chiefly because of turmoil in Somalia. In 1998 and 1999, Yemen experienced a significant influx of Somali asylum seekers, who fled their country for economic reasons. They were accommodated in a refugee camp in Al Ghahain, near 'Aden, supervised by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). As of 2004, there were 66,384 refugees in Yemen, most from Somalia, and 2,270 asylum seekers and 39 returned refugees.

The net migration rate in 2005 was estimated as zero migrants per 1,000 population, a significant decline from 9.8 per 1,000 in 1990. Worker remittances in 2002 amounted to $1.2 billion. The government viewed the immigration level as too high, but the emigration level as satisfactory.

ETHNIC GROUPS

Since independence, the population has been almost entirely Arab. However, there are Afro-Arab concentrations in western coastal locations, South Asians in southern regions, and small European communities in major metropolitan areas. Many ethnologists contend that the purest "Arab" stock is to be found in Yemen. Classified as Joktanic Semites, the Yemenis claim descent from Himyar, great-grandson of Joktan, who, according to the book of Genesis, was descended from Shem, the son of Noah. Yemenis were prominent in the early armies of Islam and thus helped to Arabize much of the Middle East. The Tihama has been subjected to occupation and infiltration by many conquerors, and its people show significant admixtures of other racial types, including Negroid peoples. About 2–5% of the population are Akhdam, a group that is considered to be the lowest social class. This group faces a greater level of poverty and social discrimination that some other minorities. The history of the Yemenite Jews predates by centuries the Islamic Hijra (ad 622). How they came to settle in the region has not been determined.

LANGUAGES

Arabic, the national language, is spoken in a variety of dialects. In vocabulary and other features there is a considerable difference between the classical language used for writing and formal speaking and the spoken dialect used for ordinary discourse. Traces of the ancient South Arabian languages spoken prior to the coming of Muhammad appear in the dialects of the more remote districts of southern Yemen. Mahri, a rare and relatively unstudied language of unknown origins, is spoken in the east. English is widely understood in the former PDRY.

RELIGIONS

The Republic of Yemen is officially a Muslim country. Almost all of the inhabitants are Sunnis of the Shaf 'i school, one of the four major schools of Islamic law. They reside chiefly in the coastal plains and the southwestern part of the country. Most of those remaining are Shias of the Zaydi sect, who live in the highlands. This sect, originating in the 9th century, takes its name from Zayd bin 'Ali (d.740), a descendant of Muhammad, and doctrinally is very close to Sunni Islam. In addition, there is a small minority of Ismailis, members of another Shia sect.

Nearly all of the country's once sizable Jewish population has emigrated. There are no legal restrictions on the few hundred who remain, although there are traditional restrictions on places of residence and choice of employment. About 500 Jews live in the villages between Şan'ā' and Şa'dah in northern Yemen. There are also small Christian and Hindu communities. In remote areas there is still evidence of shamanism, animism, and other indigenous forms of religion.

The constitution provides for freedom of religion, but the government does enforce some restrictions. Conversion of Muslims to other religions is punishable by death; non-Muslims are prohibited from proselytizing and holding public office.

TRANSPORTATION

Through the 1950s, Yemen's transportation system consisted of a few primitive mud tracks connecting the larger towns. Then, in 1961, technicians from China completed a 224-km (139-mi) road between Şan'ā' and Al 'udaydah, the country's first asphalt highway. Seven years later, the United States finished the 386-km (240mi) highway linking Şan'ā', Ta'izz, and Al-Mukha; the USSR completed a road from Ta'izz to Al 'udaydah in 1969. Other paved roads extend from Şan'ā' to Ma'rib, from Şan'ā' to Sa'idah, from Ta'izz to At-Turba, from the Şan'ā'-Ta'izz highway to Al Baydā, and from Ta'izz to Aden ('Adan). A direct link between Şan'ā' and Wadi Hadhramaut via Marib was completed in 1999. By 2002, Yemen had about 69,263 km (43,040 mi) of roadway, of which only 9,963 km (6,191 mi) were paved. In 2003, passenger cars numbered 290,208, while there were 331,410 commercial vehicles. There are no railways or waterways in Yemen.

Improvements to the main port of Al 'udaydah have expanded berthing, storage, and handling facilities and increase cargo capacity to 1,750,000 tons annually. Other ports are Al-Mukha, Aden, and Salif, which have sheltered harbors and deepwater berths capable of taking 10,000-ton ships. In 1999 the 'Aden Container Terminal opened with further expansion plans underway. In 2005, Yemen had a merchant fleet of five ships of 1,000 GRT or more, totaling 19,766 GRT.

Progress in air transportation has been rapid in recent years. In 2004 there were an estimated 44 airports, 16 of which had paved runways as of 2005. The principal airfield, capable of handling modern jet aircraft, is Ar-Rahba International Airport, north of Şan'ā'. There are smaller international airports at Al 'udaydah, Ta'izz, and 'Aden. 'Aden International Airport was renovated and Şan'ā"s renovation was scheduled for late 2001. Yemen Airways (Alyemda), the national airline, operates services between Şan'ā', Ta'izz, Al 'udaydah, and Al-Bayda and also schedules flights toEgypt, Ethiopia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The airline carried about 844,000 passengers in 2003.

HISTORY

Classical geographers divided Arabia into three regions: Arabia Petraea ("rocky"), Arabia Deserta ("deserted"), and Arabia Felix ("fortunate"). The last, the southwestern corner, included the territory now occupied by Yemen. The region was the site of a series of rich kingdoms that dominated world trade. The wealthy kingdom of Sheba (or Saba), with its capital at Ma'rib, is the best known of the South Arabian kingdoms. The prosperity of this kingdom (10th to 2d centuries bc) was based on the spice and incense trade. Competition from new trade routes undermined Sabaean prosperity and caused the kingdom to decline. From the 2d century bc to the 6th century ad, the Himyarite dynasty, of ethnic stock similar to that of the Sabaeans, ruled in Arabia Felix, and paganism gradually gave way to Christianity and Judaism.

The Himyarite hegemony was ended in 525 by invading Christian Ethiopians, whose rule lasted until 575, when they were driven out by Persian invaders. Islam was accepted in the next century, and Yemen became the battleground of Muslim religious factions. The coastline (Tihama) was held by the Sunnis of the Shafi'i School, while the highlands were controlled by the Zaydis, a Shia sect.

In the 9th century, a Zaydi ruler, Yahya al-Hadi ila'l Haqq, founded a line of imams that survived until the second half of the 20th century. Nevertheless, Yemen's medieval history is a tangled chronicle of contesting local imams. The Fatimids of Egypt helped the Isma'ilis maintain dominance in the 11th century. Saladin (Salah ad-Din) annexed Yemen in 1173. The Rasulid dynasty (Kurdish and Turkish in origin) ruled Yemen, with Zabid as its capital, from about 1230 to the 15th century. In 1516, the Mamluks of Egypt annexed Yemen; but in the following year, the Mamluk governor surrendered to the Ottoman Turks, and Turkish armies subsequently overran the country. They were challenged by the Zaydi imam Qasim the Great (r.1597–1620) and expelled from the interior around 1630. From then until the 19th century, the Ottomans retained control only of the coastal area, while the highlands generally were ruled by the Zaydi imams.

Early in the 19th century, Yemen was overrun by Wahhabis, but in 1818, Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Muhammad 'Ali of Egypt, drove them out of Yemen and reestablished Zaydi control. Egyptian troops occupied the main ports of Yemen until 1840, when they were withdrawn. The Zaydi imams recognized Ottoman suzerainty and paid a large annual subsidy to the Ottoman sultan. After 1840 the situation was anarchic, and law and order in any form was not reestablished until 1872, when the Ottomans again occupied Şan'ā' and consolidated their control. The northern mountains remained under the control of Zaydi imams from the Hamid ad-Din family. The Ottomans kept a large force in Yemen during World War I, but under the armistice terms evacuated it in 1918 and Yemen became independent.

In 1834 the British had occupied 'Aden as a coaling station on the route to India; the importance of the territory was substantially increased with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

To protect its foothold in 'Aden the United Kingdom had signed a treaty of "protection and advice" with rulers of the tribes and states in the hinterland, leading to the adoption of the names Western Aden Protectorate (WAP) and Eastern Aden Protectorate (EAP). As long as northern Yemen remained at least nominally a part of the Ottoman Empire, relations on the frontier between the United Kingdom (in the WAP and EAP) and the Turks (in Yemen) were relatively peaceful.

During World War I the British supported the Idrisi tribe's attempt to establish itself in Yemen. In 1919 the United Kingdom occupied Al 'udaydah, which came into Idrisi hands when the British withdrew in 1921. The Zaydis, now led by Imam Yahya ibn Muhammad Hamid ad-Din, who had become imam in 1891, waged an armed struggle against the Idrisis that ended when Imam Yahya seized Al 'udaydah in 1925. The imam also sought to move into the states of the Western Aden Protectorate in an attempt to reestablish his suzerainty in these territories formerly held by the Yemenis. The Idrisis came under the protection of King Ibn Sa'ud, and in 1934, a war broke out between the Saudis and Yemenis. By the Treaty of Ta'if (May 1934), Yemen lost 'Asir to Saudi Arabia but won British and Saudi recognition of its independence. However, incursions by the Imams against the UK protectorate in 'Aden continued until 1962.

In 1959 the United Kingdom formed the six WAP states into the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South, with others joining later. The inhabitants of 'Aden, who were more politically and economically advanced than those of the protectorates, opposed adherence to the federation. Nevertheless, 'Aden in 1963 was merged into the federation, which then became known as the Federation of South Arabia.

The dispute over the future form and direction of this new political entity, as well as over which other states would join it, resulted in several years of factional violence, as various political parties, labor organizations, and other groups struggled for political ascendancy. Finally, in 1967, the National Liberation Front (NLF) emerged as the strongest political group, and the United Kingdom agreed to negotiate with it concerning future independence. On 30 November 1967 all the states of the WAP and EAP were amalgamated, the last British soldiers withdrew, and the NLF declared the independence of the People's Republic of South Yemen. On 22 June 1969 the head of the NLF, Qahtan ash-Sha'bi, was deposed by a group of young leftists of the NLF. The new regime, headed by a five-man council, renamed the country the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), developed close ties with the USSR, and secured economic aid from it and China. A further political alignment occurred in 1971, when Salim Rubaya 'Ali became head of state and 'Abd al-Fattah Isma'il was named head of the party, in an uneasy rivalry. In 1978 Isma'il, the head of the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP), formerly the NLF, overthrew and executed President 'Ali and assumed the presidency. Isma'il resigned his position in 1980, ostensibly for reasons of health, and went into exile. 'Ali Nasir Muhammad al-Hasani, the prime minister, assumed the presidency.

Meanwhile, Yemen joined the League of Arab States in 1945, and in 1958, it formed a federation, the United Arab States, with the newly established United Arab Republic (UAR). In December 1961 however, the pro forma federal connection with Egypt was severed, and in September 1962 the government of Imam Muhammad al-Badr, only a few days old, was overthrown by revolutionary forces led by Brigadier (later Marshal) 'Abdallah as-Sallal. He proclaimed himself president and commander-in-chief of the army and declared the establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic. Badr escaped to the northern regions of the YAR, where he organized a counterrevolutionary force.

A civil war between the royalists (defenders of the imamate) and the republican government broke out, and appeals by both sides for support brought about the active intervention of other Arab states. Saudi Arabia supported the royalist cause, and the UAR came to the assistance of the republic, dispatching up to 70,000 troops to the YAR; fighting was particularly bitter during the winter of 1963–64. Eventually the conflict subsided, as the Saudis curtailed their aid to the royalists and the Egyptians to the republicans. Sallal was deposed in November 1967 and replaced by a Republican Council. Talks between republican leaders and Saudi Arabia in March 1970 at Jiddah concluded with an agreement that ended the civil war and left the republicans in control.

In June 1974 'Abd ar-Rahman al-Iryani (who had been president since 1967) resigned, thrusting the country into a state of political confusion. By the end of the year Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Muhammad al-Hamdi had emerged as president, heading a government with powers of centralized control that were progressively strengthened. Hamdi was assassinated by unknown assailants in October 1977. His successor, Colonel Ahmad ibn Hussein al-Ghashmi, who formed a civilian government and established the Constituent People's Assembly, met a similar fate in June 1978, in a bomb blast in which PDRY involvement was suspected. Lieutenant Colonel 'Ali 'Abdallah Saleh thereupon became president. In 1982, he inaugurated the General People's Congress as an instrument for popular political mobilization.

Since independence, the PDRY was embroiled in conflicts with all three of its neighbors. A separatist movement was supported in Oman; there were border skirmishes with Saudi forces in 1969 and 1973; and the PDRY fought a brief war with the YAR in February–March 1979. The war ended with a truce, mediated by the Arab League, and with an agreement in principle to seek unification of the two Yemens. On 13 January 1986 PDRY President Muhammad attempted to eliminate his rivals within the YSP. A number of officials were killed, including Isma'il, and Muhammad was forced into exile, along with thousands of his followers. A civil war ensued during the following two weeks, in which about 4,200 died and the supporters of Muhammad were defeated. Haydar Abn Bakr al-'Attas, the prime minister, took over as acting president; Dr. Yasin Sa'id Nu'man was appointed prime minister, and 'Ali Salim al-Bayd was chosen as the new head of the YSP. President al'Attas was officially elected in November 1986.

In late 1981 a constitution for the two Yemens was drafted. However, implementation was hampered by the continuing insurgency against President Saleh by the leftist National Democratic Front (NDF), which was based in, and reportedly aided by, the PDRY. Saleh was able to defeat the NDF militarily in 1982. Movement toward unification was maintained in repeated declarations and meetings through 1985, but no real progress was achieved. The January 1986 civil war in the PDRY set back relations between the two countries, particularly since 50,000 refugees fled the YAR, but both governments subsequently reaffirmed their commitment to unity.

In 1989 the leaders of the YAR and PDRY approved the 1981 draft constitution and their legislatures ratified it on 21 May 1990. The unified Republic of Yemen was proclaimed the following day. In the May 1990 election, 121 seats were won by the northern General People's Congress, 62 by Islaah (an Islamist and tribalist party), 56 by the southern Yemeni Socialist Party, 47 by independents, and 15 by five other parties. On 22 May 1990 Ali Abdullah Saleh became the president of Yemen and Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas the first prime minister, serving until 9 May 1994. A 30-month transition period was set for unifying the different political and economic systems. The army, police, and civil service were not integrated as planned, however. Meanwhile, the economy was hard hit by the consequences of Yemen's support for Iraq after the Kuwait invasion. It is estimated that Saudi Arabia expelled between 800,000 and one million Yemeni workers, thus depriving Yemen of some $3 billion in foreign exchange. In addition, the Saudis and Gulf states ended $2 billion in foreign aid. Unemployment in Yemen reached 30%.

Free and fair parliamentary elections were held in April 1992 with President Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) barely missing a majority victory. A three-party coalition was formed but foundered in late 1993 when Vice President Ali al-Beidh of the Yemen Socialist Party boycotted meetings. Although the quarrel appeared to be patched up with an agreement in February 1994, fighting broke out in May of that year. In a few months, thousands of casualties had been suffered; tribes, clans, and militias were engaged in seeking their own selfish goals and the city of 'Aden was under siege. Some observers attributed the civil conflict to the recent discovery of massive oil reserves in the south and to Saudi Arabia's interest in weakening Yemen by promoting the breakup of the union. The future looked bleak, despite efforts of the UN and some Arab states to promote peace. Meanwhile, on 9 May 1994 Muhammed Said al Attar became acting prime minister until 6 October 1994 when Abdel Aziz Abdel Ghani took office.

Although bloody, the civil war was short-lived, with the north having subdued the rebellious south by July. Restoring civil order was difficult, especially in light of the dire economic straits faced by the country, which in 1995 had 70–90% inflation and a deficit of 17% of GDP. The IMF and World Bank stepped in after the war and instituted structural adjustment programs which brought inflation down below 10%.

In 1997 parliamentary elections were scheduled for May and it was expected that Saleh's GPC would retain its sizable majority. The international community expressed skepticism as to the fairness of the elections but, in the context of the Persian Gulf, they were expected to be reasonably fair. Notably, the YSP, representing the defeated south, announced that it would boycott the elections in protest of the GPC's collusion with Islaah, a tribal and Islamist party, to rig the elections. Saleh maintained the presidency and on 14 May 1997 Faraj Said Bin Ghanem became the new prime minister. On 29 April 1998 Bin Ghanem resigned and Abdel Karim al-Iriani became acting prime minister. In September 1999 President Ali Abdullah Saleh was reelected in Yemen's first direct presidential election. The YSP boycotted the election. Charges of fraud were made by the opposition with allegations of underage voting, multiple balloting, and unauthorized submission of ballots by absentee voters.

Yemen's history of kidnappings, over 100 Westerners the first six years of the 1990s, continued through 2000. In the past the kidnappings were economically motivated, i.e., Yemeni tribesmen asking for money. Later, others appeared ideological—Muslims demanding the release of prisoners held by another Muslim group. Kidnappings damaged Yemen's economy by their impact on its tourist industry. Falling world oil prices also hit Yemen hard since oil accounts the vast majority of Yemen's exports. Yemen attempted to increase economic productivity with a campaign against qat (khat) chewing. Qat is a mild indigenous narcotic plant customarily chewed by some 75% of the Yemeni population. In August 1999 the government led by President Saleh, himself a qat user, launched a campaign to reduce qat usage by swearing off qat and encouraging others to follow his example. Anti-qat campaigns have been politically treacherous as former prime minister Mohsin al-Aini was ousted in 1972 after attempting to stamp out qat-chewing.

On 12 October 2000, two suicide bombers detonated a small boat containing explosives alongside the USS Cole as it was refueling in Aden harbor. Seventeen US sailors were killed and 39 others were wounded. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden praised the attack. Bin Laden, whose father was of Yemeni origin, had been indicted by the United States for the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people. In the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, attributed to al-Qaeda, the United States focused attention on governments in the world responsible for harboring and supporting terrorists. Since 1992, the United States has alleged that bin Laden and al-Qaeda targeted US military forces in Yemen, and that al-Qaeda has formed alliances with jihad groups in Yemen. In June 2001, Yemeni officials arrested 9 men believed to be affiliated with the Islamic Army of Aden, a fundamentalist group linked to bin Laden, for the 2000 attack on the Cole. The group was responsible for kidnapping 16 Western tourists in December 1998; four of the hostages were killed in a gun battle between the group and Yemeni government troops. The Islamic Army of Aden advocates the imposition of Islamic law in Yemen, is against the United States or other Western states using Yemeni ports or bases, and supports the lifting of international sanctions against Iraq.

In November 2001, President Saleh met with US President George W. Bush, assuring him that Yemen was a partner in the war on terrorism. In December, Yemen detained some 80 foreign students and teachers from an Islamic fundamentalist institute in the Marib province, where Yemeni special forces were searching for al-Qaeda suspects. In February 2002, Yemen expelled more than 100 foreign Islamic scholars, including British and French nationals, in an effort to curb the spread of terrorism. Scores of prisoners being held by the United States as a result of its 2001–02 campaign in Afghanistan are natives of Yemen. In March 2002, the United States was finishing plans to send hundreds of US Special Forces to Yemen, to "advise and assist" Yemeni forces combating armed groups affiliated with al-Qaeda.

On 6 October 2002, the French oil tanker Limburg was the target of a terrorist attack in the Gulf of Aden, which killed one crewmember and released 90,000 barrels of oil. An explosives-laden boat hit the tanker, in an attack that was similar to the one on the USS Cole. On 3 November, a US CIA-controlled unmanned Predator surveillance plane fired a Hellfire missile into a car in northwest Yemen, killing six al-Qaeda operatives, including Qaed Salim Sunian al-Harethi, considered to be Osama bin Laden's chief operator in Yemen. Al-Harethi was also a suspect in the 2000 bombing of the Cole. President Saleh called on al-Qaeda members to renounce violence and turn themselves in to face trial in Yemen, as opposed to being turned over to the United States.

In December 2002, a North Korean freighter disguised as a Cambodian ship was intercepted in the Arabian Sea and seized at gun point by the US Navy and Spanish marines; the vessel was carrying a shipment bound for Yemen of 15 Scud missiles, warheads, and an agent used in Scud fuel. President Bush ordered the shipment released after concluding the Yemen-North Korean deal was concluded on a legal basis. Also in December, a Yemeni Muslim extremist killed three American doctors and wounded a pharmacist by opening fire in a Baptist hospital in the town of Jibla.

On 20 February 2001, Yemen amended its constitution to extend the presidential term of office from 5 to 7 years, and to reorganize the bicameral parliament. The referendum was passed by 73% of the voting population. Also in February, municipal elections were held for the first time.

In the summer of 2004, government forces battled supporters of an anti-American Shia cleric, Hussein al-Houthi, in the northern part of the country. Estimates of the dead ranged from 80 to 600. According to the government, Al-Houthi's group, called "Believing Youth," attempted to model itself after Lebanon's Hezbollah, and receives foreign funding. In September 2004, government forces killed al-Houthi. However, from March to May 2005, fighting resumed between government troops and supporters of the slain al-Houthi; more than 200 people were killed. In May, President Saleh announced the leader of the rebellion in the north agreed to renounce the campaign in exchange for a pardon, but some fighting continued, including in the capital Şan'ā'.

In July 2005, scores of people across the country were killed in clashes between police and demonstrators protesting a reduction in fuel subsidies. Tanks were deployed in Şan'ā'. The poor were most affected.

GOVERNMENT

The 1970 YAR constitution affirmed Islamic law as the basis of all legislation and established the unicameral Consultative Assembly as the supreme legislative body. The assembly was authorized to name the president and to appoint the ruling Executive Council. In the first national elections, held in 1971, voters selected 119 members of the Consultative Assembly; the president appointed the 40 remaining members. This body was dissolved in 1974, and in 1978, the Constituent People's Assembly replaced it, with 99 members elected and 60 members appointed by the president for a two-year term.

In the General People's Congress (GPC), created in 1982, 700 of the 1,000 members were elected, with the other 300 appointed by the government. Between meetings (held every two years), the GPC's affairs were to be handled by a 75-member standing committee. The president, elected by the Constituent People's Assembly for a five-year term, served as secretary-general of the GPC and commander-in-chief of the armed forces and appointed the prime minister and a ministerial council.

The 1970 constitution of the PDRY was ratified by the general command of the United Political Organization–National Front, which later became the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP). The Supreme People's Council, which had 111 members elected by universal suffrage at age 18, enacted laws; elected a Presidium and its chairman, who served as head of state; and chose the prime minister and the Council of Ministers. The YSP apparatus and the organs of government were closely intertwined.

The 1990 unity constitution established a political system based on free, multiparty elections. During the transitional period a presidential council was created with five members, three from the North and two from the South, to oversee executive operations. The council appointed a prime minister who picked a 38-member cabinet. A 301-member parliament was also formed, with 159 members chosen from the North, 111 from the South, and 31 at large. Constitutional amendments in 1994 eliminated the presidential council, and provided that the president would be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates selected by the legislature. In 1999, Yemen held its first direct presidential elections.

Legislative elections were again held in 1993, with the GPC maintaining its majority (124 seats). Islaah won 61 seats and the YSP took 55. Independent candidates won 47 and members of the country's dozens of other political/tribal parties took 13 seats. Following the 1994 civil war, the GPC and Islaah formed a unity government. The next parliamentary elections were in April 1997. The GPC maintained its dominance taking 187 of 299 seats. The YSP, the only substantial opposition since the GPC and Islaah joined forces, boycotted the elections, which they said were being managed by the GPC leadership.

On 20 February 2001, new constitutional amendments extended the presidential term of office from five to seven years, and extended the parliamentary term of office to six years. The president may now serve a maximum of two seven-year terms. A bicameral legislature was created, consisting of an upper house, the Consultative Council or Shura Council, with 111 seats appointed by the president; and a House of Representatives composed of 301 members elected by popular vote. The next presidential election was slated for 2006; President Saleh promised he would step down. Suffrage is universal at 18.

POLITICAL PARTIES

The National Liberation Front, which emerged in 1967 as the strongest faction in the disputes before South Yemen's independence, became the United Political Organization–National Front in 1970 and changed its name to the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) in 1978, when two smaller leftist parties were merged with it. This Marxist-Leninist organization, the PDRY's lone political party, was the only group to offer candidates in the 1986 legislative elections and survived to represent southern interests in the unified Yemen.

In preunification north Yemen, political parties in the Western sense played no role. Tribal allegiances were more important political factors. After unity, the northern leader, General Saleh, formed the General People's Congress (GPC), which became the country's largest party. The second-largest bloc in the parliament was held by the Islaah Party (The Yemeni Congregation for Reform), a fusion of tribal and Islamic interests that opposed the unity constitution because it did not sufficiently adhere to Islamic principles. At least 40 smaller parties have been active in the politics of unified Yemen, but the GPC, Islaah, and the YSP are the only ones of national significance. After the 1994 civil war, the GPC and Islaah formed a coalition government to establish civil order.

In the April 1997 legislative election the GPC won a landslide victory and no longer governed in coalition with Islaah. The YSP boycotted the April 1997 legislative election. In addition to these three main parties, the other parties active in the political arena that had fulfilled Yemen's legal procedures to practice political activities were the People's Nasserite Reformation Party, Liberation Front Party, Nasserite Democratic Party, League of the Sons of Yemen, Federation of Popular Forces, National Arab Socialist Baath Party, National Democratic Front, Al Haq Party, Yemen League Party, and the National Social Party. As of 2005, the active parties were GPC, Islaah, Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), Nasserite Unionist Party, and the National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party.

In September 1999, Yemen held the first direct presidential elections ever held on the Arabian peninsula. Longtime president Saleh captured 96.3% of the vote; Najeeb Qahtan al-Shaabi, his only opponent, won 3.7% of the vote. Led by the YSP, a coalition of opposition groups boycotted this election. In legislative elections held on 27 April 2003, the GPC won 228 seats in parliament, Islaah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, and independents 14. The next legislative elections were scheduled for 2009.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The YAR was divided into 11 governorates (muhafazat ), each headed by a governor. Each governorate contained a varying number of sectors (nawahi ). Traditional divisions still extant included the uzlah, a group of villages (qura ) of people who belong to the same tribe, headed by a sheikh; and the mahall, a group of houses administratively subordinate to a village. The central government retained ultimate authority over local officials, although certain administrative sanctions were granted to traditional local rulers.

In an effort to de-emphasize older loyalties and associations, the PDRY government created a highly centralized state and divided the country into six governorates, all closely controlled by the central authorities. Each had an appointed governor, and each was divided into districts, which were also administered by appointed officials.

The unified government established 17 governorates, subdivided into districts. In the countryside, especially in the north and east, tribal authority is often stronger than formal government institutions. There are 20 governorates, and 326 district municipalities. The government has taken steps to implement decentralization. Municipal elections were held for the first time in February 2001. Authority over local planning, development, and administration is consolidated in municipal councils. The February elections included 26,832 candidates for 6,614 district municipal council seats and over 2,500 candidates for 418 provincial council seats. Those elected served a two-year term.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

Under a 1991 decree the separate judicial systems of the former YAR and the former PDRY were unified at the Supreme Court level. A Supreme Judicial Council administers the judiciary, appointing and promoting judges and reviewing policies regarding the structure and functioning of the judicial system. There are courts of first instance, which hear civil, criminal, commercial, and family matters; decisions can be appealed to courts of appeal. The Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of laws, hears cases brought against high government officials, and is the last court of appeal for all lower court decisions. The judiciary, especially at the lower levels, is susceptible to pressure and influence from the executive branch. All laws are codified from Shariah, and there are no jury trials. In addition to regular courts, a system of tribal adjudication exists for some noncriminal issues, although the tribal "judges" often hear criminal cases as well.

The former YAR judicial system consisted of Shariah law and courts for criminal and family law areas administered in each district by a hakim and commercial law and courts for business matters. In remote areas, tribal law was applied in tribal courts. The Shariah courts applied Islamic law and litigants could appeal the decision of a hakim to another hakim, and from him take a final appeal to the Istinaf, the highest court of appeal, in Şan'ā'. Both sets of courts were considered generally fair and impartial. Former YAR state security courts were abolished with unification.

The former PDRY court system was organized in three tiers: magistrate or divisional courts, provincial courts, and military courts. Magistrate courts handled most criminal, juvenile, family, housing, agrarian and other minor civil matters. Provincial courts handled more serious criminal cases, inheritance cases, major civil claims, and appeals from magistrates' courts. Shariah courts applying Islamic law and tribal courts applying traditional law also existed alongside the modern court system.

ARMED FORCES

In 2005, the active armed forces of Yemen numbered 66,700. The Army had 60,000 active members, and was equipped with 790 main battle tanks, 130 reconnaissance vehicles, 200 armored infantry fighting vehicles, 710 armored personnel carriers and 1,167 artillery pieces (310 towed). The Navy had 1,700 active personnel. Major naval units included 19 patrol/coastal vessels and 6 mine warfare ships. The Air Force, in 2005 had 5,000 members, including 2,000 air defense personnel. The service had 75 combat capable aircraft, including 41 fighters and 30 fighter ground attack aircraft. The Air Force also had eight attack helicopters. The country's paramilitary forces totaled 70,000 personnel, which were comprised of 50,000 Ministry of Interior Forces, and tribal levies in excess of 20,000. A coast guard is slowly being established. Yemen's defense budget in 2005 totaled $942 million.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Yemen was admitted to the United Nations on 30 September 1947; it participates in the ESCWA and several nonregional specialized UN agencies such as the World Bank, the FAO, ILO, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNCTAD, and the WHO. The country is also a member of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Monetary Union, the Council of Arab Economic Unity, the Islamic Development Bank, the Arab League, G-77, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Yemen has observer status in the OAS and the WTO.

Yemen is on good terms with both conservative and radical Arab states. The country is part of the Nonaligned Movement, IN environmental cooperation, Yemen is part of the Basel Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity, CITES, the Kyoto Protocol, the Montréal Protocol, and the UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea, Climate Change and Desertification.

ECONOMY

Traditionally an agricultural area, northern Yemen was self-sufficient in food and a net exporter of agricultural product until the Civil War in the 1960s and a prolonged drought in the early 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s many farmers switched from labor intensive food crops to the more profitable cultivation of qat, a mild stimulant chewed by many Yemenis that has no significant export market. The economy of southern Yemen developed through foreign assistance (especially from the former USSR). The southern city of 'Aden, with its port and refinery, is the economic and commercial center of the country. The Yemeni economy depends on imports of wheat, flour, rice, and other foodstuffs. Trade deficits have been offset by remittances from Yemenis working abroad and by foreign aid.

Crude oil is a significant sector of the economy, with exports accounting for over 80% of total exports. In 2004, income from the production and sale of crude oil and natural gas accounted for 72% of total government revenue, which was significantly higher than budgeted income due to higher-than-expected international oil prices. However, with no new significant finds, oil resources could be commercially depleted within 5 to 20 years. Following the unification of the country in 1990, responsibility for development of the oil sector fell to the state-owned general corporation for oil and mineral resources. Civil war in 1994 disturbed output. Oil output has been declining since 1995, and over 200 dry wells have been drilled, suggesting that the industry has passed its peak. In 2005, proven oil reserves totaled 4 billion barrels. Although Yemen's oil output declined each year from 2003–05, (from 448,288 barrels per day in 2003 to 416,656 barrels per day in the first nine months of 2005) the country hoped to boost output to 500,000 barrels per day in the late 2000s.

When Yemen aligned with Iraq during the Gulf War, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, Yemen's main aid donors and hosts to large numbers of Yemeni workers and their families, ended the Yemenis' privileged status. The economic impact of lost remittances was estimated at about $1 billion per year. After the Gulf crisis, Yemen was confronted with high unemployment, lost remittances, halving of US military aid, a sharp cutback in USAID programs, other canceled foreign assistance, and the cost of food imports and social services for the returnees totaling about $500 million.

Following the civil conflict in 1994, the government began a five-year program in 1995 that removed all controls on the exchange rate and cut the interest rate, as well as initialized trade policy reform, privatization, and the elimination of price controls. The reforms were favorably received by the World Bank and IMF, which agreed to provide aid.

A new liquefied natural gas drilling project promised exploitation of Yemen's 482 billion cu m (17 trillion cu ft) of gas reserves in subsequent years, although in 2002 US companies ExxonMobil and Hunt Oil withdrew from the project, leaving the French-based company, TotalFinaElf (Total) as the lead investor. However, Hunt later retracted its withdrawal. In 2005, the government approved three liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreements for 6.7 million tons per year, with KOGAS, Total, and Tractebel. Yemen subsequently awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the project. First shipments of LNG could be made available by late 2008, with gas likely to flow to the United States and South Korea.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average rate of 3.8% from 1988 to 1998. Low oil prices in 1999 held real GDP growth to 3.7% in 1999, and their recovery helped push real growth to GDP to 5.1% in 2000. A stabilization in oil prices combined with declines in the growth of agricultural output, electricity and manufactures, attributable more to the domestic lack of rain than to the global economic slowdown, reduced GDP growth to 3.3% in 2001. Consumer price inflation had fallen to 6% in 1996 and 8% in 1998, but the average from 1999 to 2001 was 11%. An increase to 15.8% inflation was estimated for 2002 reflecting high fuel, electricity, and food prices from both shortages and the lowering or elimination of subsidies.

Yemen's real GDP grew 2.7% in 2004, and was estimated at 2.5% for 2005. In 2005, agriculture made up 13.3% of GDP, industry 47.9% and services 38.8%. Most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one fourth of the labor force. Yemen is one of the 25 poorest and economically least developed countries in the world with about a third of the population living in poverty. In 2005, the GDP at market exchange rate was $14.1 billion and $17.2 billion in purchasing power parity terms (PPP); the per capita GDP (PPP) was $800. In 2005, the inflation rate was estimated at 9.6%. The unemployment rate was estimated at 35% in 2003. In mid-2005, the government attempted to roll back subsidies on all petroleum products, which led to a 90% increase in the price of gasoline and a 260% increase in the price of diesel fuel; prices on kerosene and cooking gas were also raised. The decision followed sustained pressure on the government from the IMF and World Bank to cut subsidies and introduce a sales tax, with the aim of curtailing government spending. Rioting and demonstrations followed the government's decision to eliminate the subsidies, and 22 people were killed in the violence. In late July 2005, the government rolled back the price increases.

INCOME

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2005 Yemen's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $17.2 billion. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange based on current dollars. The per capita GDP was estimated at $800. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 2.5%. The average inflation rate in 2005 was 9.6%. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 13.3% of GDP, industry 47.9%, and services 38.8%.

According to the World Bank, in 2003 remittances from citizens working abroad totaled $1.270 billion or about $7 per capita and accounted for approximately 11.5% of GDP. Foreign aid receipts amounted to $243 million or about $13 per capita and accounted for approximately 2.4% of the gross national income (GNI).

The World Bank reports that in 2003 household consumption in Yemen totaled $7.98 billion or about $42 per capita based on a GDP of $11.0 billion, measured in current dollars rather than PPP. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that for the period 1990 to 2003 household consumption grew at an average annual rate of 3.9%. In 2001 it was estimated that approximately 25% of household consumption was spent on food, 26% on fuel, 3% on health care, and 5% on education. It was estimated that in 2003 about 45.2% of the population had incomes below the poverty line.

LABOR

In 2005, Yemen's workforce was estimated at 5.83 million. According to 1999 figures (the latest year for which data was available), 54.1% of the labor force is employed in agriculture, 34.7% in the services sector, 11.1% in industry, with the remainder in undefined occupations. In 2003, the unemployment rate was estimated at 35%.

United Yemen enacted a new labor code in 1995, (amended in 1997) which guaranteed the rights of unionization and collective bargaining. The government restricts this right by placing government officials in union positions of prominence. The Yemeni Confederation of Labor Unions, the country's only labor confederation, had 350,000 members in 14 unions in 2002. There exists a limited right to strike. All collective bargaining agreements must be reviewed by the minister of labor.

There is no nationally fixed minimum wage. Average wages do not provide a family with a decent standard of living. Although children under the age of 15 are prohibited from working, child labor is common, especially in rural regions. The labor code calls for a maximum eight-hour workday and a 48-hour workweek.

AGRICULTURE

Yemen, with its wide range of arable climatic zones, has the greatest potential for agricultural development of any nation on the Arabian Peninsula. Agriculture is an important part of the economy (accounting for 15% of GDP in 2003), despite the lack of arable land, scarcity of water, periodic droughts, and difficult terrain. Employment in the agricultural sector accounts for more than 50% of the workforce, but with only 3% of its land area arable, Yemen's potential for agricultural self-sufficiency is very remote. As of 2004, Yemen's agricultural trade deficit was $947 million.

Traditionally, Yemen was famous for its coffee, shipped from the port of Al-Mukha, from which the English word mocha derives. The main cash crop is qat, a mild stimulant chewed by many Yemenis on a daily basis, but not exported significantly because it is highly perishable. Industrial farming of fruits and vegetables, using modern irrigation techniques, provides a level of production to nearly satisfy domestic demand. As a high-cost producer, Yemen is not yet able to internationally compete in marketing its produce, especially since such exports are often blocked at the borders.

Agriculture output in 2004 (in 1,000 tons) included sorghum, 263; tomatoes, 248; wheat, 105; grapes, 169; bananas, 99; seed cotton, 29; sesame seed, 19; coffee, 11; and cotton, 9.9.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Animal husbandry is a key sector of the economy, and the export of hides and skins has long been an important source of foreign exchange. In 2001, the livestock population was estimated at 5,029,000 sheep, 4,453,000 goats, 1,400,000 head of cattle, 500,000 donkeys, and 198,000 camels.

Commercial production of poultry in Yemen began in the mid-1970s. Yemen produces about 95% of its annual consumption of eggs and is emerging as a significant producer of broilers (chicken meat). The brief civil conflict in 1994 hurt the industry by driving up the costs of imported feed and vaccines. About 87,000 tons of poultry and 32,000 tons of eggs were marketed in 2005.

FISHING

Fishermen work along the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea coasts. The annual fish catch in 2003 was about 159,000 tons. Principal species of that catch included Indian and Spanish mackerel, cuttlefish, lobster, and scavengers. Fish-processing plants are located at Al 'udaydah and Al-Mukalla. Exports of fish and fish products were valued at $56.7 million in 2003. Pearl and coral diving have been practiced for centuries.

FORESTRY

Forest and woodland coverage is negligible. Forests once covered Yemen, but overgrazing by goats and the systematic cutting of timber for fuel and construction have almost completely eliminated the forest cover, especially in the south. Roundwood production totaled 352,700 cu m (12.5 million cu ft) in 2004, all of it used for fuel. Lumber imports amounted to $86.1 million in 2004.

MINING

Until the discovery of petroleum, the preeminent segment of the Yemeni economy, the mineral industry, had been limited to the production of cement, dimension stone, gypsum, and salt. In 2004, production of cement amounted to 1,546,300 metric tons. Other mineral commodities produced in 2004 were: marble, 100,000 sq m; gypsum, 44,000 metric tons; and salt, 120,000 metric tons. The government was focusing on creating conditions favorable to foreign investment, to develop the nation's mineral resources. The government had exclusive domain over the precious stone and hydrocarbon industries; mining legislation guaranteed the rights of private property for all other commodities. ZincOx Resources, of the United Kingdom, continued evaluating the Al-Jabail zinc deposit, which Anglo American Corp. had explored in the late 1990s.

ENERGY AND POWER

Yemen is a small non-OPEC producer of oil and has the potential to be an exporter of natural gas.

Yemen, as of 1 January 2005, had proven reserves of crude oil estimated at 4 billion barrels, according to the Oil and Gas Journal. Oil production in 2005 was estimated at 416,000 barrels per day. With domestic consumption of oil in that year estimated at 83,000 barrels per day, the country was a net exporter of oil. In 2005, net exports were estimated at 333,000 barrels per day. Yemen's crude oil refining capacity, as of 1 January 2005, was estimated at 130,000 barrels per day, based upon a pair of aging refineries, the 'Aden refinery and the Marib refinery. The capacity of the 'Aden refinery had declined from 170,000 barrels per day before the 1994 civil war to 120,000 barrels per day as of 1 January 2005. The newer Marib plant has a capacity of 10,000 barrels daily.

Yemen has proven natural gas reserves estimated, as of 1 January 2005, at 16.9 trillion cu ft. As of 2003, there was no systematic production of natural gas. Whatever gas is produced results from the oil extraction process and is re-injected. Most of the known reserves are concentrated in the Marib-Jawf fields.

Total electricity production in 2003 was estimated at 3.8 billion kWh, of which 100% was from fossil fuels. Total installed capacity in 2003 was estimated at 800,000 kW, and was entirely based on conventional thermal sources. Demand for electricity in 2003, was estimated at 3.6 billion kWh.

INDUSTRY

In northern Yemen industry traditionally has been based on food processing, but this subsector has suffered from poor productivity of agriculture and reliance on imported raw materials. Building materials, textiles, leather wear, jewelry, and glass making are other industries in the north. The largest industry in southern Yemen is petroleum refining. Southern manufactures include clothing, processed food, metal products, soap, and perfumes. Industrial production accounts for 47.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

Yemen's main refinery at 'Aden processed 60,000 barrels of petroleum per day in 1994 after sustaining damage in the civil war. Output reached 100,000 barrels per day by the start of 1995 with the repair of the main pumping station and two tapping units. That year, the refinery produced 26.5 million barrels of residual and distillate fuel oil, 10 million barrels of gasoline, and 3.5 million barrels of kerosene. In 2005, Yemen's total refinery capacity was 130,000 barrels per day, most from the 120,000-barrels-per-day-capacity 'Aden refinery operated by the 'Aden Refinery Company (ARC), and the rest from a 10,000-barrels-per-day refinery at Marib operated by Yemen Hunt Oil Company. In December 2002, the government signed an agreement with the Hadhramawt Refinery Company, a Saudi venture, for the construction of a 50,000-barrels-per-day refinery at Al Mukallā costing $450 million. Another refinery is planned for Ra's Isa with a capacity of 60,000 barrels per day, to be completed in 2007.

Yemen's considerable natural gas reserves—estimated at 480 billion cu m (16.9 trillion cu ft), have not been developed. A liquefied natural gas project was initiated in 1995 by TotalFinaElf (now Total) and several other major multinational oil companies, which established the Yemen Liquefied Natural Gas Company (Yemen LNG). In June 2002, two US companies, ExxonMobil and Hunt Oil, announced they were leaving the consortium, but Hunt later retracted its withdrawal. In 2005, the Yemeni government approved three LNG supply agreements for 6.7 million tons per year, with KOGAS, Total, and Tractebel. The government then awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the project. The first shipments of LNG were planned for late 2008, with gas likely flowing to the United States and South Korea. In 2004, more than 25 companies bid on a domestic gas utilization and pipeline feasibility study for a proposed 373-mile pipeline that would transport gas from Marib to a power station at Mabar. The World Bank, in cooperation with Yemen's National Coordination Council, was funding this study.

As of 2006, the government was preparing a new investment plan to utilize Yemen's fish wealth, to attract Arab and foreign investment to the sector. Thirty-six sites were identified for fish cultivation. In May 2005, the first factory for the canning and exporting of fish was set up by a Saudi company. There was also German interest in establishing a fish cultivation site in Hadhramawt. Fish production increased to 151,000 tons between January and September 2005, an increase of 18.5% compared with the same period in 2004. Fish exports reached 74,000 tons in 2004, worth $213 million. Fish sector revenues rank second after oil revenues for the economy. Yemen ranked fourth among Arab fish exporting countries after Morocco, Mauritania, and Egypt in 2004. The fish sector created 315,000 jobs in 2004 compared with 100,000 in 1990. Approximately 1.7 million people were employed in the fish sector as of the end of 2005.

Construction of a 120,000 metric-ton-per-year-capacity rolling mill at Hodaidah for Al-Rahabi Trading Group was expected to be completed in 2005.

The government's economic diversification project would be helped by the development of metal deposits and additional industrial mineral deposits. In 2004, Yemen produced more than 1.5 million metric tons of cement, 44 million metric tons of gypsum, 120,000 metric tons of salt, 630,000 metric tons of sand and gravel, and 2.4 million metric tons of quarried stone.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The University of 'Aden, founded in 1975 at Al-Mansoora, has faculties of science, arts, and education; agriculture; engineering; and medicine. Şan'ā' University, founded in 1970, has faculties of science, medicine and health sciences, engineering, and agriculture.

DOMESTIC TRADE

At the center of most towns is a market place (sug ), the lanes of which are lined with open-front booths where food, clothing, and implements are displayed and sold. Some goods are bartered. Others sold for cash, usually after bargaining. The production of qat, a mild stimulant which many Yemenis chew, plays an important role in domestic trade. Relying on a highly efficient internal distribution system, the production of qat would increase per capita GDP an estimated 15–20% were it included in the national income statistics. Corruption among civil servants is a common element of domestic commerce—soldiers at checkpoints confiscate money or qat, and businesses are often obliged to pay off local officials.

Customary business hours are from 8 am to 1 pm and from 4 pm to 7 pm, Saturday through Thursday. Banks are open from 8 am to noon (11:30 am on Thursdays).

FOREIGN TRADE

Petroleum accounts for about 90% of the country's exports. Income from the production and sale of crude oil and natural gas accounted for 72% of total government revenue in 2004, largely due to the high price of oil on international markets. Other exports in recent years have included coffee and dried and salted fish; imports included food and live animals, machinery and equipment, and manufactured goods.

In 2004, Yemen's primary export partners were: Thailand (33.8%), China (30.3%), and Singapore (7.8%). Primary suppliers were: the UAE (12.2%), Saudi Arabia (9.7%), China (8.8%), France (7.3%), India (4.4%), the United States (4.4%), and Kuwait (4.2%).

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

Yemen's balance of payments was adversely affected in the early 1990s, as other nations sought to economically punish Yemen for its support of Iraq during the Persian Gulf War. In 1993, the current account deficit reached a peak of $1.217 billion, foreign exchange reserves sank to just $144.6 million, and the trade deficit was $920 million. Transfers, consisting largely of remittances from Yemenis working in other Gulf states fell by 42% between 1990 and 1993.

As of the early 2000s, Yemen's balance of payments position had substantially improved: its current account surplus stood at $1.8 billion in 2000, up from a $455 million deficit in 1998. Yemen's bilateral and multilateral debt situation had also improved, with debt to Russia reduced, debt rescheduling by the Paris Club, and financing from the World Bank and IMF. In 2005, Yemen's outstanding debts stood at approximately $5.689 billion.

In 2005, total exports were estimated at $6.387 billion and imports were estimated at $4.19 billion. The current-account balance was estimated at $1.282 billion.

BANKING AND SECURITIES

The republican government set up the Yemen Currency Board in 1964 with a capital of yr2 million; in 1971, the Currency Board was replaced by the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY). The state-owned Yemen Bank for Reconstruction and Development (YBRD), founded in 1962, finances development activities, and the International Bank of Yemen, organized in 1980, operates as a commercial bank. In the 1970s, the YBRD dominated the banking business, controlling some 70% of the loans outstanding in the YAR; during the same decade, a number of foreign commercial banks, including ones from Hong Kong, Iraq, Pakistan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, opened offices in Şan'ā'.

The economic recovery in 1995 and the partial liberalization of interest rates on bank deposits appear to have succeeded in encouraging the growth in savings as reflected in higher quasimonetary holdings. In 2002, there were 11 commercial banks (9 private and 2 public) and two public sector specialized banks (Agriculture and Housing) operating under the jurisdiction of CBY. There were also three Islamic banks in operation. The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate commonly known as M1—were equal to $1.7 billion. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $3.4 billion. The discount rate, the interest rate at which the central bank lends to financial institutions in the short term, was 15.16%.

There are no securities exchanges in Yemen.

INSURANCE

There were at least 10 insurance firms in the Yemen in 1999. Much of the Yemen's insurance business is transacted abroad. In 1999, there was 18.8 million dollars of premiums written in Yemen, giving the insurance industry a. 30% share of the Gross Domestic Product.

PUBLIC FINANCE

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2005 Yemen's central government took in revenues of approximately $5.6 billion and had expenditures of $5.7 billion. Revenues minus expenditures totaled approximately -$103 million. Public debt in 2005 amounted to 35.9% of GDP. Total external debt was $5.689 billion.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that in 1999, the most recent year for which it had data, budgetary central government revenues were yr282,268 million and expenditures were yr310,702 million. The value of revenues was us$1,813 million and expenditures us$1,995 million, based on a market exchange rate for 1999 of us$1 = yr155.718 as reported by the IMF. Government outlays by function were as follows: general public services, 30.8%; defense, 18.8%; public order and safety, 8.3%; economic affairs, 11.5%; housing and community amenities, 1.6%; health, 4.4%; recreation, culture, and religion, 2.8%; and education, 21.8%.

TAXATION

Personal income taxes are levied on wage workers and the self-employed. Taxes on business profits are taxed at a 35% rate. Capital gains are included in taxable income and are taxed at the corporate rate. Dividends, interest and royalties are each subject to a 10% withholding tax.

Other taxes include excise duties, road and vehicle taxes, port fees, a tax on rents, and telegraph fees. The state also derives income from the confiscated property of the imamate. Another tax is the 2.5% Zakat (the religious charity tax) which is state-enforced, but under the republican regime, its estimation has become a voluntary concern of each individual. Yemeni businessmen have been trying to abolish Zakat as an obligatory levy entirely, leaving it to the discretion of each individual to give to the needy. The chronic budget deficits of the 1980s forced the government to place considerably more emphasis on the traditionally lax collection of taxes. In early 2002 a general sales tax (GST) was signed into law, but its implementation was delayed pending a review of the country's indirect tax system.

CUSTOMS AND DUTIES

Import duties are generally levied at rates varying from 5% on essential goods to 25% on luxury items; medical and agricultural items are duty-free, while tobacco is dutiable at 145%. Surcharges are added to these basic rates to cover defense expenditures, to finance schools and orphanages, and to assist the poor. Export duties are levied on a variety of products. Interestingly, in 1995 the government renounced the secondary and tertiary aspects of the Arab League's boycott of Israel, but will not renounce the primary aspect until the Arab League gives up the boycott completely by consensus of the member nations.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Foreign investment is encouraged by the Yemeni government as it is prospecting for more oil and hoping to develop its natural gas reserves. The Yemen General Investment Authority (GIA) was established in 1992, and worked with the World Bank's Foreign Investment Advisory Service, to revise Yemen's Investment Law 22 of 1991 (as amended) to refocus it on promotion rather than regulation of foreign investment. Investment law restructuring is part of the IMF-World Bank-sponsored economic reform program that has been being pursued in Yemen since 1995. The Yemeni Free Trade Zone Public Authority was established in 1991 to develop the 'Aden Free Trade Zone. The port was developed as a joint venture between the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) and the Bin Mahfouz Group of Saudi Arabia. In Phase II of the program, 30 hectares were made available for lease. Free zone incentives the right to have 100% foreign ownership, no personal income taxes for non-Yemenis, a 15-year corporate tax holiday, renewable for up to 10 years, and the right to 100% repatriation of capital and profit.

There are no reliable statistics on foreign investment in Yemen. US investment has mainly been in the oil and gas sector. The Houston-based Yemen Hunt Oil Company has been operating since 1984. Its pipelines have been repeatedly attacked. Security can not help but be a concern for Western investors given events like the kidnapping of 16 tourists in 1998 (with four killed in the rescue attempt; a bomb explosion at the 'Aden Refinery in 1998, the bombing of the USS Cole in 'Aden Harbor in October 2000, with 17 dead, and in 2002, the explosion and fire on the French-flagged tanker the Limburg, with one killed and 90,000 barrels of oil spilled. More hopeful is the settlement of its debt issues with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which has thus made Yemen eligible for concessional loans from these neighboring states. In 1995, a consortium was established for the development of natural gas production. In addition to the government's 26% share, Total (France) had 36% equity; Hunt Oil (US), 14.6%; Exxon (US), 14.1%; and Yukong (ROK), 9.3%. In 2002 Exxon (now ExxonMobil) and Hunt Oil withdrew from this enterprise, which has stalled for lack of an identifiable market through which the investors could recoup their investments. However, Hunt later retracted its withdrawal. In 2005, the Yemeni government approved three LNG supply agreements for 6.7 million tons per year, with KOGAS, Total, and Tractebel. The government then awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the project. The first shipments of LNG were planned for late 2008, with gas likely flowing to the United States and South Korea. In 2004, more than 25 companies bid on a domestic gas utilization and pipeline feasibility study for a proposed 373-mile pipeline that would transport gas from Marib to a power station at Mabar. The World Bank, in cooperation with Yemen's National Coordination Council, was funding this study.

As of 2006, the Chinese Bank for Exports and Imports was considering funding the building of Yemen's first railway. In addition to Chinese investments, an overall increase in foreign investment was projected for the late 2000s. Up to the end of June 2005, the volume of Arab and foreign investment in Yemen reached approximately yr129 billion; investment in the industrial sector had reached yr69.5 billion. The services sector ranked second, at yr51.9 billion.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

After unification in 1990, the new government assumed all debts incurred by former governments. Domestic political strains ultimately culminated in civil strife in 1994. As a result, the economy was further burdened with reconstruction costs.

The government launched a major reform program in 1995. The program included revenue mobilization through tax measures, depreciation of the customs valuation rate, the liberalization of cement prices, an increase of petroleum product prices by about 90%, and a 60% rise in electricity tariffs. The government's medium-term goal was to eliminate all subsidies by 1999–2001. Fiscal and monetary measures included the containment of primary nondevelopment budget expenditures, partial reform of the exchange system (including currency depreciation), interest rate reform, and monetary management reforms. Furthermore, transportation and communication charges were deregulated, health and education fees were increased, and privatization programs were initiated. In 1996, 16 public enterprises were targeted for privatization. Laws prohibiting foreign investment in certain industrial sectors were abolished in 1996.

International aid has an ongoing role in the economy's development. In early 1996, the IMF agreed to provide a 15-month standby credit of $191 million, and the World Bank authorized the loan of $80 million to support the reform policies. The World Bank also decided to allocate government loans to Yemen worth $365 million during 1996–99. The EU also pledged grants worth $61.7 million in 1996/97, including $30 million in project finance. Yemen benefited when Russia was admitted to the Paris Club (an organization of countries owed money from past official loans). Approximately 80% of Yemen's debts to Russia, mostly for arms purchases, was forgiven in the debt rescheduling. The remainder of Yemen's debt to Paris Club members was rescheduled under Naples terms (for the poorest countries, this allows for cancellation of 50–66% of eligible sovereign debt), and in 2001, another Paris Club rescheduling provided an "exit treatment" that allowed Yemen to reach a sustainable level of indebtedness.

External debt was brought to a steady average of about 55% GDP for 2000. Yemen's fiscal imbalance has also improved in recent years, helped considerably by recovering oil prices. The fiscal deficit reached 6.4% of GDP in 1998, but then moderated to 0.2% of GDP in 1999, and, with increasing oil prices, soared to a surplus of 8.5% of GDP in 2000. In 2001 and 2002, the government continued to run surpluses of revenues and grants over expenditures, amounting to 2.8% of GDP in 2001 and 0.4% of GDP in 2002. Inflation, however, reached over 15% in 2002 due to increased prices for fuel, electricity and food. By 2005, however, the government had a budget deficit once again, with revenues of $5.616 billion and expenditures of $5.719 billion. Public debt was 35.9% of GDP. External debt was $5.689 billion. The inflation rate was estimated at 9.6%.

In 2002 the parliament signed into law a general sales tax (GST), but implementation of this major tax reform designed to broaden and rationalize the tax base was delayed with IMF approval while more information about the effect of indirect taxation was collected. Yemen remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. With a population growth rate of 3.45% in 2005 and growing, poverty has actually been expanding in recent years. About one-third of households are considered to be living in poverty. Water scarcity poses a severe challenge. The water crisis involves a depletion of groundwater, so that economic activity may become unsustainable in some areas. The growing of qat, while lucrative for many rural dwellers, consumes a disproportionately high amount of water, and accounts for half of irrigation water use in Yemen. Areas used for the growing of qat have expanded at a rate of 9% a year; the development of income-generating alternative crops that consume less water would create jobs and potentially develop new export commodities. The fertility rate is 6.67 and growing, and illiteracy among women and girls is particularly high—70% of females and 29.5% of males are illiterate—a social deficiency with serious implications for economic development.

In 2005, the World Bank announced it would increase its allocations for Yemen for the following three years, but only if the country's economic performance improved. The World Bank had reduced its funding from $420 million for three years beginning in 2002, to $280 million for three years beginning in 2005. In January 2006, the Yemeni government announced a third five-year development plan for poverty reduction, which was geared toward integrating the national economy with the international economy. Yemen hoped for accession to the WTO at that time, and was pushing for trade and industrial development. The five-year plan aimed to set up new industrial zones to improve opportunities for medium and small industries, and to set up a fund for industrial development. The plan also has measures to stimulate investment, including reforming the legal structure. Small industries are to be developed, such as crafts, clothes, and foodstuffs, so that they may compete in foreign markets. The plan called for measures to protect the environment from pollution, and to meet international standards regarding the protection of the environment.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

A social insurance system provides old age, disability, survivor, and workers' compensation benefits. This program covers most employees, including Yemeni nationals working overseas. Workers contribute 6% of their wages, and employers pay 6% of payroll. The government contributes as an employer only. Old age benefits are payable at age 60 with at least 15 years of contributions for men, and age 55 with at least 10 years of contributions for women. A health insurance program exists only for public employees. While the government has expanded its role in providing assistance, traditional means still predominate.

Although the constitution provides for equal rights and opportunity for all, women face considerable official and social discrimination. Polygamy is legal, and the practice of paying large dowries continues to be widespread. Women are required to obtain permission from a male member of the family in order to leave the house, and are rarely allowed to travel unaccompanied. Women have limited access to education. Estimates place the illiteracy rate for women at 67.5%, compared with 27.7% for men. Child marriage is common, and some girls marry as early as 12 years old. Women are permitted to vote, but social customs discourage most women from becoming politically active. The law states that a wife must obey her husband. Violence against women and children is prevalent but considered a family issue and not reported to authorities.

Although reports of arbitrary arrest and detention continue, Yemen's human rights record remained poor, and the government continued to commit serious abuses in 2004. However, some international and domestic human rights organizations operate in Yemen.

HEALTH

Malnutrition and the diseases associated with it are major health problems It was estimated that nearly 30% of children under five were malnourished. Malaria, typhus, tuberculosis, dysentery, whooping cough, measles, hepatitis, schistosomiasis, and typhoid fever are widespread, and sewage disposal of the most rudimentary type constitutes a general health hazard. Approximately 69% of the population had access to safe drinking water and 45% had adequate sanitation. Civil conflict in July 1994 created a shortage of water, food, and medical supplies in 'Aden, exacerbating health problems. As of 2004, there were an estimated 22 physicians, 45 nurses, and 1 dentist per 100,000 people. Total health care expenditure was estimated at 5.6% of GDP.

Immunization rates for children up to one year old were tuberculosis, 62%; diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 57%; polio, 57%; and measles, 51%. Life expectancy in 2005 was estimated at 61.75 years; the infant mortality rate that year was 61.50 per 1,000 live births. As of 2002, the crude birth rate and overall mortality rate were estimated at, respectively, 43 and 9.3 per 1,000 people.

The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 0.10 per 100 adults in 2003. As of 2004, there were approximately 1,200 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country.

HOUSING

Housing is inadequate; about one-fourth of urban housing units are huts, tents, or other makeshift structures. In the hot coastal region, most dwellings, except those of the ruling classes, are straw huts. In the highlands, the poorer people live in huts of stone or baked brick. Wealthier Yemenis live in large houses whose style is unique to southwestern Arabia: the lower part is generally built of sandstone, basalt, or granite, while the upper part, which may rise from two to eight stories, is usually of baked brick with windows outlined in decorative designs. Often a loggia topped with brass and open on all sides rises from the roof. The preliminary results of the 2004 census indicated that there were 2,882,034 dwelling units in the country to serve a total population of 19,721,643 people. There were 7.14 people per household on average.

EDUCATION

Early Yemeni education, with regard to medieval disciplines of law, religion, history and poetry, was sophisticated and, for a country of its type, remarkably widespread. Its people contributed nobly to medieval Islamic civilization. The Al-Azhar University of Cairo was well known for its education during the 10th and 11th centuries and it attracted students from nearby countries such as Ethiopia, Arabia, and Somalia. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries, there was slow progress in the field of education. Prior to the 1962 revolution, no proper educational system was in place. Civil war and internal political upheaval only worsened the situation.

In 1990, the literacy rate for the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen was 39.1% (males, 52.8%; females, 26.1%). The rate for the Yemen Arab Republic was 38.5% (males, 53.3%; females, 26.3%). The adult literacy rate for 2004 was estimated at about 49%, with 69.5% for men and 28.5% for women.

Basic education is compulsory for nine years. This may be followed by three years of secondary education, through which students choose either scientific or literary studies at a general school or vocational or agricultural studies at a technical school. Islamic schools focusing on religious studies are also available. The academic year runs from September to June.

Primary school enrollment in 2003 was estimated at about 72% of age-eligible students; 84% for boys and 59% for girls. In 2000, secondary school enrollment was about 34.5% of age-eligible students. It is estimated that about 65.5% of all students complete their primary education. The student-to-teacher ratio for primary school was at about 30:1 in 2000; the ratio for secondary school was about 14:1.

There are two universities: Şan'ā' University (founded in 1970) and the University of 'Aden (established in 1975). Students who score well on the secondary leaving exam (Al Thanawiya ) may be admitted to university. Over 2,000 Yemenis are being educated at foreign universities. In 1999, it was estimated that about 11% of the tertiary age population were enrolled in higher education programs. As of 2003, public expenditure on education was estimated at 9.5% of GDP, or 32.8% of total government expenditures.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

The Yemen National Library is located in 'Aden. The Miswal Library in 'Aden maintains a traveling library to serve citizens. The Library of the Great Mosque of Şan'ā' maintains a collection of 10,000 manuscripts, but is not accessible to the public. The British Council maintains two libraries: at 'Aden (3,000 volumes) and at Şan'ā' (10,4000 volumes).

The National Museum has branches in 'Aden and Şan'ā'. The 'Aden site focuses primarily on ancient, pre-Islamic civilizations. 'Aden is also home to the Crater Military Museum and the Crater Folk Museum. There are local museums in Taizz and Zafar.

MEDIA

Since unification, efforts have been underway to upgrade the country's telecommunications infrastructure. Two-way radio links Yemen directly with Cairo and Rome. Telephone and telegraph facilities are available in major cities, and a modern dial telephone system has been installed in Şan'ā', Ta'izz, and Al 'udaydah. In 2003, there were an estimated 28 mainline telephones for every 1,000 people; about 704,800 people were on a waiting list for telephone service installation. The same year, there were approximately 35 mobile phones in use for every 1,000 people.

The government operates or controls all of the broadcast networks through the Ministry of Information and the Public Corporation for radio and Television. As of 1999, there were 4 AM and 1 FM station and 7 television broadcast stations. In 2003, there were an estimated 65 radios and 308 television sets for every 1,000 people. The same year, there were 7.4 personal computers for every 1,000 people. There was one secure Internet server in the country in 2004.

In 2004, there were 6 government-controlled newspapers, 19 independent papers, and 14 party affiliated newspapers. There are approximately 80 magazines in circulation. In 2002 the three major daily newspapers were: Al-Thawrah (circulation 110,000), published in Şan'ā'; Al-Jumhuriyah (100,000), in Ta'izz; and Ar-Rabi Ashar Min Uktubar (20,000), published in 'Aden. The English-language weekly, Yemen Times, has a circulation of 20,000. All of the press is controlled by the Ministry of Information.

The constitution provides for free speech and press only within the limits of the law. The law includes restrictions on any speech or press against the government, particularly criticism of the head of state.

ORGANIZATIONS

The government has encouraged the formation of cooperatives, but private associations with political overtones are suspect. There are chambers of commerce in the major cities. The Federation of Yemen Chamber of Commerce and Industry is located in Şan'ā'.

National youth organizations include the Fattah Socialist Youth Union, the General Union of Yemeni Students, General Union of Yemeni Youth, Supreme Student Committee of the Yemen Arab Republic, and the Yemen Scout Association. There are sports associations representing amateur athletes of all ages in a wide variety of pastimes.

The Yemeni Federation of Women's Organizations is based at Şan'ā' University. There are national chapters of the Red Crescent Society and UNICEF.

TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

Tourists can visit historic and religious sites (such as the Ghumdau Palace and the Great Mosque in Şan'ā') and exotic markets, and enjoy scenic areas including the Red Sea coast. Passports and visas are required by foreign visitors. Vaccination against meningitis is required for pilgrims to Mecca. Precautions against meningitis, typhoid, and hepatitis are recommended for all visitors.

In 2003, there were 154,667 tourist arrivals, almost 39% of whom came from Saudi Arabia. There were 13,280 hotel rooms with 33,816 beds that same year.

According to the 2004 US Department of State estimates, the cost of staying in Şan'ā' was $216 per day. Elsewhere in the country, travel costs were less expensive.

FAMOUS YEMENIS

Imam Yahya ibn Muhammad Hamid ad-Din (1869?–1948) ruled during the period when Yemen established its independence; he was assassinated during an uprising. 'Ali 'Abdullah Saleh (b.1942) became president of the YAR in 1978, ending a period of upheaval in which his two immediate predecessors were assassinated. He became united Yemen's first directly-elected president in 1999. Field Marshal 'Abdallah as-Sallal (1920–94) was the first president of the YAR and held power from 1962 until a coup ousted him in 1967. 'Ali Nasir Muhammad al-Hasani (b.1940?) was prime minister of the PDYR in 1980 and president from 1980 to 1986. Haydar Abu Bakr al-'Attas (b.1939) was prime minister of the PDYR during 1985–86.

DEPENDENCIES

Yemen has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Burrowes, Robert D. Historical Dictionary of Yemen. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 1995.

Caton, Steven Charles. Yemen Chronicle: An Anthropology of War and Mediation. New York: Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.

Chaudhry, Kiren Aziz. The Price of Wealth: Economies and Institutions in the Middle East. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1997.

Jones, Clive. Britain and the Yemen Civil War, 1962–1965: Ministers, Mercenaries and Mandarins: Foreign Policy and the Limits of Covert Action. Portland, Ore.: Sussex Academic Press, 2004.

Kostiner, Joseph. Yemen: The Tortuous Quest for Unity, 1990–1994. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1996.

Mackintosh-Smith, Tim. Yemen: The Unknown Arabia. Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press, 2000.

The Middle East. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2005.

Rushby, Kevin. Eating the Flowers of Paradise: A Journey through the Drug Fields of Ethiopia and Yemen. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Saliba, Therese, Carolyn Allen, and Judith A. Howard (eds.). Gender, Politics, and Islam. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002.

Seddon, David (ed.). A Political and Economic Dictionary of the Middle East. Philadelphia: Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2004.

The Yemeni War of 1994: Causes and Consequences. Edited by Jamal al-Suwaidi. London: Saqi Books, 1995.

Yemen

PROFILE
PEOPLE
HISTORY
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
ECONOMY
FOREIGN RELATIONS
U.S. YEMEN RELATIONS
TRAVEL

Compiled from the December 2007 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:

Republic of Yemen

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 527,970 sq. km. (203,796 sq. mi.); about the size of California and Pennsylvania combined.

Cities: Capital—Sanaa. Other cities—Aden, Taiz, Hodeida, and al-Mukalla.

Terrain: Mountainous interior bordered by desert with a flat and sandy coastal plain.

Climate: Temperate in the mountainous regions in the western part of the country, extremely hot with minimal rainfall in the remainder of the country. Humid on the coast.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective—Yemeni(s).

Population: (July 2007 est.) 22,230,531.

Annual growth rate: 3%.

Ethnic groups: Predominantly Arab.

Religions: Islam, small numbers of Jews, Christians, and Hindus.

Languages: Arabic.

Education: Attendance (2004 est.)—80% for boys at the primary level and 50% for girls. Attendance was 55% for boys at the secondary level and 22% for girls. Literacy (2004 est.)—50% overall, including 70% of males, 30% of females.

Health: Infant mortality rate—76/ 1,000 live births. Life expectancy—62 years.

Work force: (by sector) Agriculture—53%; public services—17%; manufacturing—4%; construction—7%; percentage of total population—25%.

Government

Type: Republic; unification (of former south and north Yemen) May 22, 1990.

Constitution: Adopted May 21, 1990 and ratified May 1991.

Government branches: Executive—president, and prime minister with cabinet. Legislative—bicameral legislature with 111-seat Shura Council and 301-seat House of Representatives. Judicial—the constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sanaa.

Political subdivisions: 19 governorates subdivided into districts.

Political parties: General People's Congress (GPC), Yemeni Grouping for Reform (Islah), Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP).

Suffrage: Universal over 18.

National holidays: May 22 (Unity Day).

Economy

GDP: (2006 est.) $20.4 billion.

Per capital GDP: (2006 est.) $723.

Natural resources: Oil, natural gas, fish and seafood, rock salt, minor deposits of coal and copper.

Agriculture: (est. 12.5% of GDP) Products—qat (a shrub containing a natural amphetamine), coffee, cotton, fruits, vegetables, cereals, livestock and poultry. Arable land (est.)—3%.

Industry: (est. 42.8% of GDP) Types—petroleum refining, mining, wholesale and retail trade, transportation, manufacturing, and construction.

Services: (est. 43.7% of GDP).

Trade: Exports (2006)—$7.2 billion: crude petroleum, refined oil products, seafood, fruits, vegetables, hides, tobacco products. Major markets—China, Thailand, India, South Korea, United States, Switzerland. Imports (2006)—$5 billion: petroleum products, cereals, feed grains, foodstuffs, machinery, transportation equipment, iron, sugar, honey. Major suppliers—United Arab Emirates, China, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Kuwait.

Exchange rate: (2006) Market rate 199 rials per U.S. $1. The Yemeni rial (YR) floats freely based on an average of foreign currencies. Since the floating of the YR, the market usually reflects the official rate of exchange.

PEOPLE

Unlike other people of the Arabian Peninsula who have historically been nomads or semi-nomads, Yemenis are almost entirely sedentary and live in small villages and towns scattered throughout the highlands and coastal regions.

Yemenis are divided into two principal Islamic religious groups: the Shia Zaidi sect, found in the north and northwest, and the Shafa'i school of Sunni Muslims, found in the south and southeast. Yemenis are mainly of Semitic origin, although African strains are present among inhabitants of the coastal region. Arabic is the official language, although English is increasingly understood in major cities. In the Mahra area (the extreme east), several non-Arabic languages are spoken. When the former states of north and south Yemen were established, most resident minority groups departed.

HISTORY

Yemen was one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Between the 12th century BC and the 6th century AD, it was part of the Minaean, Sabaean, and Himyarite kingdoms, which controlled the lucrative spice trade, and later came under Ethiopian and Persian rule. In the 7th century, Islamic caliphs began to exert control over the area. After this caliphate broke up, the former north Yemen came under control of Imams of various dynasties usually of the Zaidi sect, who established a theocratic political structure that survived until modern times. (Imam is a religious term. The Shi’ites apply it to the prophet Muhammad's son-in-law Ali, his sons Hassan and Hussein, and subsequent lineal descendants, whom they consider to have been divinely ordained unclassified successors of the prophet.)

Egyptian Sunni caliphs occupied much of north Yemen throughout the 11th century. By the 16th century and again in the 19th century, north Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire, and in some periods its Imams exerted control over south Yemen.

Former North Yemen

Ottoman control was largely confined to cities with the Imam's suzerainty over tribal areas formally recognized. Turkish forces withdrew in 1918, and Imam Yahya strengthened his control over north Yemen. Yemen became a member of the Arab league in 1945 and the United Nations in 1947.

Imam Yahya died during an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1948 and was succeeded by his son Ahmad, who ruled until his death in September 1962. Imam Ahmad's reign was marked by growing repression, renewed friction with the United Kingdom over the British presence in the south, and growing pressures to support the Arab nationalist objectives of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser.

Shortly after assuming power in 1962, Ahmad's son, Badr, was deposed by revolutionary forces, which took control of Sanaa and created the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR). Egypt assisted the YAR with troops and supplies to combat forces loyal to the Imamate. Saudi Arabia and Jordan supported Badr's royalist forces to oppose the newly formed republic. Conflict continued periodically until 1967 when Egyptian troops were withdrawn. By 1968, following a final royalist siege of Sanaa, most of the opposing leaders reconciled; Saudi Arabia recognized the Republic in 1970.

Former South Yemen

British influence increased in the south and eastern portion of Yemen after the British captured the port of Aden in 1839. It was ruled as part of British India until 1937, when Aden was made a crown colony with the remaining land designated as east Aden and west Aden protectorates. By 1965, most of the tribal states within the protectorates and the Aden colony proper had joined to form the British-sponsored federation of south Arabia. In 1965, two rival nationalist groups—the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) and the National Liberation Front (NLF)—turned to terrorism in their struggle to control the country. In 1967, in the face of uncontrollable violence, British troops began withdrawing, federation rule collapsed, and NLF elements took control after eliminating their FLOSY rivals. South Arabia, including Aden, was declared independent on November 30, 1967, and was renamed the People's Republic of South Yemen. In June 1969, a radical wing of the Marxist NLF gained power and changed the country's name on December 1, 1970, to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY). In the PDRY, all political parties were amalgamated into the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), which became the only legal party. The PDRY established close ties with the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and radical Palestinians.

Republic of Yemen

In 1972, the governments of the PDRY and the YAR declared that they approved a future union. However, little progress was made toward unification, and relations were often strained. In 1979, simmering tensions led to fighting, which was only resolved after Arab League mediation. The northern and southern heads of state reaffirmed the goal of unity during a summit meeting in Kuwait in March 1979. However, that same year the PDRY began sponsoring an insurgency against the YAR. In April 1980, PDRY President Abdul Fattah Ismail resigned and went into exile. His successor, Ali Nasir Muhammad, took a less interventionist stance toward both the YAR and neighboring Oman. On January 13, 1986, a violent struggle began in Aden between Ali Nasir Muhammad and the returned Abdul Fattah Ismail and their supporters. Fighting lasted for more than a month and resulted in thousands of casualties, Ali Nasir's ouster, and Ismail's death. Some 60,000 persons, including Ali Nasir and his supporters, fled to the YAR. In May 1988, the YAR and PDRY governments came to an understanding that considerably reduced tensions including agreement to renew discussions concerning unification, to establish a joint oil exploration area along their undefined border, to demilitarize the border, and to allow Yemenis unrestricted border passage on the basis of only a national identification card.

In November 1989, the leaders of the YAR (Ali Abdullah Saleh) and the PDRY (Ali Salim Al-Bidh) agreed on a draft unity constitution originally drawn up in 1981. The Republic of Yemen (ROY) was declared on May 22, 1990. Ali Abdullah Saleh became President, and Ali Salim Al-Bidh became Vice President.

A 30-month transitional period for completing the unification of the two political and economic systems was set. A presidential council was jointly elected by the 26-member YAR advisory council and the 17-member PDRY presidium. The presidential council appointed a Prime Minister, who formed a Cabinet. There was also a 301-seat provisional unified Parliament, consisting of 159 members from the north, 111 members from the south, and 31 independent members appointed by the chairman of the council.

A unity constitution was agreed upon in May 1990 and ratified by the populace in May 1991. It affirmed Yemen's commitment to free elections, a multiparty political system, the right to own private property, equality under the law, and respect of basic human rights. Parliamentary elections were held on April 27, 1993. International groups assisted in the organization of the elections and observed actual balloting. The resulting Parliament included 143 GPC, 69 YSP, 63 Islah (Yemeni Grouping for Reform, a party composed of various tribal and religious groups). The head of Islah, Paramount Hashid Sheik Abdullah Bin Hussein Al-Ahmar, was elected speaker of Parliament, and continues in that capacity.

Islah was invited into the ruling coalition, and the presidential council was altered to include one Islah member. Conflicts within the coalition resulted in the self-imposed exile of Vice President Ali Salim Al-Bidh to Aden beginning in August 1993 and a deterioration in the general security situation as political rivals settled scores and tribal elements took advantage of the unsettled situation.

Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas (former southern Prime Minister) continued to serve as the ROY Prime Minister, but his government was ineffective due to political infighting. Continuous negotiations between northern and southern leaders resulted in the signing of the document of pledge and accord in Amman, Jordan on February 20, 1994. Despite this, clashes intensified until civil war broke out in early May 1994.

Almost all of the actual fighting in the 1994 civil war occurred in the southern part of the country despite air and missile attacks against cities and major installations in the north. Southerners sought support from neighboring states and received billions of dollars of equipment and financial assistance. The United States strongly supported Yemeni unity, but repeatedly called for a cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table. Various attempts, including by a UN special envoy, were unsuccessful in bringing about a cease-fire.

Southern leaders declared secession and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Yemen (DRY) on May 21, 1994, but the DRY was not recognized by the international community. Ali Nasir Muhammad supporters greatly assisted military operations against the secessionists and Aden was captured on July 7, 1994. Other resistance quickly collapsed and thousands of southern leaders and military went into exile.

Early during the fighting, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced a general amnesty, which applied to everyone except a list of 16 persons. Most southerners returned to Yemen after a short exile. An armed opposition was announced from Saudi Arabia, but no significant incidents within Yemen materialized. The government prepared legal cases against four southern leaders—Ali Salim Al-Bidh, Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas, Abd Al-Rahman Ali Al-Jifri, and Salih Munassar Al-Siyali—for misappropriation of official funds. Abd Al-Rahman Ali Al-Rahman was allowed to return to Yemen in 2006. Others on the list of 16 were told informally they could return to take advantage of the amnesty, but most remained outside Yemen.

Although many of Ali Nasir Muhammad's followers were appointed to senior governmental positions (including Vice President, Chief of Staff, and Governor of Aden), Ali Nasir Muhammad himself remained abroad in Syria.

In the aftermath of the civil war, YSP leaders within Yemen reorganized the party and elected a new politburo in July 1994. However, the party remained disheartened and without its former influence.

In 1994, amendments to the unity constitution eliminated the presidential council. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected by Parliament on October 1, 1994 to a 5-year term. In April 1997, Yemen held its second multiparty parliamentary elections. The country held its first direct presidential elections in September 1999, electing President Ali Abdullah Saleh to a 5-year term in what were generally considered free and fair elections.

Constitutional amendments adopted in the summer of 2000 extended the presidential term by 2 years, creating a seven-year presidential term. The constitution provides that henceforth the President will be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates selected by the legislature.

The amendments also extended the parliamentary term of office to a 6-year term, with the next elections occurring in 2009. On February 20, 2001, a new constitutional amendment created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote). In April 2003, the third multiparty parliamentary elections were held with improvements in voter registration for both men and women and in a generally free and fair atmosphere. Two women were elected. In September 2006, citizens re-elected President Saleh to a second term in a generally open and competitive election, although there were multiple problems with the voting process and use of state resources on behalf of the ruling party.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Yemen is a republic with a bicameral legislature. Under the constitution, an elected president, an elected 301-seat House of Representatives, and an appointed 111-member Shura Council share power. The president is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government. The constitution provides that the president be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates endorsed by Parliament; the prime minister is appointed by the president. The presidential term of office is 7 years, and the parliamentary term of elected office is 6 years. Suffrage is universal over 18.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh was re-elected to a second term in 2006; the next presidential elections are scheduled for 2013. In the April 2003 parliamentary elections, the General People's Congress (GPC) maintained an absolute majority. International observers judged elections to be generally free and fair, and there was a marked decrease from previous years in election-related violence; however, there were some problems with underage voting, confiscation of ballot boxes, voter intimidation, and election-related violence. The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2009. In the September 2006 local council elections, the GPC won a majority of seats on local and provincial councils. International observers judged the elections to be generally open and competitive, with another marked decrease in election-related violence.

The constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sanaa.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 2/1/2008

Pres.: Ali Abdallah SALIH

Vice Pres.: Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI, Maj. Gen.

Prime Min.: Ali Muhammad MUJAW WAR

Dep. Prime Min.: Rashad Muhammad al-ALIMI

Dep. Prime Min.for Economic Affairs: Abd al-Karim Ismail al-ARHABI

Min. of Agriculture & Irrigation: Mansur Ahmad al-HAWSHABI

Min. of Cabinet Affairs: Salim al-AYDARUS

Min. of Civil Service & Social Security: Hamud Khalid Naji al-SUFI

Min. of Communications & Information Technology: Kamal Husayn al-JABRI

Min. of Construction, Housing, & Urban Planning: Abdallah Husayn al-DAFA

Min. of Culture: Muhammad Abu Bakr al-MAFLAHI

Min. of Defense: Muhammad Nasir Ahmad ALI, Brig. Gen.

Min. of Education: Abd al-Salman Muhammad Hizam al-JAWFI

Min. of Electricity: Mustafa Yahya BAHRAN

Min. of Expatriate Affairs: Salih Hasan SUMAI

Min. of Finance: Numan Salih al-SUHAYBI

Min. of Fisheries: Mahmud Ibrahim SAGHIRI

Min. of Foreign Affairs: Abu Bakr Abdallah al-QIRBI

Min. of Higher Education & Scientific Research: Salih Ali BA SURA

Min. of Human Rights: Huda Abd al-Latif al-BAN

Min. of Industry & Trade: Yahya Yahya al-MUTAWAKIL

Min. of Information: Hasan Ahmad al-LAWZI

Min. of Interior: Rashad Muhammad al-ALIMI

Min. of Justice: Ghazi Shaif al-AGHBARI

Min. of Legal Affairs: Rashad Ahmad al-RASAS

Min. of Local Admin.: Abd al-Qadir Ali HILAL

Min. of Oil & Minerals: Khalid Mahfuz BAHAH

Min. of Planning & Intl. Cooperation: Abd al-Karim Ismail al-ARHABI

Min. of Public Health & Population: Abd al-Karim RASI

Min. of Public Works & Roads: Umar Abdallah al-KURSHAMI

Min. of Religious Endowment & Islamic Affairs: Hamud Abd al-Hamid al-HITAR

Min. of Social & Labor Affairs: Amat al-Razaq Ali HAMAD

Min. of Supply & Trade: Abd al-Aziz al-KUMAYM

Min. of Technical Education & Vocational Training: Ibrahim Umar HAJRI

Min. of Tourism: Nabil Hasan al-FAQIH

Min. of Transport: Khalid Ibrahim al-WAZIR

Min. of Water & Environment: Abd al-Rahman Fadhl al-IRIYANI

Min. of Youth & Sports: Mahmud Muhammad UBAD

Min. of State & Sec. Gen. of the Presidency: Abdallah al-BASHIRI, Maj. Gen.

Min. of State & Cabinet Member: Qasim Ahmad al-AJAM

Min. of State & Cabinet Member: Muhammad Ali al-YASIR

Min. of State & Mayor of Sanaa: Yahya Muhammad al-SHUAYBI

Min. of State for Parliamentary & Shura Council Affairs: Adnan Umar al-JIFRI

Governor, Central Bank: Ahmad Abd al-Rahman al-SAMAWI

Ambassador to the US: Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI

Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Abdallah Muhammad al-SAIDI

The Republic of Yemen maintains an Embassy in the United States at 2319 Wyoming Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel: 202-965-4760).

ECONOMY

At unification, both the YAR and the PDRY were struggling, underdeveloped economies. In the north, disruptions of civil war (1962-70) and frequent periods of drought had dealt severe blows to a previously prosperous agricultural sector. Coffee production, formerly the north's main export and principal form of foreign exchange, declined as the cultivation of qat increased. Low domestic industrial output and a lack of raw materials made the YAR dependent on a wide variety of imports.

Remittances from Yemenis working abroad and foreign aid paid for perennial trade deficits. Substantial Yemeni communities exist in many countries of the world, including Yemen's immediate neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula, Indonesia, India, East Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union and China provided large-scale assistance to the YAR. This aid included funding of substantial construction projects, scholarships, and considerable military assistance.

In the south, pre-independence economic activity was overwhelmingly concentrated in the port city of Aden. The seaborne transit trade, which the port relied upon, collapsed with the closure of the Suez Canal and Britain's withdrawal from Aden in 1967. Only extensive Soviet aid, remittances from south Yemenis working abroad, and revenues from the Aden refinery (built in the 1950s) kept the PDRY's centrally planned Marxist economy afloat. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and a cessation of Soviet aid, the south's economy basically collapsed. Since unification, the government has worked to integrate two relatively disparate economic systems. However, severe shocks, including the return in 1990 of approximately 850,000 Yemenis from the Gulf states, a subsequent major reduction of aid flows, and internal political disputes culminating in the 1994 civil war hampered economic growth.

Since the conclusion of the war, the government has entered into agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to institute an extremely successful structural adjustment program. Phase one of the IMF program included major financial and monetary reforms, including floating the currency, reducing the budget deficit, and cutting subsidies. Phase two will address structural issues such as civil service reform. The World Bank also is present in Yemen, with 19 active projects in 2005, including projects in the areas of public sector governance, water, and education. Since 1998, the government of Yemen has sought to implement World Bank economic and fiscal recommendations. In subsequent years, Yemen has lowered its debt burden through Paris Club agreements and restructuring U.S. foreign debt. In 2004, government reserves reached $4.7 billion.

Current U.S. commercial assistance is focused on aiding the business sector in supporting U.S.-Yemen bilateral trade relations, encouraging American business interests in country, and diversifying Yemen's economy toward non-petroleum dependent sectors.

Following a minor discovery in the south in 1982, an American company found an oil basin near Marib in 1984. A total of 170,000 barrels per day were produced there in 1995. A small oil refinery began operations near Marib in 1986. A Soviet discovery in the southern governorate of Shabwa proved only marginally successful even when taken over by a different group. A Western consortium began exporting oil from Masila in the Hadramaut in 1993, and production there reached 420,000 barrels per day in 1999. More than a doze other companies have been unsuccessful in finding commercial quantities of oil. There are new finds in the Jannah (formerly known as the Joint Oil Exploration Area) and east Shab-wah blocks.

In November 2005, Hunt Oil's 20-year contract for the management of Block 18 fields ended. Despite agreemment with the Government of Yemen on a 5-year extension, the Republic of Yemen Government abrogated the agreement via a parliamentary vote (not called for in the contract). The company formally requested arbitration proceedings at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris in November. No decision has been rendered.

Yemen's oil exports in 1995 earned about $1 billion. By 2005, exports had grown to approximately $3.1 billion and comprised roughly 70% of government revenue. Oil production is expected to decline in 2007 due to dwindling reserves, but revenue will be stable as long as oil prices remain high.

Oil located near Marib contains associated natural gas. Proven reserves of 10-13 trillion cubic feet could sustain a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project. A long-term prospect for the petroleum industry in Yemen is a proposed liquefied natural gas project (Yemen LNG), which plans to process and export Yemen's 17 trillion cubic feet of proven associated and natural gas reserves. In September 1995, the Yemeni Government signed an agreement that designated Total of France to be the lead company for an LNG project, and, in January 1997, agreed to include Hunt Oil, Exxon, and Yukong of South Korea as partners in the Yemeni Exploration and Production Company. The project envisions a $3.5 billion investment over 25 years, producing approximately 3.1 million tons of LNG annually. A Bech-tel-Technip joint venture also conducted a preliminary engineering study for LNG production/development. In 2005, Yemen LNG signed two agreements for the sale of 4.5 metric tons per year, the majority of which will be exported to the United States and South Korea. Construction on the LNG export facility began in September 2005, and it is expected to begin exporting in 2009.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

The geography and ruling Imams of north Yemen kept the country isolated from foreign influence before 1962. The country's relations with Saudi Arabia were defined by the Taif Agreement of 1934, which delineated the northernmost part of the border between the two kingdoms and set the framework for commercial and other intercourse. The Taif Agreement has been renewed periodically in 20-year increments, and its validity was reaffirmed in 1995. Relations with the British colonial authorities in Aden and the south were usually tense.

The Soviet and Chinese Aid Missions established in 1958 and 1959 were the first important non-Muslim presence in north Yemen. Following the September 1962 revolution, the Yemen Arab Republic became closely allied with and heavily dependent upon Egypt. Saudi Arabia aided the royalists in their attempt to defeat the Republicans and did not recognize the Yemen Arab Republic until 1970. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia provided Yemen substantial budgetary and project support. At the same time, Saudi Arabia maintained direct contact with Yemeni tribes, which sometimes strained its official relations with the Yemeni Government. Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis found employment in Saudi Arabia during the late 1970s and 1980s.

In February 1989, north Yemen joined Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt informing the Arab Cooperation Council (ACC), an organization created partly in response to the founding of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and intended to foster closer economic cooperation and integration among its members.

After unification, the Republic of Yemen was accepted as a member of the ACC in place of its YAR predecessor. In the wake of the Gulf crisis, the ACC has remained inactive. Yemen is not a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

British authorities left southern Yemen in November 1967 in the wake of an intense terrorist campaign. The people's democratic Republic of Yemen, the successor to British colonial rule, had diplomatic relations with many nations, but its major links were with the Soviet Union and other Marxist countries. Relations between it and the conservative Arab states of the Arabian Peninsula were strained. There were military clashes with Saudi Arabia in 1969 and 1973, and the PDRY provided active support for the Dhofar rebellion against the Sultanate of Oman. The PDRY was the only Arab state to vote against admitting new Arab states from the Gulf area to the United Nations and the Arab League. The PDRY provided sanctuary and material support to various international terrorist groups.

Yemen is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Yemen participates in the nonaligned movement. The Republic of Yemen accepted responsibility for all treaties and debts of its predecessors, the YAR and the PDRY. Yemen has acceded to the nuclear nonprolifera-ttion treaty. The Gulf crisis dramati-cally affected Yemen's foreign relations. As a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in 1990-1991, Yemen abstained on a number of UNSC resolutions concerning Iraq and Kuwait, and voted against the “use of force resolution.” Western and Gulf Arab states reacted by curtailing or canceling aid programs and diplomatic contacts. At least 850,000 Yemenis returned from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

Subsequent to the liberation of Kuwait, Yemen continued to maintain high-level contacts with Iraq. This hampered its efforts to rejoin the Arab mainstream and to mend fences with its immediate neighbors. In 1993, Yemen launched an unsuccessful diplomatic offensive to restore relations with its Gulf neighbors. Some of its aggrieved neighbors actively aided the south during the 1994 civil war. Since the end of that conflict, tangible progress has been made on the diplomatic front in restoring normal relations with Yemen's neighbors. The Omani-Yemeni border has been officially demarcated. In the summer of 2000, Yemen and Saudi Arabia signed an International Border Treaty settling a 50-year-old dispute over the location of the border between the two countries. Yemen also settled its dispute with Eritrea over the Hanish Islands in 1998.

U.S. YEMEN RELATIONS

The United States established diplomatic relations with the Imamate in 1946. A resident legation, later elevated to embassy status, was opened in Taiz (the capital at the time) on March 16, 1959 and moved to Sanaa in 1966. The United States was one of the first countries to recognize the Yemen Arab Republic, doing so on December 19, 1962. A major U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program constructed the Mocha-Taiz-Sanaa highway and the Kennedy memorial water project in Taiz, as well as many smaller projects. On June 6, 1967, the YAR, under Egyptian influence, broke diplomatic relations with the United States in the wake of the Arab-Israeli conflict of that year. Secretary of State William P. Rogers restored relations following a visit to Sanaa in July 1972, and a new USAID agreement was concluded in 1973.

On December 7, 1967, the United States recognized the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and elevated its Consulate General in Aden to embassy status. However, relations were strained. The PDRY was placed on the list of nations that support terrorism. On October 24, 1969, south Yemen formally broke diplomatic relations with the United States. The United States and the PDRY reestablished diplomatic relations on April 30, 1990, only 3 weeks before the announcement of unification. However, the embassy in Aden, which closed in 1969, was never reopened, and the PDRY as a political entity no longer exists.

During a 1979 border conflict between the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, the United States cooperated with Saudi Arabia to greatly expand the security assistance program to the YAR by providing F-5 aircraft, tanks, vehicles and training. George H.W. Bush, while Vice President, visited in April 1986, and President Ali Abdullah Saleh visited the United States in January 1990. The United States had a $42 million USAID program in 1990. From 1973 to 1990, the United States provided the YAR with assistance in the agriculture, education, and health and water sectors. Many Yemenis were sent on U.S. Government scholarships to study in the region and in the United States. There was a Peace Corps program with about 50 volunteers. The U.S. Information Service operated an English-language institute in Sanaa.

In 1990, as a result of Yemen's actions in the Security Council following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the United States drastically reduced its presence in Yemen including canceling all military cooperation, non-humanitarian assistance, and the Peace Corps program. USAID levels dropped in FY 1991 to $2.9 million, but food assistance through the PL 480 and PL 416 (B) programs continued through 2006. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided 30,000 metric tons of soybean meal that were sold for approximately $7.5 million to finance programs in support of Yemen's agricultural sector.

The United States was actively involved in and strongly supportive of parliamentary elections in 1993 as well as the 2006 presidential and local council elections, and continues working to strengthen Yemen's democratic institutions. The USAID program, focused in the health field, had slowly increased to $8.5 million in FY 1995, but ended in FY 2000. It was reinvigorated in 2003 and a USAID office has re-opened in Sanaa. Yemen has also received significant funding from the Middle East Partnership Initiative. Funds went, in large part, to support literacy projects, election monitoring, training for civil society, and the improvement of electoral procedures.

Defense relations between Yemen and the United States are improving rapidly, with the resumption of International Military Education and Training assistance and the transfer of military equipment and spare parts. In FY 2006 U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Yemen was $8.42 million, International Military Education and Training (IMET) was $924,000, and Non-Proliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) was $1.4 million. In FY 2006 Yemen also received $7.9 million in Economic Support Funds (ESF), $10 million in Food for Progress (Title 1) assistance, and $5 million in Section 1206 funding.

In November 2006, a World Bank-sponsored international donors conference held in London raised $4.7 billion for Yemen's development; the funds are to be disbursed between 2007 and 2010.

Currently, Yemen is an important partner in the global war on terrorism, providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and financial arenas. President Ali Abdullah Saleh visited Washington, DC, in November 2001. Since that time, Yemen has stepped up its counter-terrorism cooperation efforts with the United States, achieving significant results and improving overall security in Yemen. President Saleh returned to Washington in June 2004 when he was invited to attend the G-8 Sea Island Summit. The Summit was an excellent forum for Yemen to share its democratic reform experiences, and it has agreed to participate in future activities detailed in the Sea Island charter. In November 2005 and May 2007, President Saleh again visited high-level officials in Washington, including President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Last Updated: 2/19/2008

SANAA (E) Sa'awan Street, (967) (1) 755-2000, Fax (967) (1) 303-182, Workweek: Sat–Wed 0800-1630, Website: http://yemen.usembassy.gov.

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet

December 27, 2007

Country Description: The Republic of Yemen was established in 1990 following unification of the former Yemen Arab Republic (North) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South). Islamic and traditional ideals, beliefs, and practices provide the foundation of the country's customs and laws. Yemen is a developing country and modern tourist facilities are widely available only in major cities.

Entry Requirements: Passports and visas are required for travel to Yemen. Visas may be obtained at Yemeni Embassies abroad; all travelers to Yemen can also potentially obtain entry visas at ports of entry. Travelers to Yemen are no longer required to have an affiliation with and arrange their travel through a Yemeni-based individual or organization to enter Yemen. However, individuals may be asked for supporting evidence of their character, purpose of visit and length of stay. Upon arrival at ports of entry, travelers may be issued a visa valid for a maximum of three months.

Yemeni law requires that all foreigners traveling in Yemen obtain exit visas before leaving the country. In cases of travelers with valid tourist visas and without any special circumstances (like those listed below), this exit visa is obtained automatically at the port of exit as long as the traveler has not overstayed the terms of the visa.

In certain situations, however, foreigners are required to obtain exit visas from the Immigration and Passport Authority headquarters in Sanaa. These cases may include, but are not limited to, foreigners who have overstayed the validity date of their visa; U.S.-citizen children with Yemeni or Yemeni-American parents who are not exiting Yemen with them; foreigners who have lost the passport containing their entry visa; foreign residents whose residence visas are based on their employment or study in Yemen, marriage to a Yemeni citizen, or relationship to a Yemeni parent; or foreign residents who have pending legal action (including court-based “holds” on family members’ travel). All minor/ underage U.S. citizens should be accompanied by their legal guardian(s) and/or provide a notarized letter in Arabic of parental consent when obtaining exit visas to depart Yemen. In all of these more complex cases, obtaining an exit visa requires the permission of the employing company, the sponsoring Yemeni family member, the sponsoring school or the court in which the legal action is pending. Without this permission, foreigners—including U.S. Citizens—may not be allowed to leave Yemen. American women who also hold Yemeni nationality and/or are married to Yemeni or Yemeni-American men often must obtain permission from their husbands for exit visas. They also may not take their children out of Yemen without the permission of the father, regardless of who has custody.

For more details, travelers can contact the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen, Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20037, telephone 202-965-4760; or the Yemeni (Mission to the U.N., 866 United Nations Plaza, Room 435, New York, NY 10017, telephone (212) 355-1730. Visit the Yemeni Embassy home page for more visa information at http://www.yemenembassy.org.

Safety and Security: The Department of State is concerned that al-Qaida and its affiliates are actively engaged in extremist-related activities in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula.

The Department remains concerned about possible attacks by extremist individuals or groups against U.S. citizens, facilities, businesses and perceived interests. On July 2, 2007, suspected al-Qaida operatives carried out a vehicle-borne explosive device attack on tourists at the Belquis Temple in Marib, which resulted in the deaths of eight Spanish tourists and two Yemenis. The targeting of tourist sites by al-Qaida may represent an escalation in terror tactics in Yemen. On February 3, 2006, 23 convicts, including known affiliates of al-Qaida, escaped from a high-security prison in the capital city, Sanaa. Among the al-Qaida associates were individuals imprisoned for their roles in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 2002 attack on the French oil tanker Limburg. In the weeks following the escape, some prisoners voluntarily turned themselves in to authorities; to date, however, some escapees remain at large. Two of the escapees were killed in vehicle-based suicide attacks on oil facilities near Mukalla and Marib on September 15, 2006. Those attacks were followed by the arrest the next day in Sanaa of four suspected al-Qaida operatives, who had stockpiled explosives and weapons. On December 5, 2006, a lone gunman opened small arms fire outside of the Embassy compound during the early morning hours. The assailant, wounded by host-nation security personnel and subsequently arrested, was the sole casualty. It appears that, although the gunman was influenced by extremist ideology, he worked alone in planning and executing the attack.

Americans should avoid areas where demonstrations are taking place. A 2005 demonstration against an increase in the fuel price led to two days of widespread demonstrations and rioting throughout Sanaa and other cities. Those demonstrations resulted in a large amount of property damage, looting, and several roadblocks.

The summer and fall of 2007 witnessed an increase in anti-government demonstrations in southern Yemen, including the cities of Aden, Taizz, Ibb, and Mukalla, as well as surrounding regions. Some of these demonstrations have resulted in injuries and deaths. Americans should be aware of the potential for further demonstrations when traveling in these areas.

Throughout the country, U.S. citizens are urged to exercise particular caution at locations associated with foreigners, such as the Sanaa Trade Center, American-affiliated franchises, restaurants and shops in the Hadda area of Sanaa, in Aden and elsewhere, and at restaurants and hotels frequented by expatriates. From time to time, the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa may temporarily close or suspend public services as necessary to review its security posture and ensure its adequacy.

In addition, U.S. citizens are urged to avoid contact with any suspicious, unfamiliar objects, and to report the presence of such objects to local authorities. Vehicles should not be left unattended and should be kept locked at all times.

U.S. Government personnel overseas have been advised to take the same precautions. Americans in Yemen are urged to register and remain in contact with the American Embassy in Sanaa for updated security information.

Yemeni government security organizations have arrested and expelled foreign Muslims, including Americans, who have associated with local Muslim organizations considered to be extremist by security organs of the Yemeni government. Americans risk arrest if they engage in either political or other activities that violate the terms of their admission to Yemen.

Travel on roads between cities throughout Yemen can be dangerous. Armed carjacking, especially of four-wheel-drive vehicles, occurs in many parts of the country, including the capital. Yemeni security officials advise against casual travel to rural areas. The U.S. Embassy sometimes restricts the travel of its own personnel to rural areas, while the Government of Yemen also sometimes places restrictions on Americans traveling outside Sanaa. Please check with the Embassy for the latest restrictions.

Travel is particularly dangerous in the tribal areas north and east of Sanaa. Armed tribesmen in those areas have kidnapped a number of foreigners in attempts to resolve disputes with the Yemeni government. Hostilities between tribesmen and government security forces in the Sadah governorate north of Sanaa have flared up on several occasions since 2005. Americans are urged to avoid this region during periods of conflict.

Travel by boat through the Red Sea or near the Socotra Islands in the Gulf of Aden presents the risk of pirate attacks. If travel to any of these areas is necessary, travelers may reduce the risk to personal security if such travel is undertaken by air or with an armed escort provided by a local tour company.

Other potential hazards to travelers include land mines and unexploded ordnance from the 1994 civil war. This is of particular concern in areas where fighting took place in the six southern provinces. However, most minefields have been identified and cordoned off.

Americans are most vulnerable to terrorist attacks when they are in transit to and from their residences or workplaces, or when they are shopping, sightseeing, or visiting friends. All Americans are reminded to vary their routes and times, remain vigilant, report suspicious incidents to the Embassy, avoid areas that Westerners and Americans frequent, avoid traveling after dark, lock car windows and doors, and carry a cell phone.

Based on previous abductions of foreigners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, the Embassy recommends that Americans with doubts about the identity of security or police personnel on the roads remain in their vehicles, roll up their windows, and contact the Embassy.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's web site, where the current Worldwide Caution Travel Alert, Middle East and North Africa Travel Alert, Travel Warnings and other Travel Alerts can be found. Up-to-date information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada, or for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444.

Crime: The most serious problem affecting travelers to Yemen is carjacking. Travelers have rarely been victims of petty street crime.

Information for Victims of Crime: The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, contact family members or friends, and explain how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed.

Medical Facilities and Health Information: Lack of modern medical facilities outside of Sanaa and Aden and a shortage of emergency ambulance services throughout the country may cause concern to some visitors. Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health services. An adequate supply of prescription medications for the duration of the trip is important. While many prescription drugs are available in Yemen, a particular drug needed by a visitor may not be available.

The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa strongly advises all American citizens residing in or traveling to Yemen to ensure that they have received all recommended immunizations.

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747) or via the CDC's internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization's (WHO) web site at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http//:www.who.int/ith/en.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Yemenis provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

Based on previous abductions of foreigners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, the Embassy recommends that Americans with doubts about the identity of security or police personnel on the roads remain in their vehicles, roll up their windows, and contact the Embassy. For additional information addressing security concerns for Americans in Yemen, please see the Safety and Security section above.

Travel by road in Yemen should be considered risky. Within cities, minivans and small buses ply somewhat regular routes, picking up and dropping off passengers with little notice or regard for other vehicles. Taxis and public transportation are widely available but the vehicles may lack safety standards and equipment. Embassy personnel are advised to avoid public buses for safety reasons. Despite the presence of traffic lights and traffic policemen, drivers are urged to exercise extreme caution, especially at intersections. While traffic laws exist, they are often not enforced, and/or not adhered to by motorists. Drivers sometimes drive on the left side of the road, although right-hand driving is specified by Yemeni law. No laws mandate the use of seat belts or car seats for children. The maximum speed for private cars is 100 kilometers per hour (62.5 miles per hour), but speed limits are rarely enforced. A large number of underage drivers are on the roads. Many vehicles are in poor repair and lack basic parts such as functional turn signals, headlights and taillights. Pedestrians, especially children, and animals on the roads constitute a hazard in both rural and urban areas. Beyond the main inter-city roads, which are usually paved and in fair condition, the rural roads in general require four-wheel-drive vehicles or vehicles with high clearance.

Yemeni security officials advise against casual travel to rural areas. The U.S. Embassy sometimes restricts the travel of its own personnel to rural areas, while the Government of Yemen also sometimes places restrictions on Americans traveling outside Sanaa. Please check with the Embassy for the latest restrictions.

Travelers should take precautions to avoid minefields left over from Yemen's civil wars. Traveling off well-used tracks without an experienced guide could be extremely hazardous, particularly in parts of the south and the central highlands.

Penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and reckless driving which causes an accident resulting in injury, are a fine and/or prison sentence. If the accident results in death, the driver is subject to a maximum of three years in prison and/or a fine. Under traditional practice, victims’ families negotiate a monetary compensation from the driver proportionate to the extent of the injuries—higher if it is a fatality.

and visit the web site of Yemen's national tourism office and national authority responsible for road safety at http//yementourism.com.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service between the United States and Yemen, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed Yemen's Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards. For more information, travelers may visit the FAA's web site at http://www.faa.gov.

Special Circumstances: Photography of military installations, including airports, equipment, or troops is forbidden. In the past, such photography has led to the arrest of U.S. citizens. Military sites are not always obvious. If in doubt, it is wise to ask specific permission from Yemeni authorities.

Travelers should be aware that automated teller machines (ATMs) are being introduced in major cities but are still not widely available in Yemen. Credit cards are not widely accepted. The Government of Yemen may not recognize the U.S. citizenship of persons who are citizens of both Yemen and the United States. This may hinder the ability of U.S. consular officials to assist persons who do not enter Yemen on a U.S. passport. Dual nationals may also be subject to national obligations, such as taxes or military service. For further information, travelers can contact the nearest embassy or consulate of Yemen.

American citizens who travel to Yemen are subject to the jurisdiction of Yemeni courts, as well as to the country's laws, customs, and regulations. This holds true for all legal matters including child custody. Women in custody disputes in Yemen may not enjoy the same rights that they do in the U.S., as Yemeni law often does not work in favor of the mother. Parents planning to travel to Yemen with their children should bear this in mind. Parents should also note that American custody orders might not be enforced in Yemen.

American women who also hold Yemeni nationality, and/or are married to Yemeni or Yemeni-American men, are advised that if they bring their children to Yemen they may not enjoy freedom of travel should they decide they want to leave Yemen. Such women often must obtain permission from their husbands for exit visas. They also may not take their children out of Yemen without the permission of the father, regardless of who has custody.

American students and workers in Yemen sometimes report that the sponsors of their residence permits seize their U.S. passports as a means of controlling their domestic and international travel.

While the sponsors say they seize the passports on behalf of local security services, there is no law or instruction from Yemeni passport or security offices requiring that passports be seized.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country's laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating Yemeni laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Yemen are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. The use of the mild stimulant “qat” is legal and common in Yemen, but it is considered an illegal substance in many other countries, including the United States. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime, prosecutable in the United States.

Children's Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, see the Office of Children's Issues website at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Registration and Embassy Locations: Americans living or traveling in Yemen are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department's travel registration web site, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Yemen. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency.

The U.S. Embassy is located at Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, PO Box 22347. The telephone number of the Consular Section is (967)(1) 755-2000, extension 2153 or 2266. The fax number is (967) (1) 303-175. The after-hours emergency number is (967) (1) 755-2000 (press 0 for extension) or (967) 733213509. The Embassy is open from Saturday through Wednesday.

International Adoption

May 2007

The information in this section has been edited from a report of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Overseas Citizens Services. For more information, please read the International Adoption section of this book and review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Disclaimer: The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and current understanding. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

Please Note: The basis for Yemeni family law is a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, and, therefore, does not allow for adoption as that concept is understood in the United States. Accordingly, it is generally not possible for U.S. citizens to adopt a Yemeni orphan to obtain an immigrant visa that will allow that child to immigrate to the United States.

Patterns of Immigration: No Yemeni orphans have received U.S. immigrant visas within the past five fiscal years.

Yemeni Guardianship Authority: Guardianship in Yemen is granted by local courts. Persons considering applying for guardianship of a Yemeni child should direct their inquiries to the court in the region of Yemen where the child is residing.

Adoption Agencies and Attorneys: There are no adoption agencies in Yemen. However, prospective guardians who may wish to use the services of an agency in the context of a guardianship case are advised to fully research any agency or facilitator they are considering using.

Embassy of the Republic of Yemen
2319 Wyoming Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: (202) 965-4760
Fax: (202) 337-2017

Yemen also has a consulate in Detroit and an honorary consulate in San Francisco.

U.S. Immigration Requirements: Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult USCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. Please see the International Adoption section of this book for more details and review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Embassy of the United States of America
Saawan St
Sheraton District Sanaa,
Yemen Telephone: +967 (1) 755-2000 (Immigrant Visa Unit)
Fax: +967 (1) 303-175

Additional Information: Specific questions about the guardianship process in Yemen may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a. General questions regarding intercountry adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children's Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.

International Parental Child Abduction

February 2008

The information in this section has been edited from a report of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Overseas Citizens Services. For more information, please read the International Parental Child Abduction section of this book and review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Disclaimer: The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is provided for general information only. Questions involving interpretation of specific foreign laws should be addressed to foreign legal counsel.

General Information: Yemen is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, nor are there any international or bilateral treaties in force between Yemen and the United States dealing with international parental child abduction. American citizens who travel to Yemen are subject to the jurisdiction of Yemeni courts, as well as to the country's laws and regulations. This holds true for all legal matters including child custody. Parents planning to travel with their children to Yemen should bear this in mind.

Custody Disputes: Cases involving divorce and the custody of minor children are adjudicated in local courts that apply principles of Islamic law. Islamic law will be applied regardless of the religious beliefs of the parents.

In Yemen, Islamic law gives priority for custodianship to the mother as long as certain restrictive conditions are met. However, once the children reach adolescence (age 9 for boys and age 12 for girls), the father can take custody. If the mother refuses, the father can file in court for custody. A court can find a mother unfit to have custody before the children reach adolescence. In that case, a maternal grandmother living in Yemen or a paternal grandmother (if the maternal grandmother is not living in Yemen) will be given custody until the children reach the age at which the father may appeal for custody.

In actual practice, the conditions placed on the mother's primary right to custody often enable the father to maintain a great deal of influence over the rearing of the children, even though he may not have custody. For example, the mother must seek his approval to depart Yemen with the children. Frequently, the father is actually able to assume custody against the wishes of the mother when she is unable or unwilling to meet the conditions set by law for her to maintain her custodial rights.

A mother can lose her primary right to custody of a child in a number of ways. The court can determine that she is incapable of safeguarding the child or of bringing the child up in accordance with the appropriate religious standards. The mother can void her right to custody by re-marrying a party considered “unmarriageable,” or by residing in a home with people who might be “strangers” to the child. The mother may not deny visitation rights to the father or the paternal grandfather and may not travel outside Yemen with the child without the father's approval and the approval of the court. In general, a Yemeni man divorcing his non-Yemeni wife may be awarded legal custody of their children if the court determines that any of the above conditions have not been met.

Under Sharia law, if a mother removes a child from the father, thus denying him access, the mother's custody rights can be severed. Removal of children from Yemen without the father's permission is a crime in Yemen. Immigration officials at the port of exit may request permission from the father before permitting the children to leave Yemen.

A Yemeni father can remove his children from Yemen without approval of the mother. While a mother can legally seek a travel ban to prevent the father from taking the children out of Yemen, this is not always possible in reality.

Persons who wish to pursue a child custody claim in a Yemeni court should retain an attorney in Yemen. The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa maintains a list of attorneys willing to represent American clients. For more information, please read the International Parental Child Abduction section of this book and review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Custody orders and judgments of foreign courts are not enforceable in Yemen if they potentially contradict or violate local laws and practices. For example, an order from a U.S. court granting custody to an American mother may not be honored in Yemen if the mother intends to take the child to live outside Yemen. Courts in Yemen will not enforce U.S. court decrees ordering a parent in Yemen to pay child support.

Visitation Rights: The government of Yemen will assist non-custodial parents who wish to visit their children in Yemen. When the custodial parent refuses to permit visitation, the non-custodial parent will need to file a complaint in local court.

Dual Nationality: Dual nationality is recognized under Yemeni law. Children of Yemeni fathers automatically acquire Yemeni citizenship at birth, regardless of where the child was born. Yemeni women can only transmit citizenship in rare instances when there is official intervention from the Yemen government. Yemenis are not required to enter and leave the country on Yemeni passports.

Travel Restrictions: Parents can obtain an order from a local court preventing the other parent from taking a child out of Yemen, regardless of the child's nationality, when there is a custody dispute before the local court.

Criminal Remedies: For information on possible criminal remedies, please contact your local law enforcement authorities or the nearest office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Information is also available on the Internet at the web site of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org. For further information on international parental child abduction, contact the Office of Children's Issues, U.S. Department of State at 1-888-407-4747 or visit its web site on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov/family. You may also direct inquiries to: Office of Children's Issues, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520-4811; Phone: (202) 736-9090; Fax: (202) 312-9743.

Travel Warning

September 24, 2007

This Travel Warning updates information on security incidents in Yemen and reminds U.S. citizens of the high security threat level in Yemen due to terrorist activities. This supersedes the Travel Warning for Yemen issued April 30, 2007.

The Department of State continues to strongly urge U.S. citizens to consider carefully the risks of traveling to Yemen. The security threat level remains high due to terrorist activities in Yemen, and U.S. citizens in Yemen should exercise caution and take prudent measures to maintain their security: maintain a high level of vigilance, avoid crowds and demonstrations, keep a low profile, vary times and routes for all travel, and ensure travel documents are current. The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa advises American citizens in Yemen to exercise particular caution at locations frequented by foreigners countrywide and at restaurants and hotels frequented by expatriates. From time to time, the Embassy may restrict official Americans from restaurants, hotels, or shopping areas. The Department of State strongly encourages American citizens to consult the most recent Warden Messages (http://usembassy.state.gov/yemen/citizen_services.html) to get the most up-to-date information on security conditions. Americans who believe they are being followed or threatened while driving in urban centers should proceed as quickly as possible to the nearest police station or major intersection and request assistance from the officers in the blue-and-white police cars stationed there.

The Department remains concerned about possible attacks by extremist individuals or groups against U.S. citizens, facilities, businesses, and perceived interests. On July 2, 2007, suspected al- Qa′ida operatives carried out a vehicle-borne explosive device attack on tourists at the Belquis Temple in Marib, which resulted in the deaths of eight Spanish tourists and two Yemenis. The targeting of tourist sites by al-Qa′ida may represent an escalation in terror tactics in Yemen. On February 3, 2006, 23 convicts, including known affiliates of al-Qa′ida, escaped from a high-security prison in the capital city, Sanaa. Among the al-Qa′ida associates were individuals imprisoned for their roles in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 2002 attack on the French oil tanker Limburg. In the weeks following the escape, some prisoners voluntarily turned themselves in to authorities; to date however, some escapees remain at large. Two of the escapees were killed in vehicle-based suicide attacks on oil facilities near Mukalla and Marib on September 15, 2006. Those attacks were followed by the arrest the next day in Sanaa of four suspected Al Qa’ida operatives, who had stockpiled explosives and weapons. Additionally, on December 5, 2006, a lone gunman opened small arms fire outside of the U.S. Embassy compound during the early morning hours. The assailant, wounded by host-nation security personnel and subsequently arrested, was the sole casualty.

Since January 2007, the Government of Yemen has been battling al Houthi rebels in and around the northern governorate of Saada. While foreigners have not been targeted, hundreds of soldiers and civilians have been killed in the ongoing violence. U.S. citizens traveling in Yemen should be aware that local authorities occasionally place restrictions on the travel of foreigners to parts of the country experiencing unrest. In addition, the U.S. Embassy itself often restricts travel of official personnel to the tribal areas north and east of Sanaa, such as the governorates of Amran, Al Jawf, Hajja, Marib, Saada, and Shabwa. Travelers should be in contact with the Embassy for up-to-date information on such restrictions.

U.S. citizens who remain in or travel to Yemen despite this Travel Warning should register at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa and enroll in the warden system (emergency alert network) in order to obtain updated information on travel and security in Yemen. This can be done online prior to arrival in Yemen at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs.

The U.S. Embassy is located at Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, P.O. Box 22347. The telephone number of the Consular Section is (967) (1) 755-2000, extension 2153 or 2266. The fax number is (967) (1) 303-175. The after hours emergency number is (967) (1) 755-2000 (press zero for extension) or (967) 733213509. From time to time the Embassy may temporarily close or suspend public services for security reasons. Emergency assistance to U.S. citizens during non-business hours (or when public access is restricted) is available through Embassy duty personnel.

Current information on travel and security in Yemen may be obtained from the Department of State by calling 1-888-407-4747 within the United States and Canada or, from overseas, 1-202-501-4444. U.S. citizens should consult the Country Specific Information for Yemen, the Middle East and North Africa Travel Alert, and the Worldwide Caution Travel Alert on the Department's Internet site at http://travel.state.gov. (Up-to-date information on security conditions can also be accessed at http://usembassy.state.gov/yemen/citizen_services.html.)

YEMEN

Compiled from the September 2004 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:
Republic of Yemen

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 527,970 sq. km. (203,796 sq. mi.); about the size of California and Pennsylvania combined.

Cities: Capital—Sanaa. Other cities—Aden, Taiz, Hodeida, and al-Mukalla.

Terrain: Mountainous interior bordered by desert with a flat and sandy coastal plain.

Climate: Temperate in the mountainous regions in the western part of the country, extremely hot with minimal rainfall in the remainder of the country. Humid on the coast.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective—Yemeni(s).

Population: (2003 est.) 19.3 million.

Annual growth rate: 4%.

Ethnic group: Predominantly Arab.

Religions: Islam, small numbers of Jews, Christians, and Hindus.

Language: Arabic.

Education: Attendance (2002 est.)—64% for primary level, 44% for secondary level. Literacy (2003 est.)—50% overall, including 30% of females.

Health: Infant mortality rate—65.02/1,000 live births. Life expectancy—61 yrs.

Work force: (by sector) Agriculture—53%; public services—17%; manufacturing—4%; construction—7%; percentage of total population—25%.

Government

Type: Republic; unification (of former south and north Yemen) May 22, 1990.

Constitution: Adopted May 21, 1990 and ratified May 1991.

Branches: Executive—president, and prime minister with cabinet. Legislative—bicameral legislature with 111-seat Shura Council and 301-seat House of Representatives. Judicial—the constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sanaa.

Administrative subdivisions: 18 governorates subdivided into districts.

Political parties: General People's Congress (GPC), Yemeni Grouping for Reform (Islah), Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP)

Suffrage: Universal over 18.

National holiday: May 22 (Unity Day).

Economy

GDP: (2003 est.) $11.3

Per capita GDP: (2003 est.) $508.00

Natural resources: Oil, natural gas, fish and seafood, rock salt, minor deposits of coal and copper.

Agriculture: (est. 14.3% of GDP) Products—qat (a shrub containing a natural amphetamine), coffee, cotton, fruits, vegetables, cereals, livestock and poultry. Arable land (est.)—3%.

Industry: (est. 66% of GDP) Types—petroleum refining, mining, wholesale and retail trade, transportation, manufacturing, and construction.

Trade: Exports—$3.9 billion: crude petroleum, refined oil products, seafood, fruits, vegetables, hides, tobacco products. Major markets—China, Thailand, India South Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates. Imports—$3.5 billion: petroleum products, cereals, feed grains, foodstuffs, machinery, transportation equipment, iron, sugar honey. Major suppliers—United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United States, India, China, France, Switzerland.

Exchange rate: (4th quarter, 2003) Market rate 184.31 rials per U.S. $1. Yemeni rial (YR) floats freely based on an average of foreign currencies. Since the floating of the YR, the market usually reflects the official rate of exchange.

PEOPLE

Unlike other people of the Arabian Peninsula who have historically been nomads or semi-nomads, Yemenis are almost entirely sedentary and live in small villages and towns scattered throughout the highlands and coastal regions.

Yemenis are divided into two principal Islamic religious groups: the Shi'a Zaidi sect, found in the north and northwest, and the Shafa'i school of Sunni Muslims, found in the south and southeast. Yemenis are mainly of Semitic origin, although African strains are present among inhabitants of the coastal region. Arabic is the official language, although English is increasingly understood in major cities. In the Mahra area (the extreme east), several non-Arabic languages are spoken. When the former states of north and south Yemen were established, most resident minority groups departed.

HISTORY

Yemen was one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Between the 12th century BC and the 6th century AD, it was part of the Minaean, Sabaean, and Himyarite kingdoms, which controlled the lucrative spice trade, and later came under Ethiopian and Persian rule. In the 7th century, Islamic caliphs began to exert control over the area. After this caliphate broke up, the former north Yemen came under control of Imams of various dynasties usually of the Zaidi sect, who established a theocratic political structure that survived until modern times. (Imam is a religious term. The Shi'ites apply it to the prophet Muhammad's son-in-law Ali, his sons Hassan and Hussein, and subsequent lineal descendants, whom they consider to have been divinely ordained unclassified successors of the prophet.)

Egyptian Sunni caliphs occupied much of north Yemen throughout the 11th century. By the 16th century and again in the 19th century, north Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire, and in some periods its Imams exerted control over south Yemen.

Former North Yemen

Ottoman control was largely confined to cities with the Imam's suzerainty over tribal areas formally recognized. Turkish forces withdrew in 1918, and Imam Yahya strengthened his control over north Yemen. Yemen became a member of the Arab league in 1945 and the United Nations in 1947.

Imam Yahya died during an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1948 and was succeeded by his son Ahmad, who ruled until his death in September 1962. Imam Ahmad's reign was marked by growing repression, renewed friction with the United Kingdom over the British presence in the south, and growing pressures to support the Arab nationalist objectives of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser.

Shortly after assuming power in 1962, Ahmad's son, Badr, was deposed by revolutionary forces, which took control of Sanaa and created the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR). Egypt assisted the YAR with troops and supplies to combat forces loyal to the Imamate. Saudi Arabia and Jordan supported Badr's royalist forces to oppose the newly formed republic. Conflict continued periodically until 1967 when Egyptian troops were withdrawn. By 1968, following a final royalist siege of Sanaa, most of the opposing leaders reached a reconciliation; Saudi Arabia recognized the Republic in 1970.

Former South Yemen

British influence increased in the south and eastern portion of Yemen after the British captured the port of Aden in 1839. It was ruled as part of British India until 1937, when Aden was made a crown colony with the remaining land designated as east Aden and west Aden protectorates. By 1965, most of the tribal states within the protectorates and the Aden colony proper had joined to form the British-sponsored federation of south Arabia.

In 1965, two rival nationalist groups—the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) and the National Liberation Front (NLF)—turned to terrorism in their struggle to control the country. In 1967, in the face of uncontrollable violence, British troops began withdrawing, federation rule collapsed, and NLF elements took control after eliminating their FLOSY rivals. South Arabia, including Aden, was declared independent on November 30, 1967, and was renamed the People's Republic of South Yemen. In June 1969, a radical wing of the Marxist NLF gained power and changed the country's name on December 1, 1970, to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY). In the PDRY, all political parties were amalgamated into the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), which became the only legal party. The PDRY established close ties with the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and radical Palestinians.

Republic of Yemen

In 1972, the governments of the PDRY and the YAR declared that they approved a future union. However, little progress was made toward unification, and relations were often strained. In 1979, simmering tensions led to fighting, which was only resolved after Arab League mediation. The northern and southern heads of state reaffirmed the goal of unity during a summit meeting in Kuwait in March 1979. However, that same year the PDRY began sponsoring an insurgency against the YAR. In April 1980, PDRY President Abdul Fattah Ismail resigned and went into exile. His successor, Ali Nasir Muhammad, took a less interventionist stance toward both the YAR and neighboring Oman. On January 13, 1986, a violent struggle began in Aden between Ali Nasir Muhammad and the returned Abdul Fattah Ismail and their supporters. Fighting lasted for more than a month and resulted in thousands of casualties, Ali Nasir's ouster, and Ismail's death. Some 60,000 persons, including Ali Nasir and his supporters, fled to the YAR.

In May 1988, the YAR and PDRY governments came to an understanding that considerably reduced tensions including agreement to renew discussions concerning unification, to establish a joint oil exploration area along their undefined border, to demilitarize the border, and to allow Yemenis unrestricted border passage on the basis of only a national identification card. In November 1989, the leaders of the YAR (Ali Abdullah Saleh) and the PDRY (Ali Salim Al-Bidh) agreed on a draft unity constitution originally drawn up in 1981. The Republic of Yemen (ROY) was declared on May 22, 1990. Ali Abdullah Saleh became President, and Ali Salim Al-Bidh became Vice President.

A 30-month transitional period for completing the unification of the two political and economic systems was set. A presidential council was jointly elected by the 26-member YAR advisory council and the 17-member PDRY presidium. The presidential council appointed a Prime Minister, who formed a Cabinet. There was also a 301-seat provisional unified Parliament, consisting of 159 members from the north, 111 members from the south, and 31 independent members appointed by the chairman of the council.

A unity constitution was agreed upon in May 1990 and ratified by the populace in May 1991. It affirmed Yemen's commitment to free elections, a multiparty political system, the right to own private property, equality under the law, and respect of basic human rights. Parliamentary elections were held on April 27, 1993. International groups assisted in the organization of the elections and observed actual balloting. The resulting Parliament included 143 GPC, 69 YSP, 63 Islah (Yemeni grouping for reform, a party composed of various tribal and religious groups) The head of Islah, Paramount Hashid Sheik Abdullah Bin Hussein Al-Ahmar, is the speaker of Parliament.

Islah was invited into the ruling coalition, and the presidential council was altered to include one Islah member. Conflicts within the coalition resulted in the self-imposed exile of Vice President Ali Salim Al-Bidh to Aden beginning in August 1993 and a deterioration in the general security situation as political rivals settled scores and tribal elements took advantage of the unsettled situation.

Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas (former southern Prime Minister) continued to serve as the ROY Prime Minister, but his government was ineffective due to political infighting. Continuous negotiations between northern and southern leaders resulted in the signing of the document of pledge and accord in Amman, Jordan on February 20, 1994. Despite this, clashes intensified until civil war broke out in early May 1994.

Almost all of the actual fighting in the 1994 civil war occurred in the southern part of the country despite air and missile attacks against cities and major installations in the north. Southerners sought support from neighboring states and received billions of dollars of equipment and financial assistance. The United States strongly supported Yemeni unity, but repeatedly called for a cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table. Various attempts, including by a UN special envoy, were unsuccessful to effect a cease-fire.

Southern leaders declared secession and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Yemen (DRY) on May 21, 1994, but the DRY was not recognized by the international community. Ali Nasir Muhammad supporters greatly assisted military operations against the secessionists and Aden was captured on July 7, 1994. Other resistance quickly collapsed and thousands of southern leaders and military went into exile.

Early during the fighting, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced a general amnesty, which applied to everyone except a list of 16 persons. Most southerners returned to Yemen after a short exile.

An armed opposition was announced from Saudi Arabia, but no significant incidents within Yemen materialized. The government prepared legal cases against four southern leaders—Ali Salim Al-Bidh, Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas, Abd Al-Rahman Ali Al-Jifri, and Salih Munassar Al-Siyali—for misappropriation of official funds. Others on the list of 16 were told informally they could return to take advantage of the amnesty, but most remained outside Yemen. Although many of Ali Nasir Muhammad's followers were appointed to senior governmental positions (including Vice President, Chief of Staff, and Governor of Aden), Ali Nasir Muhammad himself remained abroad in Syria.

In the aftermath of the civil war, YSP leaders within Yemen reorganized the party and elected a new politburo in July 1994. However, the party remained disheartened and without its former influence. Islah held a party convention in September 1994. The GPC did the same in June 1995.

In 1994, amendments to the unity constitution eliminated the presidential council. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected by Parliament on October 1, 1994 to a 5-year term. In April 1997, Yemen held its second multiparty parliamentary elections. The country held its first direct presidential elections in September 1999, electing President Ali Abdullah Saleh to a 5-year term in what were generally considered free and fair elections.

Constitutional amendments adopted in the summer of 2000 extended the presidential term by 2 years, thus moving the next presidential elections to 2006. The constitution provides that henceforth the President will be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates selected by the legislature. The amendments also extended the parliamentary term of office to a 6-year term, thus moving elections for these seats to 2003. On February 20, 2001, a new constitutional amendment created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote). In April 2003, the third multiparty parliamentary elections were held with improvements in voter registration for both men and women and in a generally free and fair atmosphere. Two women were elected.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Yemen is a republic with a bicameral legislature. Under the constitution, an elected president, an elected 301-seat House of Representatives, and an appointed 111-member Shura Council share power. The president is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government. The constitution provides that the president be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates endorsed by Parliament; the prime minister is appointed by the president. The presidential term of office is 7 years, and the parliamentary term of elected office is 6 years. Suffrage is universal over 18.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected in 1999; the next presidential elections are scheduled for 2006. In April 2003 parliamentary elections, the General People's Congress (GPC) maintained an absolute majority. International observers judged elections to be generally free and fair, and there was a marked decrease from previous years in election-related violence; however, there were some problems with underage voting, confiscation of ballot boxes, voter intimidation, and election-related violence.

The constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sanaa.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 9/22/04

President: Salih , Ali Abdallah
Vice President: Hadi , Abd al-Rab Mansur al-, Maj. Gen.
Prime Minister: Ba Jamal , Abd al-Qadir
Dep. Prime Min.: Salami , Alawi Salah al-
Dep. Prime Min.: Sufan , Ahmad Muhammad Abdallah al-
Min. of Agriculture & Irrigation: Suwayd , Hasan Umar Muhammad
Min. of Cabinet Affairs: Aydarus , Salim al-
Min. of Civil Service & Social Security: Sufi , Hamud Khalid Naji al-
Min. of Communications & Information Technology: Muallimi , Abd al-Malik al-
Min. of Construction, Housing, & UrbanPlanning: Dafa , Abdallah Husayn al-
Min. of Culture & Tourism: Ruwayshan , Khalid Abdallah Salih al-
Min. of Defense: Alaywah , Abdallah Ali, Maj. Gen.
Min. of Education: Jawfi , Abd al-Salman Muhammad Hizam al-
Min. of Electricity: Tarmum , Abd al-Rahman Muhammad
Min. of Expatriate Affairs: Qubati , Abduh Ali
Min. of Finance: Salami , Alawi Salah al-
Min. of Fisheries: Mujur , Ali Muhammad
Min. of Foreign Affairs: Qirbi , Abu Bakr al-, Dr.
Min. of Higher Education & ScientificResearch: Rawih , Abd al-Wahhab, Dr.
Min. of Human Rights: Suswah , Amat al-Alim al-
Min. of Industry & Trade: Shaykh , Khalid Rajih
Min. of Information: Awadi , Husayn Dayfallah al-
Min. of Interior: Alami , Rashid Muhammad al-
Min. of Justice: Jafri , Adnan Umar Muhammad al-
Min. of Legal Affairs: Rasas , Rashad Ahmad Yahya al-
Min. of Local Administration: Abu Ras , Sadiq Amin Husayn
Min. of Oil & Minerals: Ba Rabba , Rashid, Dr.
Min. of Planning & International Cooperation: Sufan , Ahmad Muhammad Abdallah al-
Min. of Public Health & Population: Nuaymi , Muhammad Yahya Awdah al-
Min. of Public Works & Roads: Dafa , Abdallah Husayn al-
Min. of Religious Endowment & IslamicAffairs: Ubayd , Hamud Muhammad
Min. of Social & Labor Affairs: Arhabi , Abd al-Karim al-
Min. of Supply & Trade: Kumaim , Abd al-Aziz al-
Min. of Technical Education & Vocational Training: Safa , Ali Mansur Muhammad bin
Min. of Tourism & Environment: Iryani , Abd al-Malik al-
Min. of Transport: Amudi , Umar Muhsin Abd al-Rahman al-
Min. of Water & Environment: Iryani , Muhammad Luft al-
Min. of Youth & Sports: Akwa , Abd al-Rahman al-
Min. of State & Sec. Gen. Presidency: Bashiri , Abdallah, Maj. Gen.
Min. of State & Cabinet Member: Ajam , Qasim Ahmad al-
Min. of State & Cabinet Member: Yasir , Muhammad Ali
Min. of State & Mayor of Sanaa: Kahlani , Ahmad Muhammad Yahya Hasan al-
Min. of State for Parliamentary & Shura Council Affairs: Sharafi , Muhammad Yahya Hamud al.
Chief of Staff, Armed Forces: Alaywah , Ali Abdallah, Maj. Gen.
Speaker, Parliament: Ahmar , Abdallah bin Husayn al-
Governor, Central Bank: Samawi , Ahmad Abd al-Rahman al-
Ambassador to the US: Hajri , Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-
Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Saidi , Abdallah al-

The Republic of Yemen maintains an embassy in the United States at 2319 Wyoming Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel: 202-965-4760).

ECONOMY

At unification, both the YAR and the PDRY were struggling, underdeveloped economies. In the north, disruptions of civil war (1962-70) and frequent periods of drought had dealt severe blows to a previously prosperous agricultural sector. Coffee production, formerly the north's main export and principal form of foreign exchange, declined as the cultivation of qat increased. Low domestic industrial output and a lack of raw materials made the YAR dependent on a wide variety of imports.

Remittances from Yemenis working abroad and foreign aid paid for perennial trade deficits. Substantial Yemeni communities exist in many countries of the world, including Yemen's immediate neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula, Indonesia, India, East Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union and China provided large-scale assistance to the YAR. This aid included funding of substantial construction projects, scholarships, and considerable military assistance.

In the south, pre-independence economic activity was overwhelmingly concentrated in the port city of Aden. The seaborne transit trade, which the port relied upon, collapsed with the closure of the Suez Canal and Britain's withdrawal from Aden in 1967. Only extensive Soviet aid, remittances from south Yemenis working abroad, and revenues from the Aden refinery (built in the 1950s) kept the PDRY's centrally planned Marxist economy afloat. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and a cessation of Soviet aid, the south's economy basically collapsed.

Since unification, the government has worked to integrate two relatively disparate economic systems. However, severe shocks, including the return in 1990 of approximately 850,000 Yemenis from the Gulf states, a subsequent major reduction of aid flows, and internal political disputes culminating in the 1994 civil war hampered economic growth.

Since the conclusion of the war, the government entered into agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to institute an extremely successful structural adjustment program. Phase one of the IMF program included major financial and monetary reforms, including floating the currency, reducing the budget deficit, and cutting subsidies. Phase two will address structural issues such as civil service reform. The World Bank also is active in Yemen, with 22 active projects in 2004, including projects to improve governance in the public sector, water, and education. Since 1998, the government of Yemen has sought to implement World Bank economic and fiscal recommendations. In subsequent years, Yemen has lowered its debt burden through Paris Club agreements and restructuring U.S. foreign debt. In 2003, government reserves reached $5 billion.

Following a minor discovery in 1982 in the south, an American company found an oil basin near Marib in 1984. A total of 170,000 barrels per day were produced there in 1995. A small oil refinery began operations near Marib in 1986. A Soviet discovery in the southern governorate of Shabwa has proven only marginally successful even when taken over by a different group. A

Western consortium began exporting oil from Masila in the Hadramaut in 1993, and production there reached 420,000 barrels per day in 1999. More than a dozen other companies have been unsuccessful in finding commercial quantities of oil. There are new finds in the Jannah (formerly known as the Joint Oil Exploration Area) and east Shabwah blocks. Yemen's oil exports in 1995 earned about $1 billion. Yemen's oil exports in 2003 totaled $3.7 billion and comprised roughly 70% of government revenue. Oil revenue is expected to decline in 2004, but high oil prices will ensure stable revenue. Current U.S. Commercial assistance is focus on aiding the business sector in supporting U.S.-Yemen bilateral trade relations, encourage American business interests in country, and diversifying Yemen's economy toward non-petroleum dependent sectors.

Marib oil contains associated natural gas. Proven reserves of 10-13 trillion cubic feet could sustain a liquid natural gas (LNG) export project. A long-term prospect for the petroleum industry in Yemen is a proposed liquefied natural gas project (Yemen LNG), which plans to process and export Yemen's 17 trillion cubic feet of proven associated and natural gas reserves.

In September 1995, the Yemeni Government signed an agreement that designated Total of France to be the lead company for an LNG project, and, in January 1997, agreed to include Hunt Oil, Exxon, and Yukong of South Korea as partners in the project (YEPC). The project envisions a $3.5 billion investment over 25 years, producing approximately 3.1 million tons of LNG annually. A Bechtel-Technip joint venture also conducted a preliminary engineering study for LNG production/development. Without a firm buyer, Yemen has not begun to export LNG.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

The geography and ruling Imams of north Yemen kept the country isolated from foreign influence before 1962. The country's relations with Saudi Arabia were defined by the Taif Agreement of 1934, which delineated the northernmost part of the border between the two kingdoms and set the framework for commercial and other intercourse. The Taif Agreement has been renewed periodically in 20-year increments, and its validity was reaffirmed in 1995. Relations with the British colonial authorities in Aden and the south were usually tense.

The Soviet and Chinese Aid Missions established in 1958 and 1959 were the first important non-Muslim presence in north Yemen. Following the September 1962 revolution, the Yemen Arab Republic became closely allied with and heavily dependent upon Egypt. Saudi Arabia aided the royalists in their attempt to defeat the Republicans and did not recognize the Yemen Arab Republic until 1970. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia provided Yemen substantial budgetary and project support. At the same time, Saudi Arabia maintained direct contact with Yemeni tribes, which sometimes strained its official relations with the Yemeni Government. Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis found employment in Saudi Arabia during the late 1970s and 1980s.

In February 1989, north Yemen joined Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt informing the Arab Cooperation Council (ACC), an organization created partly in response to the founding of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and intended to foster closer economic cooperation and integration among its members. After unification, the Republic of Yemen was accepted as a member of the ACC in place of its YAR predecessor. In the wake of the Gulf crisis, the ACC has remained inactive. Yemen is not a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

British authorities left southern Yemen in November 1967 in the wake of an intense terrorist campaign. The people's democratic Republic of Yemen, the successor to British colonial rule, had diplomatic relations with many nations, but its major links were with the Soviet Union and other Marxist countries. Relations between it and the conservative Arab states of the Arabian Peninsula were strained. There were military clashes with Saudi Arabia in 1969 and 1973, and the PDRY provided active support for the DHOFAR rebellion against the Sultanate of Oman. The PDRY was the only Arab state to vote against admitting new Arab states from the Gulf area to the United Nations and the Arab League. The PDRY provided sanctuary and material support to various international terrorist groups.

Yemen is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, and the organization of the Islamic conference. Yemen participates in the nonaligned movement. The Republic of Yemen accepted responsibility for all treaties and debts of its predecessors, the YAR and the PDRY. Yemen has acceded to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. The Gulf crisis dramatically affected Yemen's foreign relations. As a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for 1990 and 1991, Yemen abstained on a number of UNSC resolutions concerning Iraq and Kuwait and voted against the "use of force resolution." Western and Gulf Arab states reacted by curtailing or canceling aid programs and diplomatic contacts. At least 850,000 Yemenis returned from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

Subsequent to the liberation of Kuwait, Yemen continued to maintain high-level contacts with Iraq. This hampered its efforts to rejoin the Arab mainstream and to mend fences with its immediate neighbors. In 1993, Yemen launched an unsuccessful diplomatic offensive to restore relations with its Gulf neighbors. Some of its aggrieved neighbors actively aided the south during the 1994 civil war. Since the end of that conflict, tangible progress has been made on the diplomatic front in restoring normal relations with Yemen's neighbors. The Omani-Yemeni border has been officially demarcated. In the summer of 2000, Yemen and Saudi Arabia signed an International Border Treaty settling a 50-year-old dispute over the location of the border between the two countries. Yemen settled its dispute with Eritrea over the Hanish Islands in 1998.

U.S.-YEMEN RELATIONS

The United States established diplomatic relations with the Imamate in 1946. A resident legation, later elevated to embassy status, was opened in Taiz (the capital at the time) on March 16, 1959 and moved to Sanaa in 1966. The United States was one of the first countries to recognize the Yemen Arab Republic, doing so on December 19, 1962. A major U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program constructed the Mocha-Taiz-Sanaa highway and the Kennedy memorial water project in Taiz, as well as many smaller projects. On June 6, 1967, the YAR, under Egyptian influence, broke diplomatic relations with the United States in the wake of the Arab-Israeli conflict of that year. Secretary of State William P. Rogers restored relations following a visit to Sanaa in July 1972, and a new USAID agreement was concluded in 1973.

During a 1979 border conflict between the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, the United States cooperated with Saudi Arabia to greatly expand the security assistance program to the YAR by providing F-5 aircraft, tanks, vehicles and training. George Bush, while Vice President, visited in April 1986, and President Ali Abdullah Saleh visited the United States in January 1990. The United States had a $42 million USAID program in 1990. From 1973 to 1990, the United States provided the YAR with assistance in the agriculture, education, and health and water sectors. Many Yemenis were sent on U.S. Government scholarships to study in the region and in the United States. There was a Peace Corps program with about 50 volunteers. The U.S. Information Service operates an English-language institute in Sanaa.

On December 7, 1967, the United States recognized the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and elevated its Consulate General in Aden to embassy status. However, relations were strained. The PDRY was placed on the list of nations that support terrorism. On October 24, 1969, south Yemen formally broke diplomatic relations with the United States. The United States and the PDRY reestablished diplomatic relations on April 30, 1990, only 3 weeks before the announcement of unification. However, the embassy in Aden, which closed in 1969, was never reopened, and the PDRY as a political entity no longer exists.

As a result of Yemen's actions in the Security Council following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the United States drastically reduced its presence in Yemen including canceling all military cooperation, non-humanitarian assistance, and the Peace Corps program. USAID levels dropped in FY 1991 to $2.9 million, but food assistance through the PL 480 program continued through 2003. The United States was actively involved in and strongly supportive of the 1993 parliamentary elections and continues working to strengthen Yemen's democratic institutions. The United States supported a unified Yemen during the 1994 civil war. The USAID program, focused in the health field, had slowly increased to $8.5 million in FY 1995, but ended in FY 2000. It was reinvigorated in 2003 and a USAID Mission has re-opened in Sanaa. Yemen also received significant funding from the Middle East Partnership Initiative. Funds went, in large part, to support literacy projects, election monitoring, training for tribal councils, and voter registration for the 2003 parliamentary elections.

The USAID program, focused in the health field, had slowly increased to $8.5 million in FY 1995, but ended in FY 2000. It was reinvigorated in 2003 and a USAID Mission has re-opened in Sanaa. Yemen also received significant funding from the Middle East Partnership Initiative. Funds went, in large part, to support literacy projects, training for tribal councils, and providing access to Internet in schools. The American Institute of Yemeni Studies also received a 500,000 grant to assist in acquisition of a permanent location.

Defense relations between Yemen and the U.S. are improving rapidly, with the resumption of International Military Education and Training assistance and the commercial transfer of some military spare parts. Yemen received $1.9 million in Foreign Military Financing in FY 2003. U.S. Foreign Military Financing for FY 04 is expected to reach $14.9 million, reflecting the improvement in U.S.-Yemeni security cooperation.

Currently, Yemen is an important partner in the global war on terrorism, providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and financial arenas. In late November 2001, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh visited Washington to strengthen U.S.-Yemen relations. Since that time, Yemen has stepped up its counter-terrorism cooperation efforts with the United States, achieving significant results and increased security of the country. President Saleh returned to Washington in June 2004 when he was invited to attend the G-8 Sea Island Summit. The Summit was an excellent forum for Yemen to share its democratic reform experiences, and it has agreed to participate in future activities detailed in the Sea Island charter.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

SANAA (E) Address: Sa'awan Street; Phone: (967) (1) 303-155; Fax: (967) (1) 303-182; Workweek: Sat-Wed 0800-1630; Website: USEMBASSY. YE

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet

September 24, 2004

Country Description: The Republic of Yemen was established in 1990 following unification of the former Yemen Arab Republic (North) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South).

Islamic and traditional ideals, beliefs and practices provide the foundation of the country's customs and laws. Yemen is a developing country and modern tourist facilities are widely available only in major cities.

Entry/Exit Requirements: Passports and visas are required for travel to Yemen. Effective July 2004, all travelers to Yemen can obtain entry visas at ports of entry. Travelers to Yemen are no longer required to have an affiliation with and arrange their travel through a Yemen-based individual or organization to enter Yemen. Upon arrival at ports of entry, travelers will be issued a visa valid for a maximum of three months. Upon departure, all U.S. citizens should obtain exit visas to depart Yemen. U.S. citizens who plan to stay in Yemen for less than one month can obtain their visas at the airport. U.S. citizens who plan to stay longer than one month should go to the Passport and Immigration Office to obtain exit visas. The same holds true for long-term residents in Yemen. All minor/underage U.S. citizens should be accompanied by their legal guardian(s) and/or provide parental consent to get exit visas to depart Yemen.

For more details, travelers can contact the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen, Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037, telephone 202-965-4760; or the Yemen Mission to the U.N., 866 United Nations Plaza, Room 435, New York, N.Y. 10017, telephone (212) 355-1730. The Yemeni Embassy in Washington maintains a homepage at http://www.yemenembassy.org.

In an effort to prevent international parental child abduction, many governments have initiated procedures at entry/exit points. These often include requiring documentary evidence of the relationship and permission for the child's travel from the parent(s) or legal guardian if not present. Having such documentation on hand, even if not required, may facilitate entry/departure.

Dual Nationality: The Government of Yemen may not recognize the U.S. citizenship of persons who are citizens of both Yemen and the United States. This may hinder the ability of U.S. consular officials to assist persons who do not enter Yemen on a U.S. passport. Dual nationals may also be subject to national obligations, such as taxes or military service. For further information, travelers can contact the nearest embassy or consulate of Yemen. Additionally, please see the Consular Affairs home page on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov. (Scroll down to the "Services" section and click on "Citizenship and Nationality.")

Safety and Security: The Department of State has received credible reports that terrorists associated with Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda organization have planned attacks against U.S. interests in Yemen, and the Department anticipates that threats against U.S. citizens in Yemen remain possible.

U.S. citizens are urged to exercise particular caution at locations associated with foreigners, such as the Sanaa Trade Center, American-affiliated franchises, restaurants and shops in the Hadda area in Sanaa, in Aden and elsewhere, and at restaurants and hotels frequented by expatriates. From time to time, the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa may temporarily close or suspend public services as necessary to review its security posture and ensure its adequacy.

In addition, U.S. citizens are urged to avoid contact with any suspicious, unfamiliar objects, and to report the presence of such objects to local authorities. Vehicles should not be left unattended and should be kept locked at all times. U.S. Government personnel overseas have been advised to take the same precautions. Americans in Yemen are urged to register and remain in contact with the American Embassy in Sanaa for updated security information.

In November 2002, there was an attack on an American company helicopter, in which there were a few injuries. On December 30, 2002, three Americans were killed and another was injured in an attack on a hospital near the city of Ibb. The perpetrators of both attacks were apprehended and prosecuted. Nevertheless, these incidents indicate a continuing level of risk for foreigners in Yemen.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov where the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, Middle East and North Africa Public Announcement, Travel Warnings and other Public Announcements can be found. Up to date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States, or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-317-472-2328. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

Religious Extremists: Yemeni government security organizations have arrested and expelled foreign Muslims, including Americans, who have associated with local Muslim organizations considered to be extremist by security organs of the Yemeni government. The situations mentioned in the above paragraph on Safety and Security have served to make Yemeni authorities, if anything, more suspicious of foreign Muslims. Americans risk arrest if they engage in political or other activities that violate the terms of their admission to Yemen.

Areas of Instability: Travel on roads between cities throughout Yemen can be dangerous. Yemeni security officials advise against casual travel to rural areas. Travel is particularly dangerous in the tribal areas north and east of Sanaa, in Shabwa and Abyan provinces, close to the border with Saudi Arabia, and sailing near the Socotra Islands in the Gulf of Aden. If travel to these areas is necessary, travelers may reduce the risk to personal security if such travel is undertaken by air, or if travel is undertaken with an armed escort provided by a local tour company. Armed carjacking, especially of four-wheel-drive vehicles, occurs in many parts of the country, including the capital.

Americans should avoid areas where demonstrations are taking place. In the past, increases in the price of diesel fuel and other commodities have resulted in civil disturbances in urban areas. Other potential hazards to travelers include land mines and unexploded ordnance from the 1994 civil war. This is of particular concern in areas where fighting took place in the six southern provinces. However, most minefields have been identified and cordoned off.

Crime: The most serious problem affecting travelers to Yemen is carjacking. Travelers have rarely been victims of petty street crime. The loss or theft of a U.S. passport abroad should be reported immediately to local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to the local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, to contact family members or friends and explains how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crimes is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find and attorney if needed.

U.S. citizens may refer to the Department of State's pamphlets A Safe Trip Abroad and Tips for Travel to the Middle East and North Africa for ways to promote a trouble-free journey. These pamphlets are available by mail from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, via the Internet at http://www.gpoaccess.gov, or via the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov.

Medical Facilities: There is a lack of modern medical facilities outside of Sanaa and Aden and an absence of emergency ambulance services throughout the country. Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health services. An adequate supply of prescription medications for the duration of the trip is important. While many prescription drugs are available in Yemen, a particular prescription drug needed by a visitor may not be available.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and if it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation. U.S. medical insurance plans seldom cover health costs incurred outside the United States unless supplemental coverage is purchased. Further, U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs do not provide payment for medical services outside the United States. However, many travel agents and private companies offer insurance plans that will cover health care expenses incurred overseas, including emergency services such as medical evacuations.

When making a decision regarding health insurance, Americans should consider that many foreign doctors and hospitals require payment in cash prior to providing service and that a medical evacuation to the United States may cost well in excess of $50,000. Uninsured travelers who require medical care overseas often face extreme difficulties. When consulting with your insurer prior to your trip, please ascertain whether payment will be made to the overseas healthcare provider or if you will be reimbursed later for expenses that you incur. Some insurance policies also include coverage for psychiatric treatment and for disposition of remains in the event of death.

Useful information on medical emergencies abroad, including overseas insurance programs, is provided in the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs brochure, Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad, available via the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page or autofax: 202-647-3000.

Other Health Information: Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at telephone 1-877-fyi-trip (1-877-394-8747); fax: 1-888-cdc-faxx (1-888-232-3299), or via the CDC's Internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad, consult the World Health Organization's website at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning Yemen is provided for general reference only and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

Safety of Public Transportation: Poor
Urban Road Conditions/Maintenance: Fair
Rural Road Conditions/Maintenance: Poor
Availability of Roadside Assistance: None

Travel by road in Yemen should be considered risky. Within cities, minivans and small buses ply somewhat regular routes, picking up and dropping off passengers with little notice or regard for other vehicles. Despite the presence of traffic lights and traffic policemen, each intersection requires an act of negotiation. While traffic laws exist, they are often not enforced. Drivers sometimes drive on the left side of the road, although right-hand driving is specified by Yemeni law. No laws mandate the use of seat belts or car seats for children. The maximum speed for private cars is 100 kilometers per hour (62.5 miles per hour), but speed limits are rarely enforced. A large number of underage drivers are on the roads. Many vehicles are in poor repair and lack functional turn signals, headlights and taillights. Pedestrians, especially children, and animals on the roads constitute a hazard in both rural and urban areas. Beyond the main inter-city roads, which are usually paved and in fair condition, rural roads in general require four-wheel-drive vehicles or vehicles with high clearance.

Take precaution to avoid minefields left over from Yemen's civil wars. Traveling off well-used tracks without an experienced guide could be extremely hazardous, particularly in parts of the south and the central highlands.

Penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and reckless driving which causes an accident resulting in injury, include a fine and/or prison sentence. If the accident results in death, the driver is subject to a maximum of three years in prison and/or a fine. Under traditional practice, victims' families negotiate a monetary compensation from the driver proportionate to the extent of the injuries, higher if it is a fatality.

For additional general information about road safety, including links to foreign government sites, please see the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov/travel/abroad_roadsafety.html. For specific information concerning Yemen contact the Yemen Tourism Promotion Board, P.O.Box: 5607, Sana'a, Yemen, Telephone: +967 1 209265 Fax: +967 1 209266 Email: ytpb@yementourism.com Web site: http://yementourism.com.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service by U.S. or local carriers at present, or economic authority to operate such service between the United States and Yemen, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed Yemen's civil aviation authority for compliance with international aviation safety standards. For further information, travelers may contact the Department of Transportation within the United States at telephone 1-800-322-7873, or visit the FAA's Internet web site at http://www.faa.gov/avr/iasa/index.cfm.

Customs Regulations: Yemeni customs authorities may enforce strict regulations concerning temporary importation into or export from Yemen of items such as alcohol, firearms, pornography and antiquities. Certain American magazines and videos may be deemed pornographic. All baggage, including that of diplomats, is subject to x-ray and hand search upon arrival. Please contact the Embassy of Yemen in Washington for specific information regarding customs requirements. In many countries around the world, counterfeit and pirated goods are widely available. Transactions involving such products are illegal and bringing them back to the United States may result in forfeitures and/or fines.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country's laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Penalties for possession, use or trafficking in illegal drugs are strict and convicted offenders can expect jail sentences and fines. The use of the mild stimulant "qat" is legal and common in Yemen, but it is considered an illegal substance in many other countries, including the United States.

Under the PROTECT Act of April 2003, it is a crime, prosecutable in the United States, for a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien, to engage in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign country with a person under the age of 18, whether or not the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident alien intended to engage in such illicit sexual conduct prior to going abroad. For purposes of the PROTECT Act, illicit sexual conduct includes any commercial sex act in a foreign country with a person under the age of 18. The law defines a commercial sex act as any sex act, on account of which anything of value is given to or received by a person under the age of 18.

Under the Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act of 1998, it is a crime to use the mail or any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, including the Internet, to transmit information about a minor under the age of 16 for criminal sexual purposes that include, among other things, the production of child pornography. This same law makes it a crime to use any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, including the Internet, to transport obscene materials to minors under the age of 16.

Special Circumstances: Photography of military installations, including airports, equipment or troops, is forbidden. In the past, such photography has led to the arrest of U.S. citizens. Military sites are not always obvious. If in doubt, it is wise to ask specific permission from Yemeni authorities.

Travelers should be aware that automatic teller machines (ATMs) are not widely available in Yemen. Credit cards are not widely accepted.

Children's Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, please refer to our Internet site at http://travel.state.gov/family/index.html or telephone Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-317-472-2328.

Family Matters: Yemen is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, nor are there any international or bilateral treaties in force between Yemen and the United States dealing with international parental child abduction. Therefore, Yemeni authorities are under no obligation to return a parentally kidnapped child to his or her country of habitual residence.

American citizens who travel to Yemen are subject to the jurisdiction of Yemeni courts, as well as to the country's laws, customs and regulations. This holds true for all legal matters including child custody. Women in custody disputes in Yemen may not enjoy the same rights that they do in the U.S., as Yemeni law often does not work in favor of the mother. Parents planning to travel to Yemen with their children should bear this in mind. Parents should also note that American custody orders might not be enforced in Yemen.

American women who also hold Yemeni nationality, and/or are married to Yemeni or Yemeni-American men, should also be advised that if they bring their children to Yemen they will not enjoy freedom of travel should they decide they want to leave Yemen. Such women often must obtain permission from their husbands for exit visas. They also may not take their children out of Yemen without the permission of the father, regardless of who has custody.

Registration/Embassy Location: Americans living or traveling in Yemen are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department's travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Yemen. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy in Yemen is located in Sanaa at Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, PO Box 22347. The telephone number of the Consular Section is (967) (1) 303 155. The fax number is (967) (1) 303 175. After-hours services are only available in emergencies through the Duty Officer who can be reached on 967-1-303-166. The Embassy website is www.usembassy.ye and the Consular Section can be emailed at consularsanaa@state.gov. U.S. citizens may use the Embassy's website to view the latest Warden Messages the Embassy disseminates to the American community on security-related issues in Yemen.

Travel Warning

November 16, 2004

This Travel Warning is being issued to provide updated security information for Yemen. This supersedes the Travel Warning for Yemen issued on May 11, 2004.

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to consider carefully the risks of traveling to Yemen. The security threat to all U.S. citizens in Yemen remains high due to continuing efforts by Al-Qaeda to re-constitute an effective operating base. This could lead to possible attacks by extremist individuals or groups against U.S. citizens, facilities, businesses and perceived interests. From time to time the Embassy may temporarily close or suspend public services for security reasons. Emergency assistance to U.S. citizens during non-business hours (or when public access is restricted) is available through Embassy duty personnel.

U.S. citizens in Yemen should exercise caution and take prudent measures to maintain their security. Maintain a high level of vigilance, avoid crowds and demonstrations, keep a low profile, vary times and routes for all travel, and ensure travel documents are current. U.S. citizens who remain in or travel to Yemen despite this Travel Warning should register at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa and enroll in the warden system (emergency alert network) in order to obtain updated information on travel and security in Yemen.

The Embassy in Sanaa advises American citizens in Yemen to exercise particular caution at locations frequented by foreigners country-wide and at restaurants and hotels frequented by expatriates. Americans who believe they are being followed or threatened while driving in urban centers should proceed as quickly as possible to the nearest police station or major intersection and request assistance from the officers in the blue-and-white police cars stationed there. Occasionally, U.S. Government personnel in Yemen may be prohibited from traveling to sections of Sanaa or other parts of Yemen. The Yemeni government also restricts travel to specified areas by U.S. citizens and other Westerners from time to time. Travelers should be in contact with the Embassy for up-to-date information on such restrictions.

The U.S. Embassy is located at Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, P.O. Box 22347. The telephone number of the Consular Section is (967)(1) 303-155, extension 2153 or 2266. The fax number is (967)(1) 303-175. The after hours emergency number is (967)(1) 303-155. Additional information on registering with the Embassy can be found at http://usembassy.state.gov/yemen/citizen_services.html.

Current information on travel and security in Yemen may be obtained from the Department of State by calling 1-888-407-4747 within the United States, or, from overseas, 1-317-472-2328. U.S. citizens should consult the Consular Information Sheet for Yemen, the Middle East and North Africa Public Announcement, and the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement on the Department's Internet site at http://travel.state.gov. Up-to-date information on security conditions can also be accessed at http://usembassy.state.gov/yemen/citizen_services.html.

International Parental Child Abduction

January 2005

The information below has been edited from the report of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Overseas Citizens Services. For more information, please read the International Parental Child Abduction section of this book and review current reports online at travel.state.gov.

Disclaimer: The information in this circular relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is provided for general information only. Questions involving interpretation of specific foreign laws should be addressed to foreign legal counsel.

General Information: Yemen is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, nor are there any international or bilateral treaties in force between Yemen and the United States dealing with international parental child abduction. American citizens who travel to Yemen are subject to the jurisdiction of Yemeni courts, as well as to the country's laws and regulations. This holds true for all legal matters including child custody. Parents planning to travel with their children to Yemen should bear this in mind.

Custody Disputes: Cases involving divorce and the custody of minor children are adjudicated in local courts that apply principles of Islamic law. Islamic law will be applied regardless of the religious beliefs of the parents. In Yemen, Islamic law gives priority for custodianship to the mother as long as certain restrictive conditions are met. However, once the children reach adolescence (age 9 for boys and age 12 for girls), the father can take custody. If the mother refuses, the father can file in court for custody. A court can find a mother unfit to have custody before the children reach adolescence. In that case, a maternal grandmother living in Yemen or a paternal grandmother (if the maternal grandmother is not living in Yemen) will be given custody until the children reach the age at which the father may appeal for custody.

In actual practice, the conditions placed on the mother's primary right to custody often enable the father to maintain a great deal of influence over the rearing of the children, even though he may not have custody. For example, the mother must seek his approval to depart Yemen with the children. Frequently, the father is actually able to assume custody against the wishes of the mother when she is unable or unwilling to meet the conditions set by law for her to maintain her custodial rights.

A mother can lose her primary right to custody of a child in a number of ways. The court can determine that she is incapable of safeguarding the child or of bringing the child up in accordance with the appropriate religious standards. The mother can void her right to custody by re-marrying a party considered "unmarriageable," or by residing in a home with people who might be "strangers" to the child. The mother may not deny visitation rights to the father or the paternal grandfather and may not travel outside Yemen with the child without the father's approval and the approval of the court. In general, a Yemeni man divorcing his non-Yemeni wife may be awarded legal custody of their children if the court determines that any of the above conditions have not been met.

Under Shari'ah law, if a mother removes a child from the father, thus denying him access, the mother's custody rights can be severed. Removal of children from Yemen without the father's permission is a crime in Yemen. Immigration officials at the port of exit may request permission from the father before permitting the children to leave Yemen.

A Yemeni father can remove his children from Yemen without approval of the mother. While a mother can legally seek a travel ban to prevent the father from taking the children out of Yemen, this is not always possible in reality.

Persons who wish to pursue a child custody claim in a Yemeni court should retain an attorney in Yemen. The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa maintains a list of attorneys willing to represent American clients. A copy of this list may be obtained by contacting the Embassy or the U.S. Department of State. U.S. government officials cannot recommend an attorney and make no claim as to the professional ability or integrity of the attorneys on this list. The U.S. government does not pay legal expenses. A copy of this list may be obtained by contacting the following offices.

U.S. Embassy Sanaa
Dhahr Himyar Zone
Sheraton Hotel District
P.O. Box 22347
Sanaa, Yemen
Phone: (967) (1) 303-155
After hours: (967) (1) 303-166; Fax: (967) (1) 303-175
Work Week: Saturday through Wednesday

U.S. Department of State
Office of Overseas Citizen Services
Washington, DC 20520
Phone: (202) 647-5226

Specific questions regarding child custody in Yemen should be addressed to a Yemeni attorney or to the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen at: Embassy of the Republic of Yemen; 2600 Virginia Avenue, N.W.; Suite 705; Washington, D.C. 20037; Phone: 202-965-4760.

Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Custody orders and judgments of foreign courts are not enforceable in Yemen if they potentially contradict or violate local laws and practices. For example, an order from a U.S. court granting custody to an American mother may not be honored in Yemen if the mother intends to take the child to live outside Yemen. Courts in Yemen will not enforce U.S. court decrees ordering a parent in Yemen to pay child support.

Visitation Rights: The government of Yemen will assist non-custodial parents who wish to visit their children in Yemen. When the custodial parent refuses to permit visitation, the non-custodial parent will need to file a complaint in local court.

Dual Nationality: Dual nationality is recognized under Yemeni law. Children of Yemeni fathers automatically acquire Yemeni citizenship at birth, regardless of where the child was born. Yemeni women can only transmit citizenship in rare instances when there is official intervention from the Yemen government. Yemenis are not required to enter and leave the country on Yemeni passports.

Travel Restrictions: Parents can obtain an order from a local court preventing the other parent from taking a child out of Yemen, regardless of the child's nationality, when there is a custody dispute before the local court.

Criminal Remedies: For information on possible criminal remedies, please contact your local law enforcement authorities or the nearest office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Information is also available on the Internet at the web site of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org.

Yemen

Compiled from the January 2006 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:
Republic of Yemen

PROFILE

PEOPLE

HISTORY

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

ECONOMY

FOREIGN RELATIONS

U.S.-YEMEN RELATIONS

TRAVEL

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 527,970 sq. km. (203,796 sq. mi.); about the size of California and Pennsylvania combined.

Cities: Capital—Sanaa. Other cities—Aden, Taiz, Hodeida, and alMukalla.

Terrain: Mountainous interior bordered by desert with a flat and sandy coastal plain.

Climate: Temperate in the mountainous regions in the western part of the country, extremely hot with minimal rainfall in the remainder of the country. Humid on the coast.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective—Yemeni(s).

Population: (2004 est.) 19.8 million.

Annual growth rate: 3%.

Ethnic groups: Predominantly Arab.

Religions: Islam, small numbers of Jews, Christians, and Hindus.

Language: Arabic.

Education: Attendance (2004 est.)—80% for boys at the primary level and 50% for girls. Attendance was 55% for boys at the secondary level and 22% for girls. Literacy (2004 est.)—49% overall, including 30% of females.

Health: Infant mortality rate—82/1,000 live births. Life expectancy—58 years.

Work force: (by sector) Agriculture—53%; public services—17%; manufacturing—4%; construction—7%; percentage of total population—25%.

Government

Type: Republic; unification (of former south and north Yemen) May 22, 1990.

Constitution: Adopted May 21, 1990 and ratified May 1991.

Government branches: Executive—president, and prime minister with cabinet. Legislative—bicameral legislature with 111-seat Shura Council and 301-seat House of Representatives. Judicial—the constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sanaa.

Political subdivisions: 18 governorates subdivided into districts.

Political parties: General People’s Congress (GPC), Yemeni Grouping for Reform (Islah), Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP)

Suffrage: Universal over 18.

National holiday: May 22 (Unity Day).

Economy

GDP: (2004 est.) $12.8 billion.

Per capita GDP: (2004 est.) $646.46.

Natural resources: Oil, natural gas, fish and seafood, rock salt, minor deposits of coal and copper.

Agriculture: (est. 14.3% of GDP) Products—qat (a shrub containing a natural amphetamine), coffee, cotton, fruits, vegetables, cereals, livestock and poultry. Arable land (est.)—3%.

Industry: (est. 66% of GDP) Types—petroleum refining, mining, wholesale and retail trade, transportation, manufacturing, and construction.

Trade: Exports (2004)—$3.9 billion: crude petroleum, refined oil products, seafood, fruits, vegetables, hides, tobacco products. Major markets—China, Thailand, India South Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates. Imports (2004)—$3.9 billion: petroleum products, cereals, feed grains, foodstuffs, machinery, transportation equipment, iron, sugar honey. Major suppliers—United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United States, India, China, France, Switzerland.

Exchange rate: (4th quarter, 2005) Market rate 182.55 rials per U.S. $1. The Yemeni rial (YR) floats freely based on an average of foreign currencies. Since the floating of the YR, the market usually reflects the official rate of exchange.

PEOPLE

Unlike other people of the Arabian Peninsula who have historically been nomads or semi-nomads, Yemenis are almost entirely sedentary and live in small villages and towns scattered throughout the highlands and coastal regions.

Yemenis are divided into two principal Islamic religious groups: the Shia Zaidi sect, found in the north and northwest, and the Shafa’i school of Sunni Muslims, found in the south and southeast. Yemenis are mainly of Semitic origin, although African strains are present among inhabitants of the coastal region. Arabic is the official language, although English is increasingly understood in major cities. In the Mahra area (the extreme east), several non-Arabic languages are spoken. When the former states of north and south Yemen were established, most resident minority groups departed.

HISTORY

Yemen was one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Between the 12th century BC and the 6th century AD, it was part of the Minaean, Sabaean, and Himyarite kingdoms, which controlled the lucrative spice trade, and later came under Ethiopian and Persian rule. In the 7th century, Islamic caliphs began to exert control over the area. After this caliphate broke up, the former north Yemen came under control of Imams of various dynasties usually of the Zaidi sect, who established a theocratic political structure that survived until modern times. (Imam is a religious term. The Shi’ites apply it to the prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali, his sons Hassan and Hussein, and subsequent lineal descendants, whom they consider to have been divinely ordained unclassified successors of the prophet.)

Egyptian Sunni caliphs occupied much of north Yemen throughout the 11th century. By the 16th century and again in the 19th century, north Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire, and in some periods its Imams exerted control over south Yemen.

Former North Yemen

Ottoman control was largely confined to cities with the Imam’s suzerainty over tribal areas formally recognized. Turkish forces withdrew in 1918, and Imam Yahya strengthened his control over north Yemen. Yemen became a member of the Arab league in 1945 and the United Nations in 1947.

Imam Yahya died during an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1948 and was succeeded by his son Ahmad, who ruled until his death in September 1962. Imam Ahmad’s reign was marked by growing repression, renewed friction with the United Kingdom over the British presence in the south, and growing pressures to support the Arab nationalist objectives of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser.

Shortly after assuming power in 1962, Ahmad’s son, Badr, was deposed by revolutionary forces, which took control of Sanaa and created the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR). Egypt assisted the YAR with troops and supplies to combat forces loyal to the Imamate. Saudi Arabia and Jordan supported Badr’s royalist forces to oppose the newly formed republic. Conflict continued periodically until 1967 when Egyptian troops were withdrawn. By 1968, following a final royalist siege of Sanaa, most of the opposing leaders reached a reconciliation; Saudi Arabia recognized the Republic in 1970.

Former South Yemen

British influence increased in the south and eastern portion of Yemen after the British captured the port of Aden in 1839. It was ruled as part of British India until 1937, when Aden was made a crown colony with the remaining land designated as east Aden and west Aden protectorates. By 1965, most of the tribal states within the protectorates and the Aden colony proper had joined to form the British-sponsored federation of south Arabia.

In 1965, two rival nationalist groups—the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) and the National Liberation Front (NLF)—turned to terrorism in their struggle to control the country. In 1967, in the face of uncontrollable violence, British troops began withdrawing, federation rule collapsed, and NLF elements took control after eliminating their FLOSY rivals. South Arabia, including Aden, was declared independent on November 30, 1967, and was renamed the People’s Republic of South Yemen. In June 1969, a radical wing of the Marxist NLF gained power and changed the country’s name on December 1, 1970, to the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY). In the PDRY, all political parties were amalgamated into the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), which became the only legal party. The PDRY established close ties with the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and radical Palestinians.

Republic of Yemen

In 1972, the governments of the PDRY and the YAR declared that they approved a future union. However, little progress was made toward unification, and relations were often strained. In 1979, simmering tensions led to fighting, which was only resolved after Arab League mediation. The northern and southern heads of state reaffirmed the goal of unity during a summit meeting in Kuwait in March 1979. However, that same year the PDRY began sponsoring an insurgency against the YAR. In April 1980, PDRY President Abdul Fattah Ismail resigned and went into exile. His successor, Ali Nasir Muhammad, took a less intervention-ist stance toward both the YAR and neighboring Oman. On January 13, 1986, a violent struggle began in Aden between Ali Nasir Muhammad and the returned Abdul Fattah Ismail and their supporters. Fighting lasted for more than a month and resulted in thousands of casualties, Ali Nasir’s ouster, and Ismail’s death. Some 60,000 persons, including Ali Nasir and his supporters, fled to the YAR.

In May 1988, the YAR and PDRY governments came to an understanding that considerably reduced tensions including agreement to renew discussions concerning unification, to establish a joint oil exploration area along their undefined border, to demilitarize the border, and to allow Yemenis unrestricted border passage on the basis of only a national identification card.

In November 1989, the leaders of the YAR (Ali Abdullah Saleh) and the PDRY (Ali Salim Al-Bidh) agreed on a draft unity constitution originally drawn up in 1981. The Republic of Yemen (ROY) was declared on May 22, 1990. Ali Abdullah Saleh became President, and Ali Salim Al-Bidh became Vice President. A 30-month transitional period for completing the unification of the two political and economic systems was set. A presidential council was jointly elected by the 26-member YAR advisory council and the 17-member PDRY presidium. The presidential council appointed a Prime Minister, who formed a Cabinet. There was also a 301-seat provisional unified Parliament, consisting of 159 members from the north, 111 members from the south, and 31 independent members appointed by the chairman of the council.

A unity constitution was agreed upon in May 1990 and ratified by the populace in May 1991. It affirmed Yemen’s commitment to free elections, a multiparty political system, the right to own private property, equality under the law, and respect of basic human rights. Parliamentary elections were held on April 27, 1993. International groups assisted in the organization of the elections and observed actual balloting. The resulting Parliament included 143 GPC, 69 YSP, 63 Islah (Yemeni grouping for reform, a party composed of various tribal and religious groups). The head of Islah, Paramount Hashid Sheik Abdullah Bin Hussein Al-Ahmar, is the speaker of Parliament.

Islah was invited into the ruling coalition, and the presidential council was altered to include one Islah member. Conflicts within the coalition resulted in the self-imposed exile of Vice President Ali Salim Al-Bidh to Aden beginning in August 1993 and a deterioration in the general security situation as political rivals settled scores and tribal elements took advantage of the unsettled situation.

Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas (former southern Prime Minister) continued to serve as the ROY Prime Minister, but his government was ineffective due to political infighting. Continuous negotiations between northern and southern leaders resulted in the signing of the document of pledge and accord in Amman, Jordan on February 20, 1994. Despite this, clashes intensified until civil war broke out in early May 1994.

Almost all of the actual fighting in the 1994 civil war occurred in the southern part of the country despite air and missile attacks against cities and major installations in the north. Southerners sought support from neighboring states and received billions of dollars of equipment and financial assistance. The United States strongly supported Yemeni unity, but repeatedly called for a cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table. Various attempts, including by a UN special envoy, were unsuccessful in bringing about a cease-fire.

Southern leaders declared secession and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Yemen (DRY) on May 21, 1994, but the DRY was not recognized by the international community. Ali Nasir Muhammad supporters greatly assisted military operations against the secessionists and Aden was captured on July 7, 1994. Other resistance quickly collapsed and thousands of southern leaders and military went into exile.

Early during the fighting, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced a general amnesty, which applied to everyone except a list of 16 persons. Most southerners returned to Yemen after a short exile.

An armed opposition was announced from Saudi Arabia, but no significant incidents within Yemen materialized. The government prepared legal cases against four southern leaders—Ali Salim Al- Bidh, Haydar Abu Bakr AlAttas, Abd Al-Rahman Ali Al-Jifri, and Salih Munassar Al-Siyali—for misappropriation of official funds. Others on the list of 16 were told informally they could return to take advantage of the amnesty, but most remained outside Yemen. Although many of Ali Nasir Muhammad’s followers were appointed to senior governmental positions (including Vice President, Chief of Staff, and Governor of Aden), Ali Nasir Muhammad himself remained abroad in Syria.

In the aftermath of the civil war, YSP leaders within Yemen reorganized the party and elected a new politburo in July 1994. However, the party remained disheartened and without its former influence. Islah held a party convention in September 1994. The GPC did the same in June 1995. In 1994, amendments to the unity constitution eliminated the presidential council. President Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected by Parliament on October 1, 1994 to a 5-year term. In April 1997, Yemen held its second multiparty parliamentary elections. The country held its first direct presidential elections in September 1999, electing President Ali Abdullah Saleh to a 5-year term in what were generally considered free and fair elections.

Constitutional amendments adopted in the summer of 2000 extended the presidential term by 2 years, thus moving the next presidential elections to 2006. The constitution provides that henceforth the President will be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates selected by the legislature. The amendments also extended the parliamentary term of office to a 6-year term, thus moving elections for these seats to 2003. On February 20, 2001, a new constitutional amendment created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote). In April 2003, the third multiparty parliamentary elections were held with improvements in voter registration for both men and women and in a generally free and fair atmosphere. Two women were elected.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Yemen is a republic with a bicameral legislature. Under the constitution, an elected president, an elected 301-seat House of Representatives, and an appointed 111-member Shura Council share power. The president is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government. The constitution provides that the president be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates endorsed by Parliament; the prime minister is appointed by the president. The presidential term of office is 7 years, and the parliamentary term of elected office is 6 years. Suffrage is universal over 18.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh was elected in 1999; the next presidential elections are scheduled for 2006. In April 2003 parliamentary elections, the General People’s Congress (GPC) maintained an absolute majority. International observers judged elections to be generally free and fair, and there was a marked decrease from previous years in election-related violence; however, there were some problems with underage voting, confiscation of ballot boxes, voter intimidation, and election-related violence. The constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sanaa.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 10/23/2006

President: Ali Abdallah SALIH

Vice President: Abd al-Rab Mansur alHADI, Maj. Gen.

Prime Minister: Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL

Dep. Prime Minister: Rashid Muhammad al-ALIMI

Dep. Prime Min.: Alawi Salah al-SALAMI

Dep. Prime Min.: Ahmad Muhammad Abdallah al-SUFAN

Min. of Agriculture & Irrigation: Jalal Ibrahim FAKAIRA

Min. of Cabinet Affairs: Salim alAYDARUS

Min. of Civil Service & Social Security: Hamud Khalid Naji al-SUFI

Min. of Communications & Information Technology: Abd al-Malik alMUALIMI

Min. of Construction, Housing, & Urban Planning: Abdallah Husayn al-DAFA

Min. of Culture: Khalid Abdallah Salih al-RUWAYSHAN

Min. of Defense: Muhammad Nasir Ahmad ALI, Brig. Gen.

Min. of Education: Abd al-Salman Muhammad Hizam al-JAWFI

Min. of Electricity: Ali Muhammad alMUJUR

Min. of Expatriate Affairs: Abu Bakr Abdallah al-QIRBI

Min. of Finance: Saif Mahyub al-ASALI

Min. of Fisheries: Mahmud Ibrahim SAGHIRI

Min. of Foreign Affairs: Abu Bakr Abdallah al-QIRBI

Min. of Higher Education & Scientific Research: Salih Ali BA SURA

Min. of Human Rights: Khadijah Ahmad al-HAISAMI

Min. of Industry & Trade: Khalid Rajih SHAYKH

Min. of Information: Hasan Ahmad alLAWZI

Min. of Interior: Rashid Muhammad alALIMI

Min. of Justice: Ghazi Shaif alAGHBARI

Min. of Legal Affairs: Adnan Umar Muhammad al-JAFRI

Min. of Local Administration: Sadiq Amin Husayn ABU RAS

Min. of Oil & Minerals: Khalid Mahfuz BAHAH

Min. of Planning & International Cooperation: Abd al-Karim Ismail alARHABI

Min. of Public Health & Population: Abd al-Karim RASI

Min. of Public Works & Roads: Umar Abdallah al-KURSHAMI

Min. of Religious Endowment & Islamic Affairs: Hamud Muhammad alUBAYDI

Min. of Social & Labor Affairs: Amat alRazaq Ali HAMAD

Min. of Supply & Trade: Abd al-Aziz alKUMAYM

Min. of Technical Education & Vocational Training: Ali Mansur Muhammad bin SAFA

Min. of Tourism: Nabil Hasan al-FAQIH

Min. of Transport: Umar Muhsin Abd alRahman al-AMUDI

Min. of Water & Environment: Abd alRahman al-IRIYANI

Min. of Youth & Sports: Abd al-Rahman al-AQWA

Min. of State & Sec. Gen. of the Presidency: Abdallah al-BASHIRI, Maj. Gen.

Min. of State & Cabinet Member: Qasim Ahmad al-AJAM

Min. of State & Cabinet Member: Muhammad Ali al-YASIR

Min. of State & Mayor of Sanaa: Yahya Muhammad al-SHAIBI

Min. of State for Parliamentary & Shura Council Affairs: Rashad Ahmad alRASAS

Governor, Central Bank: Ahmad Abd alRahman al-SAMAWI

Ambassador to the US: Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI

Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Abdallah Muhammad alSAIDI

The Republic of Yemen maintains an embassy in the United States at 2319 Wyoming Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel: 202-965-4760).

ECONOMY

At unification, both the YAR and the PDRY were struggling, underdeveloped economies. In the north, disruptions of civil war (1962-70) and frequent periods of drought had dealt severe blows to a previously prosperous agricultural sector. Coffee production, formerly the north’s main export and principal form of foreign exchange, declined as the cultivation of qat increased. Low domestic industrial output and a lack of raw materials made the YAR dependent on a wide variety of imports.

Remittances from Yemenis working abroad and foreign aid paid for perennial trade deficits. Substantial Yemeni communities exist in many countries of the world, including Yemen’s immediate neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula, Indonesia, India, East Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union and China provided large-scale assistance to the YAR. This aid included funding of substantial construction projects, scholarships, and considerable military assistance.

In the south, pre-independence economic activity was overwhelmingly concentrated in the port city of Aden. The seaborne transit trade, which the port relied upon, collapsed with the closure of the Suez Canal and Britain’s withdrawal from Aden in 1967. Only extensive Soviet aid, remittances from south Yemenis working abroad, and revenues from the Aden refinery (built in the 1950s) kept the PDRY’s centrally planned Marxist economy afloat. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and a cessation of Soviet aid, the south’s economy basically collapsed.

Since unification, the government has worked to integrate two relatively disparate economic systems. However, severe shocks, including the return in 1990 of approximately 850,000 Yemenis from the Gulf states, a subsequent major reduction of aid flows, and internal political disputes culminating in the 1994 civil war hampered economic growth.

Since the conclusion of the war, the government entered into agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to institute an extremely successful structural adjustment program. Phase one of the IMF program included major financial and monetary reforms, including floating the currency, reducing the budget deficit, and cutting subsidies. Phase two will address structural issues such as civil service reform. The World Bank also is present in Yemen, with 19 active projects in 2005, including projects to improve governance in the public sector, water, and education. Since 1998, the government of Yemen has sought to implement World Bank economic and fiscal recommendations. In subsequent years, Yemen has lowered its debt burden through Paris Club agreements and restructuring U.S. foreign debt. In 2004, government reserves reached $4.7 billion.

Current U.S. commercial assistance is focused on aiding the business sector in supporting U.S.-Yemen bilateral trade relations, encouraging American business interests in country, and diversifying Yemen’s economy toward non-petroleum dependent sectors.

Following a minor discovery in 1982 in the south, an American company found an oil basin near Marib in 1984. A total of 170,000 barrels per day were produced there in 1995. A small oil refinery began operations near Marib in 1986. A Soviet discovery in the southern governorate of Shabwa has proven only marginally successful even when taken over by a different group. A Western consortium began exporting oil from Masila in the Hadramaut in 1993, and production there reached 420,000 barrels per day in 1999. More than a dozen other companies have been unsuccessful in finding commercial quantities of oil. There are new finds in the Jannah (formerly known as the Joint Oil Exploration Area) and east Shabwah blocks.

In November 2005, Hunt Oil’s 20-year contract for the management of Block 18 fields ended. Despite agreement with the Government of Yemen on a 5-year extension, the Republic of Yemen Government abrogated the agreement via a parliamentary vote (not called for in the contract). The company formally requested arbitration proceedings at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris in November.

Yemen’s oil exports in 1995 earned about $1 billion. By 2004, exports had grown to approximately $4.3 billion and comprised roughly 70% of government revenue. Oil production is expected to decline in 2005 due to dwindling reserves, but revenue will be stable as long as oil prices remain high.

Oil located near Marib contains associated natural gas. Proven reserves of 10-13 trillion cubic feet could sustain a liquid natural gas (LNG) export project. A long-term prospect for the petroleum industry in Yemen is a proposed liquefied natural gas project (Yemen LNG), which plans to process and export Yemen’s 17 trillion cubic feet of proven associated and natural gas reserves. In September 1995, the Yemeni Government signed an agreement that designated Total of France to be the lead company for an LNG project, and, in January 1997, agreed to include Hunt Oil, Exxon, and Yukong of South Korea as partners in the Yemeni Exploration and Production Company. The project envisions a $3.5 billion investment over 25 years, producing approximately 3.1 million tons of LNG annually. A Bechtel-Technip joint venture also conducted a preliminary engineering study for LNG production/development. Without a firm buyer, Yemen has not begun to export LNG.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

The geography and ruling Imams of north Yemen kept the country isolated from foreign influence before 1962. The country’s relations with Saudi Arabia were defined by the Taif Agreement of 1934, which delineated the northernmost part of the border between the two kingdoms and set the framework for commercial and other intercourse. The Taif Agreement has been renewed periodically in 20-year increments, and its validity was reaffirmed in 1995. Relations with the British colonial authorities in Aden and the south were usually tense.

The Soviet and Chinese Aid Missions established in 1958 and 1959 were the first important non-Muslim presence in north Yemen. Following the September 1962 revolution, the Yemen Arab Republic became closely allied with and heavily dependent upon Egypt. Saudi Arabia aided the royalists in their attempt to defeat the Republicans and did not recognize the Yemen Arab Republic until 1970. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia provided Yemen substantial budgetary and project support. At the same time, Saudi Arabia maintained direct contact with Yemeni tribes, which sometimes strained its official relations with the Yemeni Government. Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis found employment in Saudi Arabia during the late 1970s and 1980s.

In February 1989, north Yemen joined Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt informing the Arab Cooperation Council (ACC), an organization created partly in response to the founding of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and intended to foster closer economic cooperation and integration among its members. After unification, the Republic of Yemen was accepted as a member of the ACC in place of its YAR predecessor. In the wake of the Gulf crisis, the ACC has remained inactive. Yemen is not a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

British authorities left southern Yemen in November 1967 in the wake of an intense terrorist campaign. The people’s democratic Republic of Yemen, the successor to British colonial rule, had diplomatic relations with many nations, but its major links were with the Soviet Union and other Marxist countries. Relations between it and the conservative Arab states of the Arabian Peninsula were strained. There were military clashes with Saudi Arabia in 1969 and 1973, and the PDRY provided active support for the Dhofar rebellion against the Sultanate of Oman. The PDRY was the only Arab state to vote against admitting new Arab states from the Gulf area to the United Nations and the Arab League. The PDRY provided sanctuary and material support to various international terrorist groups.

Yemen is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, and the organization of the Islamic conference. Yemen participates in the non-aligned movement. The Republic of Yemen accepted responsibility for all treaties and debts of its predecessors, the YAR and the PDRY. Yemen has acceded to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. The Gulf crisis dramatically affected Yemen’s foreign relations. As a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in 1990 and 1991, Yemen abstained on a number of UNSC resolutions concerning Iraq and Kuwait, and voted against the “use of force resolution.” Western and Gulf Arab states reacted by curtailing or canceling aid programs and diplomatic contacts. At least 850,000 Yemenis returned from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

Subsequent to the liberation of Kuwait, Yemen continued to maintain high-level contacts with Iraq. This hampered its efforts to rejoin the Arab mainstream and to mend fences with its immediate neighbors. In 1993, Yemen launched an unsuccessful diplomatic offensive to restore relations with its Gulf neighbors. Some of its aggrieved neighbors actively aided the south during the 1994 civil war. Since the end of that conflict, tangible progress has been made on the diplomatic front in restoring normal relations with Yemen’s neighbors. The OmaniYemeni border has been officially demarcated. In the summer of 2000, Yemen and Saudi Arabia signed an International Border Treaty settling a 50-year-old dispute over the location of the border between the two countries. Yemen also settled its dispute with Eritrea over the Hanish Islands in 1998.

U.S.-YEMEN RELATIONS

The United States established diplomatic relations with the Imamate in 1946. A resident legation, later elevated to embassy status, was opened in Taiz (the capital at the time) on March 16, 1959 and moved to Sanaa in 1966. The United States was one of the first countries to recognize the Yemen Arab Republic, doing so on December 19, 1962. A major U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program constructed the Mocha-Taiz-Sanaa highway and the Kennedy memorial water project in Taiz, as well as many smaller projects. On June 6, 1967, the YAR, under Egyptian influence, broke diplomatic relations with the United States in the wake of the Arab-Israeli conflict of that year. Secretary of State William P. Rogers restored relations following a visit to Sanaa in July 1972, and a new USAID agreement was concluded in 1973.

On December 7, 1967, the United States recognized the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen and elevated its Consulate General in Aden to embassy status. However, relations were strained. The PDRY was placed on the list of nations that support terrorism. On October 24, 1969, south Yemen formally broke diplomatic relations with the United States. The United States and the PDRY reestablished diplomatic relations on April 30, 1990, only 3 weeks before the announcement of unification. However, the embassy in Aden, which closed in 1969, was never reopened, and the PDRY as a political entity no longer exists.

During a 1979 border conflict between the Yemen Arab Republic and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, the United States cooperated with Saudi Arabia to greatly expand the security assistance program to the YAR by providing F-5 aircraft, tanks, vehicles and training. George Bush, while Vice President, visited in April 1986, and President Ali Abdullah Saleh visited the United States in January 1990. The United States had a $42 million USAID program in 1990. From 1973 to 1990, the United States provided the YAR with assistance in the agriculture, education, and health and water sectors. Many Yemenis were sent on U.S. Government scholarships to study in the region and in the United States. There was a Peace Corps program with about 50 volunteers. The U.S. Information Service operates an English-language institute in Sanaa.

In 1990, as a result of Yemen’s actions in the Security Council following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the United States drastically reduced its presence in Yemen including canceling all military cooperation, non-humanitarian assistance, and the Peace Corps program. USAID levels dropped in FY1991 to $2.9 million, but food assistance through the PL 480 program continued through 2003. The United States was actively involved in and strongly supportive of the 1993 parliamentary elections and continues working to strengthen Yemen’s democratic institutions. The United States supported a unified Yemen during the 1994 civil war. The USAID program, focused in the health field, had slowly increased to $8.5 million in FY 1995, but ended in FY 2000. It was reinvigorated in 2003 and a USAID Mission has re-opened in Sanaa. Yemen also received significant funding from the Middle East Partnership Initiative. Funds went, in large part, to support literacy projects, election monitoring, training for tribal councils, and voter registration for the 2003 parliamentary elections.

The USAID program, focused in the health field, had slowly increased to $8.5 million in FY 1995, but ended in FY 2000. It was reinvigorated in 2003 and a USAID Mission has re-opened in Sanaa. Yemen also received significant funding from the Middle East Partnership Initiative. Funds went, in large part, to support literacy projects, training for tribal councils, and providing access to Internet in schools. The American Institute of Yemeni Studies also received a $500,000 grant to assist in acquisition of a permanent location.

Defense relations between Yemen and the United States are improving rapidly, with the resumption of International Military Education and Training assistance and the transfer of military equipment and spare parts. Yemen received $1.9 million in Foreign Military Financing in FY 2003. U.S. Foreign Military Financing for FY 2004 is expected to reach $14.9 million, reflecting the improvement in U.S.-Yemeni security cooperation.

Currently, Yemen is an important partner in the global war on terrorism, providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and financial arenas. President Ali Abdullah Saleh visited Washington, DC, in November 2001. Since that time, Yemen has stepped up its counter-terrorism cooperation efforts with the United States, achieving significant results and improving overall security in Yemen. President Saleh returned to Washington in June 2004 when he was invited to attend the G-8 Sea Island Summit. The Summit was an excellent forum for Yemen to share its democratic reform experiences, and it has agreed to participate in future activities detailed in the Sea Island charter. In November 2005, President Saleh again visited high-level officials in Washington, including President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

SANAA (E) Address: Sa’awan Street; Phone: (967) (1) 755-2000; Fax: (967) (1) 303-182; Workweek: Sat–Wed 0800-1630; Website: USEMBASSY. YE.

Last Updated: 12/18/2006

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet : July 24, 2006

Country Description: The Republic of Yemen was established in 1990 following unification of the former Yemen Arab Republic (North) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South). Islamic and traditional ideals, beliefs, and practices provide the foundation of the country’s customs and laws. Yemen is a developing country and modern tourist facilities are widely available only in major cities.

Entry/Exit Requirements: Pass-ports and visas are required for travel to Yemen. All travelers to Yemen can potentially obtain entry visas at ports of entry. Travelers to Yemen are no longer required to have an affiliation with and arrange their travel through a Yemeni-based individual or organization to enter Yemen. However, individuals may be asked for supporting evidence of their character, purpose of visit and length of stay. Upon arrival at ports of entry, travelers may be issued a visa valid for a maximum of three months. Upon departure, all U.S. citizens should obtain exit visas to depart Yemen. U.S. citizens who plan to stay in Yemen for less than one month can obtain their exit visas at the airport. U.S. citizens who plan to stay longer than one month should go to the Passport and Immigration Office to obtain exit visas. The same holds true for long-term residents in Yemen. All minor/underage U.S. citizens should be accompanied by their legal guard-ian(s) and/or provide parental consent when obtaining exit visas to depart Yemen.

For more details, travelers can contact the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen, Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037, telephone 202-965-4760; or the Yemen Mission to the U.N., 866 United Nations Plaza, Room 435, New York, N.Y. 10017, telephone (212) 355-1730. The Yemeni Embassy in Washington maintains a homepage with information on visiting Yemen.

Safety and Security: The Department of State is concerned that alQaeda and its affiliates may be actively engaged in extremist-related activities in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula. On February 3, 2006, 23 convicts, including known affiliates of Al-Qaeda, escaped from a high-security prison in the capital city, Sanaa. Among the Al-Qaeda associates were individuals imprisoned for their roles in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 2002 attack on the French oil tanker Limburg. In the weeks following the escape, some prisoners voluntarily turned themselves in to authorities or were apprehended; to date however, some escapees remain at large.

Americans should avoid areas where demonstrations are taking place. Yemen has scheduled local and national elections for September 10, 2006. Tens of thousands of people have gathered in several election-related rallies in major cities since May 2006. These demonstrations have to date been neither violent nor anti-American. However, further rallies and demonstrations are expected across Yemen in the run-up to elections. The U.S. Embassy has advised personnel to avoid any such demonstrations.

A 2005 demonstration against an increase in the fuel price led to two days of widespread demonstrations and rioting throughout Sanaa and other cities. Those demonstrations resulted in a large amount of property damage, looting, and several roadblocks.

U.S. citizens are urged to exercise particular caution at locations associated with foreigners, such as the Sanaa Trade Center, American-affiliated franchises, restaurants and shops in the Hadda area of Sanaa, and in Aden and elsewhere, and at restaurants and hotels frequented by expatriates. From time to time, the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa may temporarily close or suspend public services as necessary to review its security posture and ensure its adequacy. In addition, U.S. citizens are urged to avoid contact with any suspicious, unfamiliar objects, and to report the presence of such objects to local authorities. Vehicles should not be left unattended and should be kept locked at all times.

U.S. Government personnel overseas have been advised to take the same precautions. Americans in Yemen are urged to register and remain in contact with the American Embassy in Sanaa for updated security information.

In 2002, there was an attack on an American company helicopter, in which there were several injuries. Also in 2002, several Americans were killed and another was injured in an attack on a hospital near the city of Ibb.

Yemeni government security organizations have arrested and expelled foreign Muslims, including Americans, who have associated with local Muslim organizations considered to be extremist by security organs of the Yemeni government. Americans risk arrest if they engage in either political or other activities that violate the terms of their admission to Yemen.

Travel on roads between cities throughout Yemen can be dangerous. Armed carjacking, especially of four-wheel-drive vehicles, occurs in many parts of the country, including the capital.

Yemeni security officials advise against casual travel to rural areas. The U.S. Embassy sometimes restricts the travel of its own personnel to rural areas, while the Government of Yemen also sometimes places restrictions on Americans traveling outside Sanaa. Please check with the Embassy for the latest restrictions.

Travel is particularly dangerous in the tribal areas north and east of Sanaa, close to the border with Saudi Arabia. Armed tribesmen in those areas have kidnapped a number of foreigners in attempts to resolve disputes with the Yemeni government, with an increasing number of incidents occurring in late 2005. Travel by boat through the Red Sea or near the Socotra Islands in the Gulf of Aden presents the risk of pirate attacks. If travel to any of these areas is necessary, travelers may reduce the risk to personal security if such travel is undertaken by air or with an armed escort provided by a local tour company.

Other potential hazards to travelers include land mines and unexploded ordnance from the 1994 civil war. This is of particular concern in areas where fighting took place in the six southern provinces. However, most minefields have been identified and cordoned off.

Americans are most vulnerable to terrorist attacks when they are in transit to and from their residences or workplaces, or when they are shopping, sightseeing, or visiting friends. All Americans are reminded to vary their routes and times, remain vigilant, report suspicious incidents to the Embassy, avoid areas that Westerners and Americans frequent, avoid traveling after dark, lock car windows and doors, and carry a cell phone.

Based on previous abductions of foreigners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, the Embassy recommends that Americans with doubts about the identity of security or police personnel on the roads remain in their vehicles, roll up their windows, and contact the Embassy. For additional information on this topic, see Traffic Safety and Road Conditions section below.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Internet travel web site, where the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, Middle East and North Africa Public Announcement, Travel Warnings and other Public Announcements can be found. Up-to-date information on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S., or for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll-line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

Crime: The most serious problem affecting travelers to Yemen is carjacking. Travelers have rarely been victims of petty street crime.

Information for Victims of Crime: The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, contact family members or friends, and explain how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed.

Medical Facilities and Health Information: Lack of modern medical facilities outside of Sanaa and Aden and a shortage of emergency ambulance services throughout the country may cause concern to some visitors. Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health services. An adequate supply of prescription medications for the duration of the trip is important. While many prescription drugs are available in Yemen, a particular drug needed by a visitor may not be available.

Outbreaks of polio and dengue fever were reported throughout the western coastal portions of Yemen in 2005. Although the local Ministry of Health is working on containing the outbreak, the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa strongly advises all American citizens residing in or traveling to Yemen to ensure that they have received all recommended immunizations.

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747), or via the CDC’s Internet travel web site. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States.

Based on previous abductions of foreigners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, the Embassy recommends that Americans with doubts about the identity of security or police personnel on the roads remain in their vehicles, roll up their windows, and contact the Embassy. For additional information addressing security concerns for Americans in Yemen, please see the Safety and Security Section above.

Travel by road in Yemen should be considered risky. Within cities, mini-vans and small buses ply somewhat regular routes, picking up and dropping off passengers with little notice or regard for other vehicles. Taxis and public transportation are widely available but the vehicles may lack safety standards and equipment. Despite the presence of traffic lights and traffic policemen, drivers are urged to exercise extreme caution, especially at intersections. While traffic laws exist, they are often not enforced, and/or not adhered to by motorists. Drivers sometimes drive on the left side of the road, although right-hand driving is specified by Yemeni law. No laws mandate the use of seat belts or car seats for children. The maximum speed for private cars is 100 kilometers per hour (62.5 miles per hour), but speed limits are rarely enforced. A large number of under-age drivers are on the roads. Many vehicles are in poor repair and lack basic parts such as functional turn signals, headlights and taillights. Pedestrians, especially children, and animals on the roads constitute a hazard in both rural and urban areas. Beyond the main inter-city roads, which are usually paved and in fair condition, the rural roads in general require four-wheel drive vehicles or vehicles with high clearance.

Travelers should take precaution to avoid minefields left over from Yemen’s civil wars. Traveling off well-used tracks without an experienced guide could be extremely hazardous, particularly in parts of the south and the central highlands.

Penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and reckless driving which causes an accident resulting in injury, are a fine and/or prison sentence. If the accident results in death, the driver is subject to a maximum of three years in prison and/or a fine. Under traditional practice, victims’ families negotiate a monetary compensation from the driver proportionate to the extent of the injuries—higher if it is a fatality.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service between the United States and Yemen, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed Yemen’s Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with ICAO international aviation safety standards. For more information, travelers may visit the FAA’s Internet website at http://www.faa.gov.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country’s laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating Yemeni laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Yemen are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. The use of the mild stimulant “qat” is legal and common in Yemen, but it is considered an illegal substance in many other countries, including the United States. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime, prosecutable in the United States.

Special Circumstances: Photography of military installations, including airports, equipment, or troops is forbidden. In the past, such photography has led to the arrest of U.S. citizens. Military sites are not always obvious. If in doubt, it is wise to ask specific permission from Yemeni authorities.

Travelers should be aware that automated teller machines (ATMs) are being introduced in major cities but are still not widely available in Yemen. Credit cards are not widely accepted.

The Government of Yemen may not recognize the U.S. citizenship of persons who are citizens of both Yemen and the United States. This may hinder the ability of U.S. consular officials to assist persons who do not enter Yemen on a U.S. passport. Dual nationals may also be subject to national obligations, such as taxes or military service. For further information, travelers can contact the nearest embassy or consulate of Yemen.

American citizens who travel to Yemen are subject to the jurisdiction of Yemeni courts, as well as to the country’s laws, customs, and regulations. This holds true for all legal matters including child custody. Women in custody disputes in Yemen may not enjoy the same rights that they do in the U.S., as Yemeni law often does not work in favor of the mother. Parents planning to travel to Yemen with their children should bear this in mind. Parents should also note that American custody orders might not be enforced in Yemen. American women who also hold Yemeni nationality, and/or are married to Yemeni or Yemeni-American men, should also be advised that if they bring their children to Yemen they may not enjoy freedom of travel should they decide they want to leave Yemen. Such women often must obtain permission from their husbands for exit visas. They also may not take their children out of Yemen without the permission of the father, regardless of who has custody. American students and workers in Yemen sometimes report that the sponsors of their residence permits seize their U.S. passports as a means of controlling their domestic and international travel. While the sponsors say they seize the passports on behalf of local security services, there is no law or instruction from Yemeni passport or security offices requiring that passports be seized.

Children’s Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, see the Office of Children’s Issues website at http://travel.state.gov/family/family_1732.html.

Registration/Embassy Location: Americans living or traveling in Yemen are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration web site, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Yemen. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy is located at Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, P.O. Box 22347. The telephone number of the Consular Section is (967)(1) 755-2000, extension 2153 or 2266. The fax number is (967)(1) 303-175. The after-hours emergency number is (967)(1) 755-2000. The Embassy is open from Saturday through Wednesday.

International Parental Child Abduction : February 2007

The information below has been edited from the report of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Overseas Citizens Services. For more information, please read the International Child Abduction section of this book and review current reports online at www.travel.state.gov.

Disclaimer: The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is provided for general information only. Questions involving interpretation of specific foreign laws should be addressed to foreign legal counsel.

General Information: Yemen is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, nor are there any international or bilateral treaties in force between Yemen and the United States dealing with international parental child abduction.

Custody Disputes: Cases involving divorce and the custody of minor children are adjudicated in local courts that apply principles of Islamic law. Islamic law will be applied regardless of the religious beliefs of the parents.

In Yemen, Islamic law gives priority for custodianship to the mother as long as certain restrictive conditions are met. However, once the children reach adolescence (age 9 for boys and age 12 for girls), the father can take custody. If the mother refuses, the father can file in court for custody. A court can find a mother unfit to have custody before the children reach adolescence. In that case, a maternal grandmother living in Yemen or a paternal grandmother (if the maternal grandmother is not living in Yemen) will be given custody until the children reach the age at which the father may appeal for custody.

In actual practice, the conditions placed on the mother’s primary right to custody often enable the father to maintain a great deal of influence over the rearing of the children, even though he may not have custody. For example, the mother must seek his approval to depart Yemen with the children. Frequently, the father is actually able to assume custody against the wishes of the mother when she is unable or unwilling to meet the conditions set by law for her to maintain her custodial rights.

A mother can lose her primary right to custody of a child in a number of ways. The court can determine that she is incapable of safeguarding the child or of bringing the child up in accordance with the appropriate religious standards. The mother can void her right to custody by re-marrying a party considered “unmarriageable,” or by residing in a home with people who might be “strangers” to the child. The mother may not deny visitation rights to the father or the paternal grandfather and may not travel outside Yemen with the child without the father’s approval and the approval of the court. In general, a Yemeni man divorcing his non-Yemeni wife may be awarded legal custody of their children if the court determines that any of the above conditions have not been met.

Under Shari’a law, if a mother removes a child from the father, thus denying him access, the mother’s custody rights can be severed. Removal of children from Yemen without the father’s permission is a crime in Yemen. Immigration officials at the port of exit may request permission from the father before permitting the children to leave Yemen.

A Yemeni father can remove his children from Yemen without approval of the mother. While a mother can legally seek a travel ban to prevent the father from taking the children out of Yemen, this is not always possible in reality.

Persons who wish to pursue a child custody claim in a Yemeni court should retain an attorney in Yemen. The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa maintains a list of attorneys willing to represent American clients. A copy of this list may be obtained by contacting the Embassy or the U.S. Department of State.

Enforcement of Foreign Judgements: Custody orders and judgments of foreign courts are not enforceable in Yemen if they potentially contradict or violate local laws and practices. For example, an order from a U.S. court granting custody to an American mother may not be honored in Yemen if the mother intends to take the child to live outside Yemen. Courts in Yemen will not enforce U.S. court decrees ordering a parent in Yemen to pay child support.

Visitation Rights: The government of Yemen will assist non-custodial parents who wish to visit their children in Yemen. When the custodial parent refuses to permit visitation, the non-custodial parent will need to file a complaint in local court.

Dual Nationality: Dual nationality is recognized under Yemeni law. Children of Yemeni fathers automatically acquire Yemeni citizenship at birth, regardless of where the child was born. Yemeni women can only transmit citizenship in rare instances when there is official intervention from the Yemen government. Yemenis are not required to enter and leave the country on Yemeni passports.

Travel Restrictions: Parents can obtain an order from a local court preventing the other parent from taking a child out of Yemen, regardless of the child’s nationality, when there is a custody dispute before the local court.

Criminal Remedies: For information on possible criminal remedies, please contact your local law enforcement authorities or the nearest office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Information is also available on the Internet at the website of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org. For further information on international parental child abduction, contact the Office of Children’s Issues, U.S. Department of State at 1-888-407-4747 or visit its website on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov. You may also direct inquiries to: Office of Children’s Issues; U.S. Department of State; Washington, DC 20520-4811; Phone: (202) 736-9090; Fax: (202) 312-9743.

Travel Warning : October 13, 2006

This Travel Warning updates security information for Yemen. This supersedes the Travel Warning for Yemen issued April 13, 2006.

The Department of State continues to strongly urge U.S. citizens to consider carefully the risks of traveling to Yemen. The security threat level remains high due to terrorist activities in Yemen, and Americans in Yemen are urged to exercise caution and take prudent measures to maintain their security. The Department remains concerned about possible attacks by extremist individuals or groups against U.S. citizens, facilities, businesses and perceived interests. On February 3, 2006, 23 convicts, including known affiliates of al-Qaeda, escaped from a high-security prison in the capital city, Sanaa. Among the al-Qaeda associates were individuals imprisoned for their roles in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 2002 attack on the French oil tanker Limburg. In the weeks following the escape, some prisoners voluntarily turned themselves in to authorities; to date however, many escapees remain at large. Two of the escapees were killed in vehicle-based suicide attacks on oil facilities near Mukalla and Marib on September 15. Those attacks were followed by the arrest the next day in Sanaa of four suspected Al Qaeda operatives, who had stockpiled explosives and weapons. U.S. citizens in Yemen should exercise caution and take prudent measures to maintain their security. Maintain a high level of vigilance, avoid crowds and demonstrations, keep a low profile, vary times and routes for all travel, and ensure travel documents are current. U.S. citizens who remain in or travel to Yemen despite this Travel Warning should register at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa and enroll in the warden system (emergency alert network) in order to obtain updated information on travel and security in Yemen. This can be done online at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs. The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa advises American citizens in Yemen to exercise particular caution at locations frequented by foreigners countrywide and at restaurants and hotels frequented by expatriates. Americans who believe they are being followed or threatened while driving in urban centers should proceed as quickly as possible to the nearest police station or major intersection and request assistance from the officers in the blue-and-white police cars stationed there. Occasionally, U.S. Government personnel in Yemen may be prohibited from traveling to sections of Sanaa or other parts of Yemen.

The Yemeni government also restricts travel to specified areas by U.S. citizens and other Westerners from time to time. Travelers should be in contact with the Embassy for up-to-date information on such restrictions. The U.S. Embassy is located at Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, P.O. Box 22347. The telephone number of the Consular Section is (967)(1) 755-2000, extension 2153 or 2266. The fax number is (967)(1) 303-175. The after hours emergency number is (967)(1) 755-2000 (press zero for extension) or (967) 733213509.

From time to time the Embassy may temporarily close or suspend public services for security reasons. Emergency passistance to U.S. citizens during non-business hours (or when public access is restricted) is available through Embassy duty personnel. Current information on travel and security in Yemen may be obtained from the Department of State by calling 1-888-407-4747 within the United States and Canada or, from overseas, 1-202-501-4444. U.S. citizens should consult the Consular Information Sheet for Yemen, the Middle East and North Africa Public Announcement, and the Worldwide Caution Public Announcement on the Department’s Internet site at http://travel.state.gov. Up-to-date information on security conditions can also be accessed at http://usembassy.state.gov/yemen/citizen_services.html.

YEMEN

Republic of Yemen

Major Cities:
Sanaa, Aden, Taiz, Hodeida

Other Cities:
Dhamār, Ibb, al-Mukallā, Sa'dah

EDITOR'S NOTE

This chapter was adapted from the Department of State Post Report dated July 1993. Supplemental material has been added to increase coverage of minor cities, facts have been updated, and some material has been condensed. Readers are encouraged to visit the Department of State's web site at http://travel.state.gov/for the most recent information available on travel to this country.

INTRODUCTION

YEMEN , once part of the ancient Kingdom of Sheba, is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Although much of its early history is obscure, it is known that from about 1000 B.C. to A.D. 600, it was the center of an advanced culture based on intensive agriculture and a prosperous link in trade between Africa and India. A biblical reference speaks of its gold, spices, and precious stones as gifts given by the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon.

Halfway across the world and shielded from Western civilization for centuries, this lush, mountainous country has long remained politically and economically backward. Within Yemen, there is a variety of scenery, architecture, people, and customs, ranging across the hot and sandy coast land with bananas, palms and African-style thatch-roofed houses to the cool, coffee-growing central highlands dotted with stone fortresses.

After years of conflict, pro-Western Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen), and the only Marxist Arab country, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen), merged into one country—the Republic of Yemen—on May 22, 1990. Today, Yemen is making rapid advances in modernizing political, economic, and public institutions, while seeking to retain the traditions of its culture and history.

MAJOR CITY

Sanaa

Sanaa, the capital of the Republic of Yemen, is a growing city of about 630,000 people located in the middle of a broad valley between mountains that rise to 12,000 feet. Sanaa's altitudes of 7,226 feet above sea level and its position on the Arabian Peninsula provide an almost ideal climate. Although dust can be a problem, the winters are warm and the summers relatively cool. With the exception of two short rainy periods in spring and late summer, the air is very dry.

The geology of the Sanaa basin mixes volcanic with sedimentary rocks and the brown and black mountains create striking patterns in the morning and evening light. Many people are reminded of the stark beauty of Arizona and Utah, although the generally barren terrain is relieved by verdant channels of vegetation along the valley water courses. These water courses, or wadis, permit an extraordinary system of terraced farming along the slopes of the escarpment that turn the hills green during the two growing seasons of the year.

Sanaa has a unique architectural tradition dating from medieval times, which is preserved within the walls of the old city. Stone houses, often six or seven stories high, are highlighted by clusters of stained glass windows. Intricate designs traced in plaster decorate the exterior walls, while within the house guests climb stairs past the family quarters to a "mufraj" reception room. The mufraj—the word comes from the Arabic root "to view"—is chosen if possible for its view of the city and mountains, and guests recline on colorful cushions and carpets.

A wall still surrounds most of the old city, and life within has changed little over the years. Narrow streets twist through the suq, or market area, offering a glimpse of blacksmiths working over their forges, meat, and vegetable vendors with their wares, gold and silver merchants and moneychangers doing brisk business, donkeys plodding beside their masters, colorful and pungent baskets of spices and children running everywhere. There is an atmosphere of continual festivity, with tribesmen from mountain villages examining the wares of the city alongside veiled housewives striking hard bargains with the merchants.

Westerners visiting the suq are treated with genuine friendliness by shopkeepers and their customers—and with little of the harassing pressure to buy found in some other countries. The old city is a favorite destination of many Mission members, who enjoy bargaining for such treasures as elaborate silver jewelry, antique rifles, Maria Theresa coins from the Africa and India trade, as well as traditional jambias and embroidered cloth.

Outside the walled city, land prices have risen rapidly as emigrant workers invest their savings in new houses and shops. Construction projects continue in every area of Sanaa, but city services have lagged behind the population increase. Electricity outages in some areas are frequent, and voltage fluctuations can cause serious damage to electronic equipment not protected by voltage regulators. Houses in several districts are connected to municipal water and sewer systems, but many houses still rely on water wells or water delivered by tank truck, and their own septic tanks or cesspools. The municipal system provides water only for a limited time each week requiring that water be stored in roof-top tanks.

Traffic is increasingly congested, both from cars imported with emigrant capital as well as from construction and utility projects which can close roads for extended periods. Most new houses retain traditional features such as stained glass windows and mufraj rooms, but rarely exceed three stories.

Stores carry a variety of consumer goods but supplies are inconsistent and prices high. A well-tuned system of information among the western community announces when scarce items are again in stock. Dedicated shoppers can generally find most items they need and many people enjoy their frequent contacts with local shopkeepers.

Contrary to the situation a few years ago, Sanaa's grocery stores are well-stocked with a wide range of foodstuffs, albeit many are expensive by U.S. standards. Seasonal fruits and vegetables are widely available and inexpensive. Many food products familiar to American consumers, including snack foods, diet drinks and other packaged foods, are not available and should be included in consumable shipments.

U.S.—Yemeni Relations

The U.S. first established diplomatic relations with Yemen in 1946, but is was not until 1959 that a resident legation was opened in Taiz. The Agency for International Development program began soon after, and the legation was upgraded to Embassy status.

The U.S. recognized the post-revolutionary Yemen Arab Republic on December 19, 1962. On June 7, 1967, during the Arab-Israeli conflict, the government of Abdullah al-Sallal severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. and all Americans were withdrawn.

In 1970, the Yemen Arab Republic requested the resumption of diplomatic relations, and on April 29, 1970, a U.S. Interests Section was established in the Italian Embassy in Sanaa. On July 1, 1972, full diplomatic relations were resumed during a visit by then Secretary of State William P. Rogers. A new USAID program was started in the spring of 1973 and the Peace Corps began several projects in the same year. A military sales agreement was signed in 1976, followed in 1979 by the establishment of the Office of Military Cooperation.

In 1984, the Hunt Oil Company discovered oil in Marib. The pipeline work began in 1986 and commercial production began in 1988. Then Vice President Bush attended the inaugural ceremonies of the central processing unit in 1986. Mr. Bush also inaugurated the beginning construction of the present embassy compound. President Ali Abdullah Saleh visited the U.S. on an official state visit in January 1990.

The former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen severed its diplomatic relations with the U.S. in 1969. Before the resumption of diplomatic relations, contacts between the U.S. and the PDRY was exceedingly rare. However, in 1980, after the fall of former President Abd al-Fattah Ismail, the PDRY began realigning its foreign policy toward the conservative Gulf Shaykhdoms and dropped its sponsorship of Dhofar separatists attempting to secede from Oman. In the late eighties, PDRY began exploring the possibility of reestablishing diplomatic relations with the U.S. which were resumed in April 1990.

In May 1990, the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen merged into the Republic of Yemen. A provisional constitution was overwhelmingly approved in a referendum held in May 1991. The unification agreement, according to which the ruling parties of the former North and South Yemen share power equally, stipulated a 30 month transitional period, due to end in November 1992. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held before the end of the period.

U.S.-Yemen relations took a turn for the worse as a result of the Gulf Crisis. The U.S. withdrew its Office of Military Cooperation, the Peace Corps, and slashed its AID program. As of mid-1992, bilateral relations continued to be strained by Yemen's political support for the regime of Saddam Hussein. However, Peace Corps volunteers returned in midsummer, 1991 and the program continues to expand. U.S. companies are playing a growing role in the development of Yemen.

Food

A variety of food items is available in Sanaa, though prices are high, choice of brands is limited and quality varies, especially with fresh meat. Western-brand packaged foods are often found in grocery stores but their availability is sporadic and their price very high. The following is a partial list of foodstuffs available.

• Fresh Meat: Beef, veal, lamb, chicken, rarely turkey.
• Frozen Meat: Beef, lamb, chicken, duck, steak, beef sausages (all are imported).
• Fresh Seafood: Shrimp (periodically), several varieties of fish (generally all of high quality, though lack of refrigeration requires care in choosing items).
• Fresh Vegetables: Cabbage (no red), carrots, okra, potatoes, tomatoes, green peppers, hot peppers, leaf lettuce, egg plant, squash (in season), onions (red and yellow), garlic, spinach, green beans (in season), cauliflower (in season).
• Fresh Fruit: Bananas, papaya, mango, pomegranates, figs, melon, grapes, limes, apples, oranges, peaches, pears and plums. Most fruits are highly seasonal.
• Dairy Products: Eggs, "long life" milk, butter (imported), yogurt, ice cream. Fresh cheese is now generally available, as are canned cheeses.
• Canned goods: Fair variety of canned fruits and vegetables, (all expensive). Locally produced fruit juices are reasonable in cost, but no sugar-free brands are available.
• Toiletries: Limited variety of basic items such as toothpaste, soap, body lotion and shampoo (expensive and sometimes of poor quality).
• Paper Products: Limited selection and expensive.
• Soft Drinks: Limited variety but ample supply of brand-name soft drinks are available.
• Miscellaneous: Most spices, ketchup and mustard (limited selection), pickles (limited selection), tea, coffee beans; vendors will grind the beans but result is usually too fine for American tastes. Instant coffee is available but expensive. Flour and sugar (coarsely ground of uneven quality).

Clothing

Dress is relatively informal in Sanaa. Most Americans wear comfortable business attire to work. Formal wear for men is not required. Women wear both long and short dresses at receptions and cocktail parties. Women should also bring a "suq dress," an oversized, long sleeved garment with a high neck and hemline below the calf, and/or loose slacks with long over-blouse. While Yemenis are generally tolerant of Western behavior and dress, most Americans feel more comfortable wearing conservative clothing in public. For street wear, in addition to the "suq dress," women often wear slacks with a loose-fitting shirt or blouse which reaches the thigh. Shorts are worn only for sports.

Because of the constant dust in Sanaa, clothing may wear out quickly with frequent washing in hard water. Durable fabrics are recommended. With Sanaa's moderate climate, all but the heaviest and lightest materials will be comfortable most times of the year. Sweaters and light jackets are necessary for at least part of the day during the winter months and often evenings in summer. As most streets in Sanaa are unpaved, sturdy shoes with crepe or rubber soles are a necessity. Ladies' leather heels can quickly be ruined on gravel, which is used instead of concrete or asphalt in many parking areas and paths.

There are several stores in Sanaa offering western clothing. Prices are high, selection is limited especially for larger sizes, and quality only fair. A good selection of imported fabrics is available. Imported shoes are available, but, again, prices are high and selection only fair. There are a few dependable seamstresses in town who can make simple garments.

Supplies and Services

Cosmetics and toilet articles are appearing in increasing variety, though quality may not be up to American standards. Favorite brands should be brought.

High altitude and clear skies make for a harsh, bright sun. A good supply of sunblocks or suntan lotions should be brought. Sunglasses are also advisable. Reasonable quality non-prescription types can be found in town; prescription sunglasses should be brought. Hats are recommended for outdoor activities especially for children. Skin creams are important in Yemen's extremely dry air, and liquid soap may be more tolerable than regular bar soap. Lip balm is also useful.

Non-prescription drugs familiar to Americans may not be available; a supply of medicines such as aspirin, cough syrup, and digestive remedies should be brought. Prescription drugs may be available locally, but you should bring a supply.

Local, American, and English brands of cigarettes are readily available at reasonable prices. Menthol brands are harder to find. Some pipe tobacco and cigars are available, but not in great variety.

Three hotels provide clean, fair to good quality barber and hairdressing services at reasonable prices. There are a large number of cheaper barbers, though quality and cleanliness can be a question. Dry cleaning services are offered by hotels and many shops, and quality is satisfactory. Car rentals are available but prices are high and a Yemeni driver's license is required (drivers can be hired for an additional charge). Shoe repair is very primitive.

Religious Activities

Islam is the national religion and Yemeni law prohibits religious proselytizing. However, Yemen is tolerant of the private practice of religion by foreigners. Both Catholic and nondenominational Protestant services are held weekly at the Hadda Community Center. Catholic Mass is also held weekly and on holidays at the Sisters of Mercy home in Sanaa. A Protestant youth group holds regular meetings and sponsors various activities throughout the year. There are no functioning synagogues in Yemen, but Yemeni Jews hold religious services in their homes. There is an active Catholic church and Hindu temple in Aden.

Education

The Sanaa International School (SIS) is an English-language day school with students representing about thirty nationalities. The Department of State considers SIS as "adequate" through the sixth grade, although many American dependents attend SIS through ninth grade.

English (reading, grammar, composition, keyboarding, and spelling), mathematics, cultural studies (history, geography, economics, etc.), science, art, music and physical education are offered as a part of the standard curriculum.

A 4-year American secondary program is offered, which includes the basic subjects and a limited selection of electives. Various enrichment activities are scheduled some afternoons each week.

The school year runs from late August through early June, and the children attend school Saturday through Wednesday with Thursday and Friday off. The school hours are: 8 am to noon for kindergarten; 8 am to 1:30 pm for children ages 6 through 11 (although some days students will stay for various activities or special subjects); and 8 am to 3 pm for students ages 12 years and up. Bus service is available for a yearly fee. Children are expected to bring a snack on the shorter days and lunch on activity days. All textbooks are loaned to the students, who are responsible for their own pencils, erasers and notebooks.

The school is located about 20 minutes outside Sanaa, and consists of a number of comfortable, spacious buildings around a center courtyard. The 35-acre campus has large play areas with outdoor play equipment.

A few English-language preschools are available for younger children. These preschools operate in private homes and have between 10 and 30 students. Qualifications of teachers vary, and other parents should be consulted before choosing a pre-school.

Special Educational Opportunities

The Sanaa International School offers night classes in various subjects from time to time, including computer programming. In addition, Sanaa University offers a few English-language courses, though admission requirements and quality have not been tested. The British Council offers basic Arabic classes at regular intervals for a moderate charge. The Peace Corps offers a 2-month intensive courses in Arabic, but charges must be paid personally by the student. The American Institute for Yemeni Studies (AIYS) hosts lectures on a variety of topics relating to Yemeni and Arab culture, and shows by local artists and entertainers. It also maintains an excellent library of books relating to Yemen. Visiting scholars supported by AIYS and USIA provide opportunities for discussing a myriad of topics.

Sports

The Sheraton and Taj Sheba hotels offer memberships for use of their heated swimming pools, exercise rooms, and tennis courts (Sheraton only).

The Sanaa chapter of the Hash House Harriers sponsors weekly runs through the scenic countryside. Yemeni soccer teams play weekly throughout the season, and visiting teams bring international-level competition several times a year. Many individuals jog through residential streets without difficulty, as long as they are vigilant for ubiquitous potholes, curious dogs, and vehicles that often drive on the wrong side of the streets.

Touring and Outdoor Activities

Much of the Yemen's natural beauty is increasingly accessible. Paved roads lead to the coast, to the southern areas of the country, to the city of Sa'ada in the north, and to Marib in the eastern desert. Four-wheel drive allows one to explore more remote areas of the country. However, visitors should use caution when traveling to these areas, as hijackings of vehicles (mostly large, four-wheel-drive Toyota land cruisers) are not uncommon.

The warm, coral-fringed Red Sea coast is a favorite spot for swimmers, fishermen, and snorkelers, especially during the moderate winter months. (There are no facilities for servicing scuba gear.) Scenic but primitive camping sites are available in several areas along the coast. No acceptable hotels are available outside of Hodeidah, and camping gear is necessary. Basic Arabic is quite helpful in communicating with local residents.

The ancient sites of the Marib Dam and Temple of the moon at Marib are an easy day trip from Sanaa. The "triangle" from Sanaa, west to Hodeidah on the coast, southeast to Taiz and back to Sanaa, is a popular weekend trip. It allows one to see the Tihama and the Red Sea coast, the medieval university city of Zabid, the famous port at Mocha, the fertile green farmlands of the southern highlands, spectacular mountain scenery and ancient walled cities at Taiz, Jibla and Ibb. Adequate hotels are available both in Hodeidah and Taiz. Other interesting places to visit are "Job's Tomb," an excellent spot for experienced and novice rock climbers, the extinct volcano of Hamt Dam, and the fossil fields just outside Sanaa.

Since unification in 1990, travel to Aden (formerly the capital of South Yemen and currently the "economic and commercial capital" of united Yemen) has become increasingly popular. There are two paved roads from Sanaa to Aden, where visitors will find stark contrasts with the North—British and Soviet influences on architecture, and cultures are readily apparent. Visitors will find, among other things, one of the world's best natural harbors, scenic beaches, a popular brewery and an international-class hotel. Aden also boasts Yemen's finest (and only) Chinese restaurant.

Yemen is a photographer's paradise. The exotic scenery and children in native dress clamoring to be photographed provide delightful and exciting opportunities. Women, however, should not be photographed without their permission, nor any site that could be considered military. When in doubt, asking a local shopkeeper or traffic policeman for permission to photograph is both good manners and good sense. Yemeni authorities are sometimes suspicious of video cameras, especially in urban areas. In general, these cameras should only be used for recording family or American community events. Film is available, though in limited variety. Local processing is adequate for prints, although slide and movie film must be sent out of the country.

Entertainment

The Sanaa Amateur Minitheater Society, boasting members of several nationalities, provides several opportunities each year for budding performers as well as those who only wish to attend. In recent years the Society has presented several plays and play readings, musicals, dinner theaters, cabarets and pantomimes.

Social Activities

Approximately 350 Americans live in Sanaa, with much smaller communities in Taiz, Jibla, Aden and Sa'ada. Informal parties are frequent and provide excellent opportunities for meeting people. Most social activities take place in the home, but community picnics, athletic events, and amateur theatricals provide occasions throughout the year to meet the entire American community.

Yemenis are accessible people, and interesting friendships are possible, especially for Americans who speak Arabic. A few words of Arabic, even simple greetings, will go a long way toward making Yemeni acquaintances. An ever-increasing number of Yemenis speak English.

There are many diplomatic missions in Sanaa, as well as several expatriate business firms whose employees participate in social activities with Americans. Many nationalities are represented among the Hash House harriers running group, while the Christmaspantomime is an Anglo-American tradition in Sanaa.

Aden

When the two Yemens merged, Aden was chosen to be the economic capital of the country. Aden became a British crown colony in 1937 and in 1968 it became the capital of South Yemen.

The Old Testament book of Ezekiel mentions Aden as a trading partner with the Phoenician port of Tyre on the Mediterranean Sea. Aden maintained its position as a trading center in the following years under its rule by Yemenis, Ethiopians, Arabs, Turks, and the British. Situated between Africa and India, Aden became a strategic and convenient port in the years following its capture by the British in 1839. Aden became even more important as a trading center after the 1869 opening of the Suez Canal. However, Aden's economy and importance declined after 1967 when South Yemen became independent. The British withdrew from the country, resulting in a loss of tourist trade and the income generated by the British military base. The closure of the Suez Canal from 1967 to 1975, during the Arab-Israeli crisis, further eroded Aden's position.

The city has a population of more than 562,000 (2000 est.). Small industries include some light manufacturing, seawater evaporation plants (to obtain marine salt), and boat building. The international airport at Khormaksar, a northern suburb of Aden, is the former British Royal Air Force base.

Aden consists of three sections or quarters: the Crater, Ma'llah, and Tawahi. The Crater, so named because it is located in the crater of a dead volcano, is the old commercial quarter. Despite Aden's long history, very few very historic constructions still exist. The oldest surviving construction is the Aden Tanks, located at the southern edge of the crater. The Tanks are huge water cisterns partially carved out of rocks. On the edge of the crater still stand remnants of the old city walls and bastions, some dating back as far as the 12th century. The Mosque of Sayyid Abdullah al-Aidrus, built in the 14th century and largely renovated, is Aden's Islamic religious center. Ma'llah, a small port area, is known for its traditional Arab dhows (boats). The business quarter of Tawahi is where most of the tourist hotels and shops are located. Also in Tawahi is the National Museum of Antiquities, which has an interesting collection of pre-Islamic statues.

Taiz

Taiz (sometimes spelled Taizz and Ta'iz), with a population over 180,000 is located in Yemen's southern highlands, about 125 miles south of both Sanaa and Hodeida. The three cities form a triangle and are connected by a road system. Bait al Faqih, Abid, and Yarim are other cities situated on these roads. Taiz, called "Aruzat al Yaman" in Arabic, meaning "bride of Yemen," is located in a narrow valley at the base of the rolling Saber Mountains, at an altitude of about 1,400 feet. It is an agricultural marketing center and was the country's administrative capital from 1948 to 1962.

The history of Taiz dates to the early seventh century, when the site first consisted of just a fortress on top of a steep cliff at the foot of Mount Saber. At this time, the town of al-Janad, four miles north of Taiz, was more prominent and because of the famous al-Janad Mosque, it was the religious and administrative center of the area. The shift in importance to Taiz began in 1174 when Turan Shah al-Ayyubi made the city the seat of his government. The city grew into a trade center, a position it still maintains today. Taiz expanded greatly during the time it served as Yemen's capital. The old city became an enclave in a fast-growing, modern urban center; the remains of the city walls near Mount Saber form an imaginary circle in which all the beautiful mosques and old houses can be found.

Many tourist sites may be found in Taiz, including two of the most beautiful mosques in Yemen. Al-Ashrafiya, with its two minarets, still serves as an important Koran school. Al-Mudhaffar has many small domes; its minaret collapsed after centuries and has never been rebuilt. The former Palace of Imam Ahmed and the Salah Palace both are museums now.

The Taiz souk offers a colorful variety of goods, including baskets, pottery, textiles, and carpets. Native women take an active part in the souk ; they wear colorful dresses and do not wear the traditional veils.

Education

Mohammed Ali Othman School, for kindergarten through grade 12, is located in Taiz. The coeducational school, founded in 1972, has an enrollment of over 1,000, and over 60 teachers, including Americans.

The school employs a combined U.S., U.K., and Yemeni curriculum, with instruction in English and Arabic. Extracurricular activities include newspaper, music club, volleyball, and football. The school has seven buildings, 53 classrooms, playing fields, science laboratories, and a 6,000-volume library. The school's mailing address is: P.O. Box 5713, Taiz, Yemen.

Hodeida

Yemen's chief port is Hodeida (sometimes spelled Hodeidah and Al Hudaydah), located on the Red Sea about 90 miles west of Sanaa. Developed by the Turks in the mid-19th century as a seaport, Hodeida exports dates, coffee, and hides. A fire in 1961 destroyed most of the city, but it was rebuilt with aid from the former Soviet Union. Hodeida's modern harbor has a port that can accommodate medium-sized ships and tankers. The port facilities have been the impetus behind the city's expansion. Hodeida is linked to Sanaa by a highway; taxis and airlines also travel between the seaport and the capital. Hodeida has modern health and communications facilities. The population of Hodeida is over 300,000.

Historic sites are nonexistent in Hodeida. There is, however, a fish market on the city's southern shore, where wooden fishing boats are still built in the traditional way. Hodeida's clean, sandy beaches offer excellent swimming.

Southeast of Hodeida is the village of Bait al-Faqih, known as the handicraft center of the Tihama. Craftsmen from the surrounding area come to the village on market day (Friday) to sell pottery, leather goods, textiles, baskets, and other woven goods. Farther south is Zabid, which used to be the site of a prestigious Islamic learning institution. Zabid has a Great Mosque and a colorful market known for its local sweets.

OTHER CITIES

DHAMĀR , with a population of over 40,000, is situated about 50 miles south of Sanaa. It is a provincial capital and market center for the nearby grain-growing region. Local tradition notwithstanding, first mention of the town is by the Arab geographer Yāqūt (1179-1229). He noted the city's handsome buildings and fecund countryside. Market gardens divide Dhamār in two; there are numerous mosques.

IBB is one of Yemen's most picturesque cities. Located about 100 miles south of the capital, its surrounding wall contains several homes. An aqueduct from the mountains supplies the city with a rare luxury in this country—running water. The Muzaffarīyah Mosque, among the dozens here, is considered especially beautiful. Ibb is a farming center, situated in the province that receives the highest rainfall, and remains green all year long. It has a souk, or marketplace, that serves as the regional hub for agricultural products. The city may date to biblical times. Its estimated population is roughly over 34,000.

AL-MUKALLĀ , the only important port in eastern Yemen, is 320 miles northeast of Aden. With a population of more than 50,000, al-Mukallā is the largest city east of Aden and is a market center for the mostly undeveloped interior regions. The fishing industry is of prime importance here. Industries include a fish canning plant and a fish meal factory; fish products, along with tobacco, are the major exports. Boat building is also important here.

SA'DAH , situated 120 miles northwest of Sanaa, is the capital of Sa'dah Province. The city of roughly 12,000 residents (1986 est.) is a major administrative center in the north. Industries here include leather goods manufacture and stoneware production. Sa'dah was the first headquarters for the Zaydī imams (leaders), who ruled the country from 860 to 1962. It lost its stature when the capital was moved to Sanaa in the 17th century. A recently built road connects Sa'dah with Sanaa and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

COUNTRY PROFILE

Geography and Climate

The Republic of Yemen is located in the southern corner of the Arabian peninsula bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north and east, Oman to the east, and by the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea to the South and by the Red Sea to the west. In area, it is about 204,000 square miles—the size of France.

Sanaa, the capital, is located at an altitude of 7,200 feet above sea level. Nearby is the highest mountain between East Africa and Iran, Djebel al-Nabi Shu'ayb, at 12,300 feet. The interior highlands have two rainy seasons a year: the first, in March and April; and a second, heavier, rainfall in July and August. For the rest of the year, sunny clear weather is the rule, with occasional dust storms. In winter, nighttime temperatures in Sanaa can drop to 30°F, with sunshine and day time highs of 70°F. Summer temperatures are very moderate, with highs of 85°F, dropping to the low 60s at night. The climate is very pleasant.

To the east of the highland interior, the terrain slopes down to the sandy wastes of the deserts of inner Arabia, the famous "Empty Quarter." These desert areas are extremely dry, with summer temperatures exceeding 110°F, but they can be quite cold on winter nights.

To the west, in the Tihama (the lowlands adjoining the Red Sea) where there is a mixture of African and Arabian cultures, the temperatures are very hot and humid for much of the year. Even in winter, daytime highs can be in the 90s. During the summer, torrential monsoons occur. Aden is similarly hot and humid, with summer temperatures frequently in the 100s. However, winter temperatures are far milder and more pleasant. The Hadhramaut and the desert regions extending east from Aden to the Omani border are hot and dry.

Population

In 2000, Yemen's population was estimated at 17,521,000. Before the Gulf Crisis, about 1.4 million Yemenis were working overseas, with perhaps over 1 million in Saudi Arabia alone. One consequence of Iraqi aggression is that 800,000 to 850,000 Yemeni workers returned home. Over half the population of the Arabian peninsula lives in the Republic of Yemen.

In contrast to the nomadic traditions of other peninsula inhabitants, most Yemenis have long been settled in small agricultural communities, and the population is still mostly rural. Because of poverty and the shortage of arable land, there has been a long tradition of Yemeni men working as expatriate workers and small traders. Many Yemenis have close family relations in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Djibouti, and there are Yemeni-origin communities as far-flung as the U.S. and Korea.

Yemenis belong to two principal Islamic religious groups: The Zaydi community of the Shi'a sect, which predominates in the northern, central, and eastern areas of the country; and the Shafi community of the Sunni sect in the southwest. The Zaydi Shi'a have a distinct religious tradition that differs little from the Sunni mainstream. Yemen also has the vestiges of a once thriving Jewish community, believed by some scholars to be one of the oldest diaspora communities in the world.

Arabic is the official language of Yemen, although English is gradually becoming more common as a second language.

Yemenis are proud of their culture and history and regard their distinctive civilization as a unifying force among the many tribes that make up the population. This distinctiveness has been recognized in several fields. For example, the architecture of the old city of Sanaa has been accorded protective status by UNESCO. Another characteristic feature of Yemeni society is the chewing of qat leaves at social sessions. Yemeni men, especially tribesmen, prominently carry the "jambia," a curved knife, at the waist as a sign of their personal dignity and independence.

Although Western dress is becoming more common, especially in the cities, most Yemeni men still wear the traditional "futtah" skirt, or full length "thobe," and an open jacket with their jambias. In the tribal areas of the north and east, most adult men also carry a rifle.

Yemeni women living in urban areas usually veil completely. In public, they generally wear black overskirts, loose-fitting capes and veils, or colorfully printed draperies over embroidered dresses and loose trousers. However, customs differ. In Taiz, women generally cover their hair with bright gold or saffron colored scarves but do not otherwise veil. Veiling is less common in rural areas, although many women will draw scarves across their faces if strangers approach. Some younger Yemeni women, especially university students, cover their hair with scarves. In Aden after unification, women have begun to cover their hair more frequently than before.

Yemenis are, for the most part, very friendly to Americans. Many have family and tribal ties to the thousands of Yemenis who have emigrated to the U.S. Since most Yemenis do not speak English, even a few phrases in Arabic will be warmly appreciated.

History

From about 1000 B.C. to 600 A.D., Yemen was the center of an advanced civilization based on intensive agriculture and a lucrative trade in aromatics, such as frankincense, with Mediterranean countries. The Biblical Queen of Sheba, Queen Bilquis, presided over a flourishing kingdom centered in Marib. Ruins of temples and walls, as well as of the famous Marib dam whose final rupture in A.D.570 (recorded in the "Elephant" sura of the Koran) spelled the end of this civilization, can still be seen near Marib. According to popular tradition, the city of Sanaa was founded by Shem, a son of Noah.

The country converted to Islam about A.D. 628 during the prophet Mohammed's lifetime. Previously, it had undergone periods as both a Jewish and Christian kingdom. Yemen provided many warriors to Islamic armies, and its artisans worked in constructing buildings that have given Islamic architecture its renown. Since early medieval times, Yemen has enjoyed varying political and economic fortunes that have been tied closely to the relative importance of its caravan routes. The Zaidi Imamate was founded by Yahya bin Husain bin Qasim al-Rassi, in A.D. 897 and lasted until the Republican Revolution in 1962. Other important dynasties that ruled in northern Yemen included Sulayhids, who produced the second great female leader in Yemeni history, Queen Arwa bint Ahmad. She established her capital in Jibla and ruled between A.D. 1067 and 1138. A second dynasty, important for its mosque-building activities and for the establishment of the famous medieval university in Zabid, was the Rasulids. Areas of the country were twice ruled by the Ottoman Turks—the first period lasted from 1513 to 1636—and the second from 1849 to 1918.

After the departure of the Turks in 1918, Imam Yahya assumed political control of the north. Succeeding Imams kept the country in almost complete isolation until the regime was overthrown on September 26, 1962 by elements intent on modernizing the country's medieval economic, political, and social structures. The new republic was opposed by forces loyal to the Imam's family for several years. The Republicans were supported by Egyptian troops and the Royalists by Saudi Arabia, and periodic heavy fighting continued for almost 8 years between the Republican and Royalist forces and their supporters.

The Egyptians departed in November 1967, and a settlement was mediated by Saudi Arabia and Egypt in March 1970, which guaranteed a republican form of government in the former Yemen Arab Republic. Subsequent presidents of the republic established a written constitution and parliament. The new state faced both external and internal threats. It fought two border wars with the Communist-ruled People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in 1972 and 1979 and suffered from a Communist-inspired insurgency until the mid-eighties. Two Presidents were assassinated within a year in 1978. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the current President of the unified Republic of Yemen, took office in that year.

South Yemen was a focus of European attentions from the beginning of the 15th Century. Attracted by the superb natural harbor of Aden, the British came to Aden in 1839 and quickly established relations with sultans in the hinterlands of Hadhramaut to protect their position in Aden. With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the British reinforced their position in Aden in order to ensure their line to India and their dominance in the region. Following the departure of the British in 1967 and independence, the militant Marxist National Liberation Front (NLF) took power. The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) was proclaimed under Communist Aaegis in 1970 and immediately began to support an unsuccessful guerilla war in the Dhofar province in neighboring Oman. In January 1986, Aden was rocked by a bloody 10-day coup between rival leftist factions. Estimates of those killed during the coup range up to 10,000.

Yemeni unification took place on May 22, 1990, following the decline of Soviet support for the PDRY and the collapse of the economy. The new state, the Republic of Yemen, was accorded immediate recognition by most of the world community, including the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

Public Institutions

Yemen essentially has two political systems: an developing democracy and an ancient tribal system. Yemen's government is divided into three branches: the executive, with the President appointing a cabinet headed by a Prime Minister; the legislative, with a 301-member unicameral Parliament; and the judiciary, consisting of three levels of courts (magistrate, appellate, and supreme).

The president is elected by popular vote from at least two candidates selected by the legislature. Yemen held its first direct presidential elections in September 1999, electing President Ali Abdallah Salih to a five-year term in what were generally considered free and fair elections. However, a Constitutional amendment adopted in 2000 extended the presidential term by two years, moving the next presidential election to 2006.

A 2001 amendment created the bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote). Parliamentary terms of office are 6-years.

Yemeni law is a mixture of tribal customs (known as urf), Muslim religious statutes (sharia), executive decree, and parliamentary legislation. New laws do not yet cover the full range of civil issues, but they have codified some traditional procedures, while introducing new concepts regulating commerce, labor, nationality, taxes, and civil rights. Outside urban areas, justice and law are still largely administered by traditional figures such as religious judges and tribal leaders

Arts, Science, and Education

In medieval Yemen, disciplines of law, religion, history and poetry were sophisticated and widely spread among the population. Yemen made many important contributions to Islamic civilization: a famous example is the development of algebra in the University of Zabid in the Tihama. Yemeni teachers taught in the Al-Azhar University of Cairo in the 10th and 11th centuries and students came to Zabid from all over Arabia, Ethiopia and Somalia. Yemeni isolation in recent centuries, however, led to a development gap which has had lasting consequences.

A low level of education (literacy is about 53% for males and 26% for females) has hampered development projects initiated by the government, but the number of students has greatly increased in recent years. Primary school enrollment in 1997 was about 2.7 million students. However, in the same year, secondary school enrollments only reached to about 354,000 students.

Yemen's principal universities are the University of Sanaa's arts colleges (including the Faculty of Education, which has branches in several other locations in Yemen) and Aden University. Total university enrollment in 1997 was about 65,675 students, with about 2,000 additional students studying abroad.

Commerce and Industry

Although once noted for its exports of coffee from the port of Mocha, today Yemen now exports little other than oil. The discovery of oil in both North and South Yemen has been regarded as the most significant economic development in many years. Oil was discovered July 4, 1984, by the American-owned Yemen Hunt Oil Company (YHOC) in the Marib region east of Sanaa. The Soviets also found oil about 80 miles to the south of the Marib area in the mid-80's. Yemen is believed to have modest reserves by Arabian peninsula standards. Export pipelines were constructed from both fields to oil terminals. Oil from the YHOC fields began to be exported in 1988, while no oil from former Soviet field (block 4) has been exported as of July 1992.

Outside of the petroleum sector, Yemen's economic prospects are limited. Yemen continues to import much of its food and, with a population growing at over three percent a year, chances for it becoming self-sufficient in food are slim. Agriculture cannot be expanded significantly due to the limited supply of water. Yemen is able to produce modest quantities of fruits and vegetables for export to its neighbors which should increase once relations with them improve. A small food processing industry has developed in the last decade mainly using imported raw materials. While primarily for the domestic market, some of this production is exported; including to Europe. Fishing holds some brighter prospects although over-fishing in the former South has severely depleted stocks. The government is committed to economic liberalization and improving the climate for investment although so far this commitment has yielded few tangible results. A new investment law has been passed but implementing regulations and the investment authority are not yet functioning.

The government has eased restrictions aimed at controlling imports. Formerly, it had sought with little success to limit outflow of foreign exchange by restricting imports through licensing and providing foreign exchange only for authorized imports. After unification, the government relaxed import restrictions and has generally not acted to halt smuggling of consumer goods. The government is allowing high levels of consumption and has not yet completed legal and political steps to create a more favorable environment for capital investment.

Transportation

Local

Within Sanaa, taxis are common, but hardly luxurious, and often operate on a group basis. Fares are generally reasonable and should be negotiated in advance. Tipping is not necessary. Women are generally advised not to take taxis alone.

Regional

Taxis between cities have a poor safety record and are not recommended. Buses are generally considered safer, since journeys are scheduled and drivers have no incentive to make the trip faster than safety permits.

The network of paved roads which now links Yemen's major cities is being steadily extended, but many parts of the country are accessible only by rough and narrow tracks with no roadside services available. Yemen is now connected to Saudi Arabia by an excellent road running from Jeddah to Hodeidah.

Major airlines serve Sanaa International Airport, including Air France, Lufthansa, Egyptair, Royal Jordanian, KLM (starting October 1992) and the national carrier, Yemenia Airlines. No U.S. carriers operate in Yemen.

Communications

Telephone and Telegraph

Domestic telephone service is fairly reliable. Service to countries, such as the U.S., with international direct-dial facilities is excellent but very expensive. A call to the U.S. costs about twice as much as the cost of the same call initiated from the U.S. Operator-assisted calls can take up to 3 hours. It is more economical to have families and friends in the U.S. do most of the calling. Telegrams may be sent from the downtown office of Cable and Wireless. A written text is necessary to ensure accuracy.

Health and Medicine

Sanaa is located at an altitude of 7,200 feet and is dusty. Individuals with respiratory or heart problems are suggested to contact Med before assignment.

Medical Facilities

Sanaa hospitals are used only in emergency situations. Hospitals are also located in Sa'ada and Jibla (both about 4 hours by car from Sanaa).

You and your family should ensure that all required dental treatment is completed before arriving in Sanaa. Local dentists are not trained or equipped to U.S. standards. They generally are used only for simple fillings and similar dental procedures.

Community Health

Public health conditions in Sanaa and other cities remain poor. Municipal garbage collection is irregular, and many areas suffer from overflowing dumpsters. Given the dryness and altitude, household pests are not a big problem and all homes are screened against flies. Happily, few rats exist in Sanaa, since a thriving population of wild cats and dogs keeps them under control. The cats and dogs pose some threat of rabies. Early morning joggers sometimes carry small stones to scare off the easily cowed dogs, who are rarely seen during day and evening hours.

Most water supplies, either from city services or private water companies, come from deep wells but are often contaminated. A city-wide sewer system is under construction but not yet completed, and wells can be contaminated by ubiquitous shallow cesspools. Proper treatment of water by boiling and filtration protects against water-borne diseases.

Preventive Measures

Dusty days can prove an inconvenience to sinus and allergy sufferers. Plant allergies, in contrast, are not a problem with the sparse vegetation around Sanaa.

Commercially bottled water and carbonated soft drinks manufactured in Yemen are safe and are widely available throughout the country. Some local hotels and restaurants offer food that is safe and sanitary.

Typhoid has occurred in Yemen in recent years, as well as polio, tuberculosis and scattered incidents of hepatitis A. Some malaria cases have been reported from exposure in the lowlands. However, malaria is not present at the altitude of Sanaa. Cholera has been reported in scattered locations in Yemen.

Gastro-intestinal parasites are common, but can be diagnosed and treated routinely. Firm discipline in water and food preparation greatly reduces the likelihood of such illnesses.

Schistosomiasis or bilharzia is endemic in Yemen but can be easily avoided by not wading or swimming in streams or fresh water pools. Fresh vegetables must be washed in a chlorine or iodine solution. You can buy imported meats, but they must be well cooked. Local meat from selected stores is also safe after thorough cooking.

Qat

Qat is a leaf which many Yemenis like to chew in the afternoon hours after lunch. It is on the official U.S. list of controlled substances and may not be imported into the U.S. It produces a mild amphetamine-like reaction. Much of the social activity of Yemen is centered around the "Qat chew." Important business agreements as well as community and national matters are usually discussed, and often decided during these sessions.

While qat does not appear to be physically addicting, withdrawal reaction has been known to occur after many years of regular chewing. The dangers include: blood pressure elevation; infectious diseases transferred via its leaves and/or the water with which it is washed; and ingestion of pesticides or other chemicals sprayed on the leaves.

NOTES FOR TRAVELERS

Passage, Customs & Duties

Connections are usually made from Frankfurt, Paris, London, Bahrain or Jeddah, with flights in or out of Sanaa most days of the week. Reservations should be made and confirmed as far ahead of time as possible.

Passports and visas are required. As of November 17, 2001, the Yemeni government stopped issuing visas to American passport holders at airports and other points of entry. All U.S. travelers to Yemen must obtain visas prior to travel at Yemeni embassies or consulates overseas. Upon arrival in Yemen, travelers should register within the first month at the Immigration Authority in Sanaa or at any police station in the district where they are residing. Long term residents should reregister when they change their residence. Yellow fever vaccination is recommended. For further information on entry requirements, please contact the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen, Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037, telephone (202) 965-4760; or the Yemen Mission to the U.N., 866 United Nations Plaza, Room 435, New York, N.Y. 10017, telephone (212) 355-1730. The Embassy in Washington, D.C. maintains a home page at http://www.yemenembassy.org.

Americans who are considering studying in Yemen should make this fact clear to a Yemeni consular official in the United States and apply for the appropriate visa. Some American Muslims who come to Yemen for tourism or Islamic studies at Yemeni schools and have appropriate visas nevertheless have been detained by Yemeni security officials who seized their passports. In such instances, the American citizens were told their passports would be returned when they departed the country. Some Americans studying in Yemen without official permission have been deported.

Yemeni government security organizations have arrested and expelled foreign Muslims, including Americans, who have associated with local Muslim organizations considered extremist by security organs of the Yemeni government. The events mentioned in the WARNING section of this Consular Information Sheet have served to make Yemeni authorities, if anything, more suspicious of some foreign Muslims. Any American in Yemen who is considering associating with any political or fundamentalist Islamist group should discuss those intentions with a Yemeni consular official in the United States before traveling to Yemen. Americans risk arrest if they engage in either political or other activities that violate the terms of their admission to Yemen.

Yemeni law prohibits the removal of antiquities from the country. Yemeni authorities define antiquities loosely as anything man-made that is more than 50 years old. Persons attempting to depart with antiquities are subject to arrest, imprisonment or fines.

Yemeni customs authorities may enforce strict regulations concerning temporary importation into or export from Yemen of items such as firearms, pornography, and antiquities. It is advisable to contact the Embassy of Yemen in Washington, D.C. for specific information regarding customs requirements.

Americans living in or visiting Yemen are encouraged to register at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa and obtain updated information on travel and security conditions within Yemen. The U.S. Embassy is open for American citizen services between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m., Saturday through Tuesday. The Embassy is located at Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, P.O. Box 22347. The telephone number of the Consular Section is (967) (1) 303-155, extension 118, 265 or 266. The fax number is (967) (1) 303-175.

Laws

Photography of military installations, including airports, equipment, or troops is forbidden. In the past, such photography has led to the arrest of U.S. citizens. Military sites are not always obvious. If in doubt, it is wise to ask specific permission from Yemeni authorities.

Pets

Dogs and cats require current rabies and distemper vaccinations as well as a general certificate of good health dated within 2 weeks of arrival. Pets are generally cleared immediately upon their arrival. Shipment through Air France or Lufthansa is recommended. Some birds, including African parrots, and animals such as turtles and reptiles are not permitted entry. There are several Western-trained veterinarians in Sanaa.

Currency, Banking, and Weights and Measures

The Yemeni Riyal (YR) is broken down into 100 fils. Notes are available in denominations of YR1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1. Coins are in denominations of 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 fils. The exchange is around 164.59YR=US$1.

Travelers should be aware that automatic teller machines (ATM) are not available in Yemen. Credit cards are not widely accepted.

The metric system is understood within Yemen's main cities, but several traditional measures continue in use.

LOCAL HOLIDAYS

Jan. 1 … New Year's Day

May 1 … Labor Day

May 22 … Yemeni Unity Day

… Muharram^*

… Mawlid an Nabi^*

… Ramadan^*

… Id al-Fitr^*

… Id al-Adha^*

… Lailat al Kadr^*

^*variable, based on the Islamic calendar

RECOMMENDED READING

The following titles are provided as a general indication of the material published on this country. The Department of State does not endorse unofficial publications.

History, Politics, and Economics

Ahroni, Reuben. Yemenite Jewry: Origins, Culture, and Literature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986.

Amin, Dr. S.H. Law and Justice in Contemporary Yemen: People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and Yemen Arab Republic. Glasgow: Royston Limited, 1987.

Bidwell, Robin. The Two Yemens. Westview Press: Boulder, 1983.

Burrows, Robert D. The Yemen Arab Republic: The Politics of Development, 1962-1986. Boulder: Westview Press: London and Sydney: Croom Helm: 1987.

Daum, Werner, ed. Yemen: 3000 Years of Art and Civilization in Arabia Felix. Innsbruck: Pinguin Verlag, n.d.

Doe, Brian. Southern Arabia. London: Thames and Hudson, 1972.

Dorsky, Susan. Women of Amran: A Middle Eastern Ethnographic Study. University of Utah: Salt Lake City, 1986.

Dresch, Paul. Tribes, Government, and History in Yemen. Oxford: Clarendon Press: New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Gause, F. Gregory III. Saudi-Yemeni Relations. Columbia University Press: New York, 1990.

Halliday, Fred. Arabia without Sultans. New York: Vintage Books, 1975.

Ismail, Tareq Y., and Jacqueline S. The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen: Politics, Economics, and Society. London: Pinter, 1986.

King, Gillian. Imperial Outpost—Aden. New York: Oxford University Press, 1964.

McDonald, Elieen. Brides For Sale? Human Trade in North Yemen. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing Company, 1988.

——. Conflict in the Yemens and Superpower Involvement. Washington, DC: Georgetown University, 1981.

Peterson, John E. Yemen: The Search For a Modern State. London: Croom-Helm, 1982.

Pridham, B.R. Contemporary Yemen: Politics and Historical Background. Croom-Helm: London, 1984.

Pridham, B.R. (ed) Economy, Society and Culture in Contemporary Yemen. London: Croom Helm, 1985.

Serjeant, R.B. and Lewcodk, Ronald, eds. Sanaa, An Arabian City. London: World of Islam Festival Trust: London, 1983.

Stookey, Robert. South Yemen: A Marxist Republic in Arabia. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1982.

——. Yemen: Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press: Boulder, 1978.

Wenner, Manfred. Modern Yemen, 1918-1966. Johns Hopkins Press: Baltimore, 1967.

——. The Yemen Arab Republic, Development & Change in an Ancient Land. Westview Press: Boulder, 1991.

World Bank. Yemen Arab Republic: The Development of a Traditional Economy. Washington, D.C., 1979.

Zabarah, Mohammed Ahmad. Yemen: Tradition vs. Modernity. New York: Praeger, 1982.

Tourist Guides

Chwaszcza, Joachim, ed. Insight Guides: Yemen. 1st ed. Singapore: APA Publications (HK) LTD, 1990.

Hamalainen, Pertti. Yemen: a Travel Survival Kit. Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 1988.

Hansen, Eric. Motoring With Mohamed. Vintage Press: New York, 1992.

Marechaux, Maria and Pascal. Arabian Moons: Passages in Time through Yemen. Concept Media Ltd: Singapore, 1987.