North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement and brief civil war in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. Fighting in the northwest between the government and Huthi rebels, a group seeking a return to traditional Zaydi Islam, began in 2004 and has since resulted in six rounds of fighting - the last ended in early 2010 with a ceasefire that continues to hold. The southern secessionist movement was revitalized in 2008 when a popular socioeconomic protest movement initiated the prior year took on political goals including secession. Public rallies in Sana'a against President SALIH - inspired by similar demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt - slowly built momentum starting in late January 2011 fueled by complaints over high unemployment, poor economic conditions, and corruption. By the following month, some protests had resulted in violence, and the demonstrations had spread to other major cities. By March the opposition had hardened its demands and was unifying behind calls for SALIH's immediate ouster. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in late April 2011, in an attempt to mediate the crisis in Yemen, proposed an agreement in which the president would step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution. SALIH's refusal to sign an agreement led to heavy street fighting and his injury in an explosion in June 2011. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2014 in October 2011 calling on both sides to end the violence and complete a power transfer deal. In late November 2011, President SALIH signed the GCC-brokered agreement to step down and to transfer some of his powers to Vice President Abd Rabuh Mansur HADI. Following elections in February 2012, won by HADI, SALIH formally transferred his powers.

Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east

narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula

petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west

sandstorms and dust storms in summer

limited natural freshwater resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes

predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans

Muslim (Islam - official) including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shia), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

24,771,809 (July 2012 est.)

32.57 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

6.82 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

SANAA (capital) 2.229 million (2009)

200 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

4.45 children born/woman (2012 est.)

0.3 physicians/1,000 population (2009)

0.7 beds/1,000 population (2009)

urban: 94% of population

rural: 33% of population

total: 52% of population

urban: 6% of population

rural: 67% of population

total: 48% of population

20 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah) and 1 municipality*; Abyan, 'Adan (Aden), Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, Amanat al 'Asimah (Sanaa City)*, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Raymah, Sa'dah, San'a' (Sanaa), Shabwah, Ta'izz

22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen became independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and became a republic with the overthrow of the theocratic Imamate in 1962; South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)

Unification Day, 22 May (1990)

16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001

mixed legal system of Islamic law, Napoleonic law, English common law, and customary law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies to serve six-year terms)

General People's Congress or GPC [Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Muhammed Abdallah AL-YADUMI]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Sultan al-ATWANI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Yasin Said NU'MAN]; note - there are at least seven more active political parties

Muslim Brotherhood; Women National Committee

AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CD, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white)

Yemen is a low income country that is highly dependent on declining oil resources for revenue. Petroleum accounts for roughly 25% of GDP and 70% of government revenue. Yemen has tried to counter the effects of its declining oil resources by diversifying its economy through an economic reform program initiated in 2006 that is designed to bolster non-oil sectors of the economy and foreign investment. In October 2009, Yemen exported its first liquefied natural gas as part of this diversification effort. In January 2010, the international community established the Friends of Yemen group that aims to support Yemen's efforts toward economic and political reform. The Arab revolution that began in early 2011 caused GDP to plunge more than 10% in 2011, and GDP in 2012 began a modest recovery but has not reached pre-2011 levels. Yemen continues to face difficult long term challenges, including declining water resources, high unemployment, and a high population growth rate.

$57.76 billion (2012 est.)

$58.91 billion (2011 est.)

$65.8 billion (2010 est.)

$36.37 billion (2012 est.)

7.158 million (2012 est.)

17.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

21% of GDP (2012 est.)

-12% of GDP (2012 est.)

42.5% of GDP (2012 est.)

36.9% of GDP (2011 est.)

25% (31 December 2012 est.)

25% (31 December 2011 est.)

$4.868 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$4.645 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$10.59 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$10.17 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$8.817 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$7.662 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish

-$2.19 billion (2012 est.)

-$1.663 billion (2011 est.)

$7.958 billion (2012 est.)

$8.662 billion (2011 est.)

crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish, liquefied natural gas

China 29.5%, Thailand 13.4%, South Korea 10.6%, India 7.5%, Japan 6%, US 5.8%, UAE 4.7% (2011)

$8.893 billion (2012 est.)

$8.248 billion (2011 est.)

food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals

UAE 18.8%, China 11.8%, Saudi Arabia 8.9%, Kuwait 6.6%, India 6.5%, France 4.7%, US 4.2% (2011)

$4.7 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$4.531 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$6.726 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$6.314 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Yemeni rials (YER) per US dollar -

6.339 billion kWh (2009 est.)

4.7 billion kWh (2009 est.)

1.33 million kW (2009 est.)

100% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

162,100 bbl/day (2011 est.)

191,100 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

2.88 billion bbl (1 January 2013 est.)

83,130 bbl/day (2008 est.)

177,000 bbl/day (2011 est.)

18,140 bbl/day (2008 est.)

61,950 bbl/day (2008 est.)

6.24 billion cu m (2010 est.)

760 million cu m (2010 est.)

5.48 billion cu m (2010 est.)

478.5 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

26.5 million Mt (2010 est.)

1.075 million (2011)

11.668 million (2011)

state-run TV with 2 stations; state-run radio with 2 national radio stations and 5 local stations; stations from Oman and Saudi Arabia can be accessed (2007)

2.349 million (2009)

gas 423 km; liquid petroleum gas 22 km; oil 1,367 km (2010)

Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla

the International Maritime Bureau reports offshore waters in the Gulf of Aden are high risk for piracy; numerous vessels, including commercial shipping and pleasure craft, have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway; crew, passengers, and cargo are held for ransom; the presence of several naval task forces in the Gulf of Aden and additional anti-piracy measures on the part of ship operators reduced the incidence of piracy in that body of water by more than half in 2010

Land Forces, Naval Forces (includes Marines), Air Force (includes Air Defense Force), Border Guards (2012)

voluntary military service program authorized in 2001; 2-year service obligation (2006)

a Coast Guard was established in 2002

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