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| Mar 12 2007, 6:58 AM EDT (current) | wahaby300 | 4146 words added, 20 photos added |
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| Motto: "Allah, al-Watan, at-Thawra, al-Wehda" "God, the Nation, the Revolution, the Unity" | ||||
| Anthem: United Republic | ||||
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| Capital | Sana'a 15°21′N 44°12′E | |||
| Sana'a | ||||
| Arabic | ||||
| Republic | ||||
| -President | Ali Abdullah Saleh | |||
| -Prime Minister | Abdul Qadir Bajamal | |||
| -Unification | May 22, 1990 | |||
| -Total | 527,968 km²(49th) 203,849sqmi | |||
| -Water(%) | negligible | |||
| -July 2005estimate | 20,975,000(51st) | |||
| -Density | 40/km²(160th) 104/sqmi | |||
| GDP (PPP) | 2005estimate | |||
| -Total | $19.480 billion(110th) | |||
| -Per capita | $900(175th) | |||
| HDI(2004) |  0.492(low)(150th) | |||
| Yemeni rial $1 = 198.13 Rials (YER) | ||||
| .ye | ||||
| +967 | ||||
| This box:view•talk•edit |
[edit] History
Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the world. Between the ninth century BC and the sixth century AD, it was part of the Sabaean, Awsanian, Minaean, Qatabanian, Hadhramawtian, Himyarite, and some other kingdoms, which controlled the lucrative spice trade. It was known to the Ancient Romans as Arabia Felix ("Happy Arabia") because of the riches its trade generated. Augustus Caesar attempted to annex it, but the expedition failed. It was annexed by the Semitic Ethiopian Kingdom of Aksum around 520, and subsequently taken by the Sassanids around 570. In the late sixth and early seventh centuries AD, many Sabaean people migrated out of the land of Yemen following the destruction of the Ma'rib Dam (sadd Ma'rib) and migrated to North Africa and northern part of the Arabian Peninsula. 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 eleventh century. By the sixteenth century and again in the nineteenth century, north Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire, and in some periods its Imams exerted control over south Yemen. North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and became a republic in 1962. In 1839, the British occupied the port of Aden and established it as a colony in September of that year. They also set up a zone of loose alliances (known as protectorates) around Aden to act as a protective buffer. In 1967, the British withdrew and gave back Aden to Yemen due to extreme pressure of battles with the North and Egyptian allies. After the British withdrawal, this area became known as South Yemen. The two countries were formally united as the Republic of Yemen on May 22, 1990.[edit] Politics
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 seven years, and the parliamentary term of elected office is six years. Suffrage is universal over 18 years of age. President Ali Abdullah Saleh became the first elected President in reunified Yemen in 1999 [though he had been President of unified Yemen since 1990 and President of North Yemen since 1978] and most recently was re-elected in September of 2006 after an initial reluctance to run once more. His victory was marked by an election that international observers judged to be "generally free and fair." Popular demonstrations and editorials of support in major papers helped change his mind to run again. In April 2003 parliamentary elections were held, and the General People's Congress (GPC) maintained an absolute majority. 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 Sanaá. Since the country is an Islamic state, the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an, is the basis for all laws, and no law may contradict the Qur'an. Indeed many court cases are debated by the religious basis of the laws i.e. by interpretations of the Qur'an. For this reason, many Judges are religious scholars as well as legal authorities. Unlike Saudi Arabia and other Islamic states, the consumption of alcohol by foreigners is tolerated, and the mild narcotic Qat is chewed by Yemenis of all strata of society, despite being banned or frowned upon by other Islamic countries and groups.
[edit] Administrative divisions
As of February 2004, Yemen is divided into twenty governorates and one municipality.[1] The size of each governorate in terms of population is as follows:
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[edit] Geography
[edit] Economy
[edit] 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 in forming 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 rebellion. 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 Persian Gulf area to the United Nations and the Arab League. The PDRY provided sanctuary and material support to various insurgent groups around the Middle East. 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 Persian 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 fifty 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. After the departure from the gulf states as many as 15,000 Yemenis migrated to the U.S. Many Yemenis can be found in the south end of Dearborn, Michigan. In the early 90s Yemenis came in search of manufacturing jobs. They continue to work in the U.S. and send money back to their families.[edit] Demographics
Unlike most 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: 52% Sunni and 48% Shi'a.[2] Sunnis are primarily Shafi'i while Shi'is are divided into Zaidis primarily then Ja'faris[3] and Western Isma'ilis. The Sunnis are predominantly in the south and southeast. The Zaidis are predominantly in the north and northwest whilst the Jafaris are in the main centers of the North such as Sana'a and Ma'rib. There are mixed communities in the larger cities. Most of the Yemenite Jews immigrated to Israel. The Yemenite Jews make up less than 1% of the population. The Yemenite Jews once formed a sizeable Jewish minority in Yemen with a distinct culture. This community now consists of only a few hundred individuals, following the Jewish exodus from Arab lands and Operation Magic Carpet (Yemen). Yemenis are mainly of Arab origin. Arabic is the official language, although English is increasingly understood by citizens in major cities. In the Mahra area (the extreme east) and the island Soqotra, several ancient south-Arabic languages are spoken. When the former states of north and south Yemen were established, most resident minority groups departed. The country has one of the world's highest birth rates; the average Yemeni woman bears seven children. Although this is similar to the rate in Somalia to the south, it is roughly twice as high as that of Saudi Arabia and nearly three times as high as those in the more modernized Persian Gulf states.
[edit] Human rights
The human rights situation in Yemen is poor. The government and its security forces, often considered to suffer from rampant corruption, have been responsible for torture, inhumane treatment and even extra judicial executions. Shia's are especially subject to abuse by the government of Yemen. According to the press reports, the Chief of the Yemeni Supreme Shia Council has stated, “(Iraqi) military men advised Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh to kill Shias in the country as did Saddam in Iraq.” Many Shias have fallen victim to the Yemeni security forces.[4] According to the U.S. Department of State human rights report in the year 2005: publishers were banned from distributing some books that espoused Zaydi-Shiite Islamic doctrine and the Yemeni government banned the celebration of Ghadeer Day, a holiday celebrated by some Shi'a, in the Saada governorate. The government also limited the hours reassigned some Imams who were thought to espouse Zaydi Shi'ite doctrine.[5] Human Rights Watch reported on discrimination and violence against women as well as on abolishment of the minimum marriage age of the age of fifteen for woman. The onset of puberty was set as a requirement for marriage instead.[6] Reports of other forms of hostile prejudice directed towards disabled people, and ethnic and religious minorities were also reported. Censorship is actively practiced and in 2005 legislation was passed requiring journalists to reveal their sources under certain circumstances, and the government has raised the start-up costs for newspapers and websites significantly. In violation of the Yemeni constitution, the security forces often monitor telephone, postal, and Internet communications. Journalists who tend to be critical of the government are often harassed and threatened by the police.[3][edit] Languages
While the national language is Arabic (spoken in several regional dialects), Yemen is one of the main homelands of the South Semitic family of languages, which includes the non-Arabic language of the ancient Sabaean Kingdom. Its modern Yemeni descendants are closely related to the modern Semitic languages of Eritrea and Ethiopia. However, only a small remnant of those languages exists in modern Yemen, notably on the island of Socotra and in the back hills of the Hadhramaut coastal region. Modern South Arabian languages spoken in Yemen include Mehri, with 70,643 speakers, Soqotri, with an estimated 43,000 speakers (2004 census) mainly on the island of Socotra, and Bathari (with an estimated total of only 200 speakers). Foreign language in public schools is taught from grade seven on, though the quality of public school instruction is low. Private schools using a British or American system teach English and produce the proficient speakers, but Arabic is the dominant language of communication. The number of English speakers in Yemen is small compared to other Arab countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Private schools have also started to teach French alongside Arabic and English.[edit] Culture of Yemen
[edit] Qat
Qat is a large, slow growing, evergreen shrub, reaching a height of between 1 and 5 metres, in equatorial regions it may reach a height of 10 meters.[7] Its scientific name is Catha edulis. This plant is widely cultivated in Yemen and is generally used for chewing. When Qat is swallowed, its leaf juice has a caffeine-like effect. It is deeply rooted in Yemeni culture.[edit] Holidays
| May 22 | National Unity | Celebrates the unification of the Republic of Yemen |
| September 26 | 1962 Revolution Day | Celebrates the revolution against the northern Imams |
| October 14 | 1967 Revolution Day | Celebrates the revolution against the British in the south |
| November 30 | Evacuation Day | Evacuation of the last British soldier from southern Yemen |
[edit] Dates following the lunar Islamic calendar
| Dhul Hijjah 10 | Eid al-Adha |
| Shawwal 1 | Eid al-Fitr |
| Muharram 1 | (Islamic New Year) |
 The Capital of Yemen. |  The port city of Aden, situated in the crater of an extinct volcano. 1999. |  The town of Hajarin, which features some of the oldest "skyscrapers" in the world - six story buildings made of mud bricks and mortar. |  The minaret of the Al Muhdhar Mosque at Tarim, Yemen, is measured 53 metres (175 feet) high, and recognised to be one of the tallest earth structures in the world |
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