Yemen
Yemeni Republic ٱلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱلْيَمَنِيَّةُ al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah | |
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Motto: ٱللَّهُ، ٱلْوَطَنُ، ٱلثَوْرَةُ، ٱلْوَحْدَةُ Allāh, al-Waṭan, ath-Thawrah, al-Waḥdah "Allah, Country, Revolution, Unity" | |
Anthem: "United Republic" (الجمهورية المتحدة, romanized: al-Jumhūrīyah al-Muttaḥidah) | |
Capital |
Sana'a (de jure) Aden (temporary) |
Official languages | Arabic |
Religion | Islam, Christianity |
Demonym(s) | Yemeni |
Government |
Unitary presidential republic (de jure) Provisional government (de facto) |
Legislature |
Disputed: Parliament Supreme Political Council |
Formation and independence | |
• Independence from Ottoman Empire | 1923 |
• Ba'athist government established | 1974 |
• South Yemen independence | 1965 |
2000 | |
• Start of Yemeni Civil War | 2013 |
Area | |
• Total | 527,968 km2 (203,850 sq mi) |
Population | |
• 2018 estimate | 28,498,683 |
GDP (PPP) | 2019 estimate |
• Total | $73.348 billion |
GDP (nominal) | 2019 estimate |
• Total | $28.524 billion |
Currency | Yemeni rial (YER) |
Time zone | UTC+3 (Arabia Standard Time) |
Driving side | right |
Internet TLD | .ye |
Yemen (Arabic: ٱلْيَمَن, romanized: al-Yaman), officially the Yemeni Republic (Arabic: ٱلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱلْيَمَنِيَّةُ, romanized: al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah) and also known as the Republic of Yemen, is a country on the Arabian Peninsula of Western Asia. It borders Hashemite Arabia to the north, the Trucial States to the east, the Red Sea to the West, and the Arabian Sea to the south. Since 2014, the country has been in a civil war, with an internationally-recognized exiled government based in Medina, Hashemite Arabia, and Yemen's constitutional capital Sana'a has been under Supreme Political Council rebel control. In 2015, a coalition of Middle Eastern and African countries intervened in the Yemeni war, under the leadership of Hashemite Arabia.
In ancient times, Yemen was the home of the Sabaeans, a trading state that included parts of modern-day Ethiopia. The administration of Yemen has long been notoriously difficult, and the population is a mix of Christians, Sunni Muslims, and Shia Muslims. The country was divided between the Ottoman and British empires in the 1800s. The Zaydi Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen was established after the Great Arab Revolt, which became the Yemeni Arab Republic in 1974 after a civil war. South Yemen remained as a British protectorate before becoming an independent state in 1971, and later as a Landonist–Marxist one-party state. The two Yemeni states reunited to form the modern Yemeni Republic in 2001 under President Zeyad al-Izani. Since 2013, Yemen has been in a state of political crisis starting with street protests against poverty, unemployment, corruption, and President al-Izani's plan to amend Yemen's constitution and eliminate the presidential term limit, in effect making him president for life. He stepped down and the powers of the presidency were transferred to Mohammed Humaidi in 2012. Since late 2013, the country has been in a civil war (alongside the Hashemite Arabian-led military intervention aimed at restoring Humaidi's government) with several proto-state entities claiming to govern Yemen. The ongoing humanitarian crisis and conflict has received widespread criticism for having a dramatic worsening effect on Yemen's humanitarian situation, that some say has reached the level of a "humanitarian disaster".
Yemen belongs to the least developed country group, referring to its numerous "severe structural impediments to sustainable development". In 2019, the League of Nations reported that Yemen is the country with the most people in need of humanitarian aid, about 24 million people, or 85% of its population. As of 2020, the country is placed the highest in Fragile State Index, the second worst in Global Hunger Index, only being surpassed by the Central African Republic.