Yemen
borders Saudi Arabia on the north, the Red Sea on the west, Oman
on the east and the Gulf of Aden on the south. It covers an area
of 555,000 square km which proves to be of strategic importance
to the supplies of world oil.
The climate is varied as Yemen has different elevations and has
a coastal location. The climate zones vary from freezing cold
in the mountains to very hot (129°F) in summer
The currency used is the Yemeni Rial.
Till 1989, North and South Yemen were separate nations. They are
today united into the Republic of Yemen which is Arabia’s
only democratic republic.
The language spoken in Yemen is standard Arabic though there are
several different regional dialects that are in common use.
Yemen guarantees freedom of religion though the Constitution of
Yemen states that Islam is the official state religion of the
country
75% of the people in Yemen are engaged in agriculture. Some of
the major products are tobacco leaf, barley, sesame, soybean,
cotton, grain, coffee and corn.
Yemen is rich in resources such as gold, silver, copper, chrome,
iron, coal, natural gas, oil, gypsum and aluminum.
The capital of Yemen is Sanaa which has a population of 1,748,000.
Nearly half the population of Yemen is food insecure and nearly
one million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished.
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