Yemen facts for kids

Republic of Yemen
Republic of Yemen ; الجُمهورية اليَمَنية; al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah
	Flag Emblem
	Motto: الله، الوَطَن، الثَورة، الوَحدة (Arabic); "Allah, al-Watan, ath-Thawrah, al-Wahdah" (transliteration); "God, Country, Revolution, Unity"
	Anthem: "United Republic"
Capital	Sana‘a
Official languages	Arabic
Demonym(s)	Yemeni, Yemenite
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic
• President	None
• Prime Minister	Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr
Legislature	Assembly of Representatives
Establishment
• North Yemen independence from the Ottoman Empire	1 November 1918
• South Yemen independence from the United Kingdom	30 November 1967
• Unification	22 May 1990
• The Yemeni Revolution	27 January 2011
Area
• Total	527,970 km2 (203,850 sq mi) (50th)
• Water (%)	negligible
Population
• 2011 estimate	25,130,000 (46th)
• April 2011 census	25,130,000
• Density	44.7/km2 (115.8/sq mi) (160th)
GDP (PPP)	2011 estimate
• Total	$57.966 billion
• Per capita	$2,306
GDP (nominal)	2011 estimate
• Total	$33.675 billion
• Per capita	$1,340
HDI (2011)	0.462; low · 154th
Currency	Yemeni rial (YER)
Time zone	UTC+3
Driving side	right
Calling code	967
ISO 3166 code	YE
Internet TLD	.ye

The Republic of Yemen or Yemen is a nation in the Middle East. It is the old North Yemen and South Yemen, in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Saudi Arabia and Oman on the north and the east. To the south is the Arabian Sea, and to the west is the Red Sea. Yemen owns the island of Socotra (217 miles) to the south off the coast of East Africa. A person or thing from Yemen is called Yemeni. Yemen's capital city is Sana'a.

Yemen is the origin land of all Arabs in the Middle East. In ancient times, Yemen was an important center of trade and power. Many powerful kingdoms were in Yemen, including the Sabaeans. Yemen was important in the trade of spices as well. It was known to the ancient Romans as Arabia Felix ("Happy Arabia" in Latin). They called it Happy Arabia because the area was so beautiful and powerful.

In the 700s, Yemenis were among the first to join the new religion Islam. Since then, Yemenis have been staunch Muslims who were in the forefront of all Islam conquests. Men whose ancestors came from Yemen ruled Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) for centuries.

Today, Yemen has over 20 million people. Most of them speak Arabic.

Geography

Map of Yemen

Yemen is in Western Asia. It is on the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula. A number of Red Sea islands, including the Hanish Islands, Kamaran, and Perim, as well as Socotra in the Arabian Sea, belong to Yemen. Many of the islands are volcanic. For example Jabal al-Tair had a volcanic eruption in 2007 and before that in 1883. The highest point in Yemen is Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb.

Economy

Yemen is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the Arab World. There is a 35% unemployment rate, which means only 35 out of every 100 people don't have a job.

Government

As a result of the 2011–2012 Yemeni uprising, the constitution of Yemen was rewritten. New elections were to be held in 2014. Some areas are controlled by armed militant groups. On 23 January 2015, the President, Prime Minister and Cabinet resigned. War continued, with Saudi Arabia and Iran supporting different sides.

Governorates

As of February 2004, Yemen is divided into twenty governorates and one municipality called "Amanat Al-Asemah".

Division	Capital City	Population 2004 Census	Population 2006 est.	Key
'Aden	Aden	589,419	634,710	1
'Amran	'Amran	877,786	909,992	2
Abyan	Zinjibar	433,819	454,535	3
Ad-Dali'	Ad Dali'	470,564	504,533	4
Al Bayda'	Al Bayda'	577,369	605,303	5
Al Hudaydah	Al-Hudaydah	2,157,552	2,300,179	6
Al Jawf	Al-Jawf	443,797	465,737	7
Al-Mahrah	Al-Ghaydah	88,594	96,768	8
Al-Mahwit	Al-Mahweet	494,557	523,236	9
Amanat Al-Asemah	Sana'a	1,747,834	1,947,139	10
Dhamar	Dhamar	1,330,108	1,412,142	11
Hadhramaut	Al-Mukalla	1,028,556	1,092,967	12
Hajjah	Hajjah	1,479,568	1,570,872	13
Ibb	Ibb	2,131,861	2,238,537	14
Lahij	Lahij	722,694	761,160	15
Ma'rib	Ma'rib	238,522	251,668	16
Raymah	Kosmah	394,448	418,659	17
Sa'dah	Sa`dah	695,033	746,957	18
Sana'a	Sana'a	919,215	957,798	19
Shabwah	Ataq	470,440	494,638	20
Taiz	Taiz	1,121,000	2,513,003	21

The governorates are divided into 333 districts. The districts are divided into 2,210 sub-districts, and then into 38,284 villages (as of 2001).

Demographics

Yemen has about 24 million people according to June 2011 estimates. 46% of the people are under 15 years old. Yemenis are mainly of Arab origin. Arabic is the official language.

Religion in Yemen is mostly of two main Islamic religious groups; 53% of the Muslim population is Sunni and 45% is Shiite according to the UNHCR.

According to 2009 estimates, life expectancy in Yemen is 63.27 years.

Sport

See also: Yemen at the Olympics

Football is the most popular sport in Yemen. The Yemen national football team competes in the FIFA and the AFC leagues. The country also hosts many football clubs that compete in the national or international leagues.

Yemen's mountains have many opportunities for outdoor sports, such as rock climbing, hill climbing, skiing, and hiking. The coast of Yemen and Socotra island have opportunities for water sports, such as surfing, sailing, swimming, and scuba diving. Socotra island is one of the best surfing places in the world.

Yemen's biggest sports event was hosting the 2010 Gulf Cup of Nations.

Images for kids

A Sabaean gravestone of a woman holding a stylized sheaf of wheat, a symbol of fertility in ancient Yemen
A funerary stela featuring a musical scene, first century AD
Himyarite King Dhamar Ali Yahbur II
The ruins of The Great Dam of Marib
The interior of the Great Mosque of Sana'a, the oldest mosque in Yemen
Jibla became the capital of the Sulayhid dynasty.
Queen Arwa al-Sulaihi Palace
Al-Qahyra (Cairo) Castle's Garden in Taiz, the capital of Yemen during the Rasulid's era
Al Bakiriyya Ottoman Mosque in Sana'a, was built in 1597
Mocha was Yemen's busiest port in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Saint Joseph church in Aden was built by the British in 1850 and is currently abandoned.
The Ottoman Grand Vizier and Wāli of Yemen Ahmed Muhtar Pasha
Imam Yahya hamid ed-Din's house in Sana'a
British colony of Aden: Queen Elizabeth II stamp, 1953
Queen Elizabeth II holding a sword prepared to knight subjects in Aden in 1954
Egyptian military intervention in North Yemen in 1962
Prayers during Ramadan in Sana'a
"Sana'a risks becoming the first capital in the world to run out of a viable water supply as Yemen's streams and natural aquifers run dry", according to The Guardian.
Protest in Sana'a, 3 February 2011
Saudi-led air strike on Sana'a, 12 June 2015: Saudi Arabia is operating without a UN mandate.
A topographic map of Yemen
Mountains of north Yemen
A water reservoir in Haraz, Yemen
Dracaena cinnabari at Socotra Island
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh at the Pentagon, 8 June 2004
Ousted Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, 7 May 2015
Yemeni soldiers
A proportional representation of Yemen's exports
A coffee plantation in North Yemen
A Souq in Old Sana'a
Drilling for oil in Yemen using a land rig
Yemen's tribal areas and Shia/Sunni regions. Shia Muslims predominant in the green area of Yemen's West, with the rest of Yemen being Sunni Muslims.
Saleh Mosque in Sana'a.
The National Museum in Sana'a‌
Typical Yemeni House
Dance in Sa'dah, northwestern Yemen.
High-rise architecture at Shibam, Wadi Hadramawt‌
New Sana'a University in Sana.
A Yemeni doctor examines an infant in a USAID-sponsored health care clinic.
Yemen's population (1961–2008). Yemen has a growth rate of 3.46% (2008 est.)