Culture of Yemen

       The prehistoric nation of Yemen lies at the top of the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen has one of the oldest civilization in the world to date, with ties to the Semitic lands to its north, and to the cultures of the Horn of Africa, just crosswise the Red Sea. According to legend, the Biblical Queen of Sheba, companion of King Solomon, was Yemeni. Other Arabs, Ethiopians, Persians, Ottoman Turks, and most recently, the British have colonized at Yemen a range of times. Through 1989, North and South Yemen were disconnect nations. However. Today they are united into the Republic of Yemen - Arabia's only democratic republic. Yemen is the only republic on the Arabian Peninsula; its neighbors are kingdoms or emirates. The Yemeni decision-making branch consists of a president, a prime minister and a cabinet. The president is openly elected; he appoints the prime minister, with legislative approval. Yemen has a two-part legislature, with a 301-seat lower house, the House of Representatives, and a 111-seat upper house, called the Shura Council. Prior to 1990, North and South Yemen had separate legal codes. The highest court is the Supreme Court in Sanaa. The current President (since 1990) is Ali Abdullah Saleh. Ali Muhammad Mujawar is Prime Minister.

Geography of Yemen:

       Yemen has an area of 527,970 square kilometers, or 203,796 square miles, at the top of the Arabian Peninsula. It is next to Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the east, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Eastern, central and northern Yemen are desert areas, part of the Arabian Desert and Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter). Western Yemen is rough and mountainous. The coast is fringed with sandy lowlands. Yemen also possesses a number of islands, many of which are actively volcanic. The highest point is the Jabal al Nabi Shu'ayb, at 3,760 m, or 12,336 feet. The lowest point is sea level.

Population of Yemen: 

       Yemen is habitat to 22,230,531 people (U.S. State Dept., 2007 estimate). The great majority are ethnic Arabs, but 35% have some African blood as well. There are small minorities of Somalis, Ethiopians, Roma (Gypsies) and Europeans, as well as South Asians. Yemen has the uppermost birthrate in Arabia, at about 6.2 children per woman. This is probably attributable to early marriages (the marriageable age for girls under Yemeni law is 9), and lack of education for women. The literacy rate among women is only 30%, while 70% of men can read and write. Infant mortality is almost 60 per 1,000 live births.

Languages of Yemen:

       Yemen's national language is average Arabic, but there are several different regional dialects in common use. Southern variants of Arabic spoken in Yemen include Mehri, with about 70,000 speakers; Soqotri, spoken by 43,000 island residents; and Bathari, which has only about 200 surviving speakers in Yemen. In addition to the Arabic languages, some Yemeni tribes still speak other primeval Semitic languages closely related to the Ethiopian Amharic and Tigrinya languages. These languages are remains of the Sabean Empire (9th century B.C. to 1st century B.C.) and the Axumite territory (4th century B.C. to 1st century A.D.).

Religion in Yemen:

       The foundation of Yemen states that Islam is the official state religion of the country, but it also guarantees freedom of religion. The majority by far of Yemenis are Muslim, with some 42-45% Zaydi Shias, and about 52-55% Shafi Sunnis. A tiny minority, some 3,000 people, are Ismaili Muslims. Yemen is also home to an original population of Jews, now numbering only about 500. In the mid-20th century, thousands of Yemenite Jews moved to the new state of Israel. A handful each of Christians and Hindus also live in Yemen, although most are foreign ex-patriots or refugees.

Yemen's Economy:

       Yemen is the poorest nation in Arabia. As of 2003, 45% of the population was living below the poverty line. In part, this poverty stems from gender inequality; 30% of teenage girls between 15 and 19 are married with children, and most are uneducated. Another key is unemployment, which stands at 35%. The per capita GDP is only about $600 (2006 World Bank estimate). Yemen imports food, livestock and machinery. It exports crude oil, qat, coffee, and seafood. The current spike in oil prices may help alleviate Yemen's economic distress. The exchange is the Yemeni rial. The exchange rate is $1 US = 199.3 rials (July 2008).