Eternal president: Kim Il-sung (deceased) Chairman, National Defence Commission: Kim Jong-il
President: Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi
Population
24,589,122
24,771,809
Life Expectancy
69.200 years
64.110 years
Capital City
Sanaa
Largest city
Pyongyang (population: 3,222,000)
Sanaa (population: 1,778,900)
Human Development Index
0
0.567
GDP per capita
$2,300 US
Literacy Rate
99%
50.2%
Corruption Perception Index
NA
2.3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
20.1%
0.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
35.000%
Death Penalty
NA
Legal
Political System
Communist state one-man dictatorship
republic
Independence date
22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen became independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and became a republic with the overthrow of the theocratic Imamate in 1962; South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)
Religions
traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way) note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shia), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
Languages
Korean
Arabic
Exports
crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish
External Debt
$6,613,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Yemeni rials (YER) per US dollar - 199.76 (2008 est.), 199.14 (2007), 197.18 (2006), 192.67 (2005), 184.78 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
6.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
6
0
Location
Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Area
120,538 km sq
527,968 km sq
Coastline
2,495 km
1,906 km
Climate
temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
