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
Christian 40%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 40%
Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shia), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu
Languages
English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence
Arabic
Exports
rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee
crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish
External Debt
$228,000,000 $
$6,613,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Liberian dollars (LRD) per US dollar - NA (2007), 59.43 (2006), 53.098 (2005), 54.906 (2004), 59.379 (2003)
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
1.300%
6.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone
Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Area
111,369 km sq
527,968 km sq
Coastline
579 km
1,906 km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
