Welcome to Arabia Felix

History

Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the world. Between the ninth century BC and the sixth century AD, it was part of the Sabaean, Awsanian, Minaean, Qatabanian, Hadhramawtian, Himyarite, and some other kingdoms, which controlled the lucrative spice trade. It was known to the Ancient Romans as Arabia Felix ("Lucky Arabia") because of the riches its trade generated. Augustus Caesar attempted to annex it, but the expedition failed. The Ethiopian Kingdom of Aksum annexed it by around 520, and it was subsequently taken by the Sassanids Persians around 570. In the 3rd century and again in the late sixth and early seventh centuries AD, many Sabaean and Himyarite people migrated out of the land of Yemen following the destructions of the Ma'rib Dam (sadd Ma'rib) and migrated to North Africa and northern part of the Arabian Peninsula. In the 7th century, Islamic caliphs began to exert control over the area. After this caliphate broke up, the former North Yemen came under control of Imams of various dynasties usually of the Zaidi sect, who established a theocratic political structure that survived until modern times.

(Imam is a religious term. The Shi'ites apply it to the prophet Muhammad's son-in-law Ali, his sons Hassan and Hussein, and subsequent lineal descendants, whom they consider to have been divinely ordained unclassified successors of the prophet.) Egyptian Sunni Caliphs occupied much of North Yemen throughout the eleventh century. By the sixteenth century and again in the nineteenth century, north Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire, and in some periods its Imams exerted control over south Yemen. North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and became a republic in 1962. In 1839, the British occupied the port of Aden and established it as a colony in September of that year. They also set up a zone of loose alliances (known as protectorates) around Aden to act as a protective buffer. In 1967, the British withdrew and gave back Aden to Yemen due to extreme pressure of battles with the North and Egyptian allies. After the British withdrawal, this area became known as South Yemen. The two countries were formally united as the Republic of Yemen on May 22, 1990.

Politics

Yemen is a republic with a bicameral legislature. Under the constitution, an elected president, an elected 301-seat House of Representatives, and an appointed 111-member Shura Council share power. The president is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government. The constitution provides that the president be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates endorsed by Parliament; the prime minister is appointed by the president. The presidential term of office is seven years, and the parliamentary term of elected office is six years. Suffrage is universal over 18 years of age. President Ali Abdullah Saleh became the first elected President in reunified Yemen in 1999 [though he had been President of unified Yemen since 1990 and President of North Yemen since 1978] and most recently was re-elected in September of 2006 after an initial reluctance to run once more. His victory was marked by an election that international observers judged to be "generally free and fair." Popular demonstrations and editorials of support in major papers helped change his mind to run again. In April 2003 parliamentary elections were held, and the General People's Congress (GPC) maintained an absolute majority.

The constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sana?. Since the country is an Islamic state, the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an, is the basis for all laws, and no law may contradict the Qur'an. Indeed many court cases are debated by the religious basis of the laws i.e. by interpretations of the Qur'an. For this reason, many Judges are religious scholars as well as legal authorities. Unlike Saudi Arabia and other Islamic states, the consumption of alcohol by foreigners is tolerated, and the mild stimulant Qat is chewed by Yemenis of all strata of society, despite being banned or frowned upon by other Islamic countries and groups. The political elites of Yemen are the Hashid tribe and the Bakeel tribe. President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Speaker of the Parliment are from the Hashid Tribe.

Economy

In terms of GDP per capita, Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Remittances from Yemenis working abroad and foreign aid paid for perennial trade deficits. Substantial Yemeni communities exist in many countries of the world, including Yemen's immediate neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula, Indonesia, India, East Africa, and also the United Kingdom, and the United States, especially in the area around Detroit, Michigan. Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union and China provided large-scale assistance. For example the Chinese are currently involved with the expansion of the International Airport in Sanaa. In the south, pre-independence economic activity was overwhelmingly concentrated in the port city of Aden. The seaborne transit trade, which the port relied upon, collapsed with the closure of the Suez Canal and Britain's withdrawal from Aden in 1967. Since unification, the government has worked to integrate two relatively disparate economic systems. However, severe shocks, including the return in 1990 of approximately 850,000 Yemenis from the Gulf states, a subsequent major reduction of aid flows, and internal political disputes culminating in the 1994 civil war hampered economic growth. Yemen, the fastest growing democracy in the Middle East, is attempting to climb into the middle human development region through ongoing political and economic reform. Since the conclusion of the war, the government entered into agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to implement a structural adjustment program. Phase one of the IMF program included major financial and monetary reforms, including floating the currency, reducing the budget deficit, and cutting subsidies. Phase two will address structural issues such as civil service reform. In early 1995, the government of Yemen launched an economic, financial and administrative reform program (EFARP) with the support of the World Bank and the IMF, as well international donors. The First Five-Year Plan (FFYP) for the years 1996 to 2000 was introduced in 1996. The World Bank has focused on public sector management,including civil service reform, budget reform and privatization. In addition, attracting diversified private investment, water management and poverty-oriented social sector improvements has been made a priority for the implementation of the programs in Yemen. These programs had a positive impact on Yemen’s economy and led to the reduction of the budget deficit to less than 3% of GDP during the period 1995-99 and the correction of macro-financial imbalances.[1] In 1997, IMF and the government began medium-term economic reform programs under the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF). This reform program was aimed at reducing dependence on the oil sector and establishing a market environment for real non-oil GDP growth and investment in the non-oil sector. Increasing the growth rate in the non-oil sector was one of the most important problems to be tackled by the government. These programs included reducing unemployment, strengthening the social safety net and increasing financial stability. To achieve these reforms, the government and IMF implemented containment of government wages, improvements in revenue collection with the introduction of reforms in tax administration, and a sharp reduction in subsidies bills by increasing prices on subsidized goods. As a result, the fiscal cash deficit was reduced from 16 percent of GDP to 0.9 percent from 1994 to 1997. This was supported by aid from oil export countries despite the wide-ranging fluctuations in world oil prices. The real growth rate in the non-oil sector rose by 5.6 percent during 1995-97. [2] The World Bank is active in Yemen, with twenty-two active projects in 2004, including projects to improve governance in the public sector, water, and education. In 1996 and 1997, Yemen has lowered its debt burden through Paris Club agreements and restructuring U.S. foreign debt. In 2003, government reserves reached $5 billion. The main oil produced and used in Yemen is Marib oil. Marib oil contains associated natural gas. Proven reserves of 10 to 13 trillion cubic feet (283 to 368 km³) could sustain a liquid natural gas (LNG) export project.

Geography

Yemen is in the Middle East, in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, west of Oman and south of Saudi Arabia. A number of Red Sea islands, including the Hanish Islands, Kamaran and Perim, as well as Socotra in the Arabian Sea belong to Yemen. At 203,837 mi² (527,970 km²), Yemen is the world's 49th-largest country (after France). It is comparable in size to Thailand, and somewhat larger than the U.S. state of California. Yemen is found at 15° N 48° E. Until recently its northern border was undefined because the Arabian Desert prevented any human habitation there. The country can be divided geographically into four main regions: the coastal plains in the west, the western highlands, the eastern highlands, and the Rub al Khali in the east. The Tihamah ("hot lands") form a very arid and flat coastal plain. Despite the aridity, the presence of many lagoons makes this region very marshy and a suitable breeding ground for malarial mosquitoes. There are also extensive crescent-shaped sand dunes. The evaporation in the Tihama is so great that streams from the highlands never reach the sea, but they do contribute to extensive groundwater reserves; today these are heavily exploited for agricultural use. The Tihamah ends abruptly at the escarpment of the western highlands. This area, now heavily terraced to meet the demand for food, receives the highest rainfall in Arabia, rapidly increasing from 100 mm (4 inches) per year to about 760 mm (30 inches) in Ta'izz and over 1,000 mm (40 inches) in Ibb. Agriculture here is very diverse, with such crops as sorghum dominating, but cotton and many fruit trees are also grown, with mangoes being the most valuable.

Temperatures are hot in the day but fall dramatically at night. There are perennial streams in the highlands but these never reach the sea because of high evaporation in the Tihama. The central highlands are an extensive high plateau over 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) in elevation. This area is drier than the western highlands because of rain-shadow influences, but still receives sufficient rain in wet years for extensive cropping. Diurnal temperature ranges are among the highest in the world: ranges from 30 °C (86 °F) in the day to 0 °C (32 °F) at night are normal.[citation needed] Water storage allows for irrigation and the growing of wheat and barley. Sana'a is located in this region. The highest point in Yemen is Jabal an Nabi Shu'aya, at 3,760 meters (12,336 ft). The Rub al Khali in the East is much lower, generally below 1,000 metres, and receives almost no rain. It is populated only by Bedouin herders of camels.

Languages

While the national language is Arabic (spoken in several regional dialects), Yemen is one of the main homelands of the South Semitic family of languages, which includes the non-Arabic language of the ancient Sabaean Kingdom. Its modern Yemeni descendants are closely related to the modern Semitic languages of Eritrea and Ethiopia. However, only a small remnant of those languages exists in modern Yemen, notably on the island of Socotra and in the back hills of the Hadhramaut coastal region. Modern South Arabian languages spoken in Yemen include Mehri, with 70,643 speakers, Soqotri, with an estimated 43,000 speakers in the Socotra archipelago (2004 census) and 67,000 worldwide, and Bathari (with an estimated total of only 200 speakers). Foreign language in public schools is taught from grade seven on, though the quality of public school instruction is low. Private schools using a British or American system teach English and produce proficient speakers, but Arabic is the dominant language of communication. The number of English speakers in Yemen is small compared to other Arab countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Private schools have also started to teach French alongside Arabic and English.

Holidays

Day	Holiday	Notes
May 22	National Unity	Celebrates the unification of the Republic of Yemen
September 26	1962 Revolution Day	Celebrates the revolution against the northern Imams
October 14	1967 Revolution Day	Celebrates the revolution against the British in the south
November 30	Evacuation Day	Evacuation of the last British soldier from southern Yemen

Home | Yemen | Services | Contact us |