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Background Notes on Yemen from the U.S. Department of State

Country Overview

 Yemen is an ancient land with a proud history that dates back over 3,000 years. Yemen is mentioned in the Bible (as the land of the Queen of Sheba) and the Qur’an, and is the setting for one of the stories of A Thousand and One Nights.  Among the ancient civilizations that ruled in Yemen are the Sabaeans and the Himyarites.  After the spread of Islam, the most important rulers in Yemen were the Zaydis and the Ottomans.  The modern period of Yemeni history was characterized by political instability and disunity.  The North was ruled by an Imamate until 1962, while the South was part of the British Empire until 1967.  Throughout the 1970s and the 1980s Yemen remained split, but was unified as the Republic of Yemen in May 1990. Though Yemen was officially one country after 1990, the North and South engaged in a civil war until 1994, when peace was finally declared.  Yemen continued to become more stable after a border agreement was signed with Saudi Arabia in 2000, and, more recently, the Yemeni government pledged to rid its borders of Islamic extremism and terrorism.

The Yemen College of Middle Eastern Studies is located in the capital city of Sana’a, which dates back to the 6^th Century BC.  It has been ruled by numerous dynasties, including the Sabaeans, Himyarites, Ethiopians, and Persians, and became a Muslim city while the Prophet Muhammad was still alive.  Various Muslim rulers oversaw the city from the time of the Ottoman Turks to the Zaydi Imamate, which ended with the 1962 revolution.  Sana’a’s remarkable history of repeated inhabitations places it as a contender for the “oldest, continuously inhabited city of the world” at 2500 straight years. 

 Sana’a became the capital of North Yemen in 1962 with a population of less than 250,000. The newly founded capital quickly expanded without proper urban planning, accounting for some of the confusion and frustration experienced when navigating the city today.  Currently the city’s population is rapidly expanding to over two million inhabitants, leading to water depletion and occasional energy shortages. 

 Yemen’s topography is the most varied of any country on the Arabian Peninsula, and northern Yemen is known as the “Roof of Arabia” for its spectacular mountains.  The capital of Sana’a sits at the center of the Sana’a basin at an altitude of 2250 meters/7,400 feet.  The weather in Sana’a is quite pleasant throughout the year, with the rainy seasons extending from April to June and August to September.  To the west toward the Red Sea coast, the mountains give way to the Tihama, a long strip of coastal plane, which is hot and humid, especially during the summer months.  The Hadhramout region extends to the south and east, bordering the southern portion of al-Rub al-Khali (the Empty Quarter).  Yemen also controls numerous islands in the Red and Arabian Seas, including Socotra Island which, because of its isolation, boasts unique endemic species and some of Arabia’s greatest plant and animal diversity. 

  The total land area of Yemen is 527.970 sq. km, or roughly twice the size of the state of Wyoming.  Yemen is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the east, the Arabian Sea to the south, and the Red Sea to the west.

 The population of Yemen in 2007 is estimated at 22 million people, the majority under the age of 25.  Growth rates are among the highest in the world at about 3.5%, with Yemeni women having, on average, 6.5 children each.  The racial makeup of the population is predominantly Arab, with some immigration from Africa (mainly the Horn of Africa), South Asia, and Europe (mainly Russian).  Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Arab world and receives aid from many Western and Gulf countries.  Yemen remains underdeveloped and remote, especially in the countryside.  For example, internet users account for less than 1% of the population. 

Yemen’s architecture is quite varied from region to region and from city to city.  Sana’a, Shibam, and Zabid are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.  Most Sana’ani houses feature a mafraj (sitting room) on the top floor. Yemenis socialize in the mafraj by talking, listening to music, smoking, and/or chewing qat.   Foreigners are often invited to spend time socializing in mafrajs; this is a wonderful way to spend time with locals, make friends, and practice one’s Arabic.

 Though Yemen is a developing, modernizing country, it is still a tribal-based, conservative Islamic society.  However, it is probably the only such country to welcome foreigners as openly as it does.  Foreigners, therefore, are expected to act accordingly and respect Yemeni values and social mores.