Home

Geography of Yemen

Location:Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates:15 00 N, 48 00 E
Map references:Middle East
Area:total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)
Area - comparative:slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Land boundaries:total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Coastline:1,906 km
Maritime claims:territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate:mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
Terrain:narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula
Elevation extremes:lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m
Natural resources:petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west
Land use:arable land: 2.91%
permanent crops: 0.25%
other: 96.84% (2005)
Irrigated land:5,500 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:sandstorms and dust storms in summer
Environment - current issues:very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes

Yemen Quickstats

  • Population: 22,230,531 (July 2007 est.)
  • Area: 527,970 sq km
  • Density: 40 /km² (160th)
  • GDP (total): $19.480 billion (110th)
  • GDP (per capita): $900 (175th)
  • Literacy: 50.2%

Languages of Yemen

Useful to know

  • Currency: Yemeni rial $1 = 198.13 Rials (YER)
  • Dial code: +967

International Trade

External sites

More Resources

Yemen Internet

  • Usage: 180,000
  • Penetration: 0.9 %
  • Top Domain: .ym

WT eBusiness info:

  • Success Ranking: 100
  • Market testing: Untested
  • Overall risk: High
  • Overall reward: Low

e-maturity:

  • Tourism: 10%
  • eCommerce: 10%
  • Gaming: 10%
  • eLearning: 10%

Recent blog posts