North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918.

The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen.

Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states.

The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued.

In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 22,230,531 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.3% (male 5,239,003/female 5,047,301) 15-64 years: 51.1% (male 5,781,491/female 5,585,152) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 281,121/female 296,463) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 16.7 years male: 16.6 years female: 16.7 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 3.461% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 42.67 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 8.05 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.948 male(s)/female total population: 1.034 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 57.88 deaths/1,000 live births male: 62.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 53.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 62.52 years male: 60.61 years female: 64.54 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 6.49 children born/woman (2007 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 12,000 (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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Nationality: noun: Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni

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Ethnic groups: predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans Religions: Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

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Languages: Arabic

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.)

Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported average annual growth of 3.5% from 2000 through 2006. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on oil. Oil revenues probably increased in 2006 as a result of higher prices. Yemen was on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. However, government dedication to the program waned in 2001 for political reasons. Yemen is struggling to control excessive spending and rampant corruption. Yemen is dependent on foreign aid to finance its budget deficits and development projects. In November, Yemen secured $4.7 billion in assistance from Arabian Gulf and Western donors.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $20.63 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $15.07 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 2.6% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,000 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12.5% industry: 43.8% services: 43.7% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 5.759 million (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: note: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force

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Unemployment rate: 35% (2003 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 45.2% (2003)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 25.9% (2003)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 33.4 (1998)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.8% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 15.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $7.314 billion expenditures: $6.984 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 30% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish

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Industries: crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair

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Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2003 est.)

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Electricity - production: 4.077 billion kWh (2004 est.)

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Electricity - consumption: 3.792 billion kWh (2004 est.)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 387,500 bbl/day (2005 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 85,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: 320,600 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 3.72 billion bbl (2006 est.)

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - proved reserves: 478.6 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

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Current account balance: $1.69 billion (2006 est.)

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Exports: $8.214 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish

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Exports - partners: China 29.9%, India 16.6%, Thailand 15.9%, South Korea 6.4%, US 6.4%, Switzerland 5.2% (2006)

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Imports: $5.042 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals Imports - partners: UAE 15.8%, China 12.3%, Saudi Arabia 7.5%, Switzerland 6.4%, Kuwait 5.6%, Malaysia 4% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $6.735 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $5.469 billion (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements)

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Currency (code): Yemeni rial (YER)

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Exchange rates: Yemeni rials per US dollar - 197.18 (2006), 192.67 (2005), 184.78 (2004), 183.45 (2003), 175.63 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year