Yemen Fact Sheet

Yemen

Contributed by Steve Reed on 22 Mar 2012

Geography

National Symbol:

Geographic Area:

203,796

Time Zone:

UTC +3

Climate:

Temperate in the western mountains, humid along the coast, extremely hot and arid in the interior

Population:

25.13 million (April 2011 est.)

Major Cities:

Sana'a
Aden
Taiz

Guidebooks:

Bradt Travel Guide to Yemen

Lonely Planet Oman, UAE and the Arabian Peninsula

U.S. Government Fact Sheets:

U.S. State Department

U.S. Government Fact Sheets:

CIA: The World Factbook

US Consulate/Embassy Contact Info:

Embassy Ambassador: Gerald Michael Feierstein Public Affairs Section: passanaa@state.gov Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, PO Box 22347 Telephone: (967) (1) 755-2000, extension 2153 or 2266 Emergency after-hours telephone: (967) (1) 755-2000 (press 0 for extension) or (967) 733-213-509

US Consulate/Embassy Website:

U.S. Embassy to Yemen

British Consulate/Embassy Contact Info:

PO Box 3337 Sana'a Road KM7 Hodeidah, Yemen Phone: (967) (3) 238130/131, 238958 Fax: (967) (3) 211533, 238269

British Consulate/Embassy Website:

British Embassy

Canadian Consulate/Embassy Contact Info:

Bldg 4, Street 11 of Haddah Street PO Box 340 Sana'a Yemen

Canadian Consulate/Embassy Website:

Canadian Embassy

Daily Life

Official Language:

Arabic

Secondary Languages:

English (in major cities)

Currency:

Yemeni Rial ($1 = 215.5 YER, as of April 2012)

Legal Drinking Age:

illegal

Drinking Rules:

forbidden in public
designated driking establishments
other

Drinking Rules, other:

Alcohol consumption is generally prohibited in Yemen, but alcohol may be available in cities and some hotels at high prices. Any public drunkenness should be avoided.

Legal Driving Age:

Driving Rules:

drive with your national license
drive on right side of road
other

Driving Rules, other:

Travel by road in Yemen is risky. Traffic laws are often ignored, making intersections and traffic lights dangerous. Yemeni law specifies driving on the right, but sometimes Yemenis drive on the left. There are many underage drivers.

Tipping Customs:

Tipping is not customary and is not expected at local tea shops and restaurants. At Western-style establishments, leaving coins and/or <5% is acceptable, but not expected.

Travel

Vaccines Required:

yellow fever

Vaccines Recommended:

diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPaT)
hepatitis A
hepatitis B
measles/mumps/rubella (MMR)
polio
rabies
typhoid

Health Concerns:

malaria
polio

Health Concerns, other:

Malaria is present in some areas at lower elevations. Anti-malarial medication may be required. Do not swim in fresh water, to avoid schistosomiasis. An outbreak of polio occurred in Yemen in 2005. Leishmaniasis, West Nile virus and measles have been reported in the Middle East and/or Arabian Peninsula.

Visa Required:

Americans
Canadians
British
Europeans
other

Visa Information:

All visitors must obtain visas prior to travel. Further information is available from the Embassy of Yemen in Washington, D.C. (http://www.yemenembassy.org/consulate/Visa.htm)

Immigration Office:

Immigration and Passport Authority, Sana'a

Passport Office:

From all countries, you must get a visa ahead of time. U.K., Australia passport holders get three month tourist/visitor visas. US citizens get only one month. US: http://www.yemenembassy.org/consulate/Visa.htm Canada: http://yemen.visahq.ca Britain: http://yemen.embassyhomepage.com Australia: 13 Culgoa Circuit, O'Malley; P.O.Box 849 Woden, ACT 2606; Tel: (61-2) 62901679, 62901683)

Communications

Communications, additional information:

Major mobile telephone providers include MTN and Yemen Mobile.

Mobile Networks:

CDMA2000
GSM

Phone Country Code:

967

Political History

Capital City:

Sana'a

Ruling Party:

General People's Congress (GPC)

Minority Parties:

Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah
Nasserite Unionist Party
National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party
Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP
At least seven more

Country Leaders

Primary Imports:

food
live animals
machinery and equipment
chemicals

Primary Exports:

crude oil
coffee
dried and salted fish
natural gas

Religious/Tribal Clans:

Sunni

Religious/Tribal Clans Demographics:

Most of Yemen is Sunni. There are very strong Salafi/Wahhabi influences from Saudi Arabia, in addition to strong conservative tribal traditions. There are some Shia, and they live alongside Sunnis. Sectarianism is not a primary problem in Yemen. Tribes are a major deal in Yemen, particularly in the north. Tribal regions are ruled by local and regional sheiks, as well as by loose tribal confederations. Tribes are very highly armed, and do not act monolithically, even within individual tribes. There are Yemenis of African descent, who have darker skin than the Arab Yemenis, and are treated as second-class citizens. They are most often street-cleaners, maids, and garbage men.

Yemen

Yemen Fact Sheet

Yemen

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