YEMEN



Republic of Yemen

Al-Jumhuriyah al-Yamaniyah

CAPITAL : Sana (San'a)

FLAG : The national flag is a tricolor of red, white, and black horizontal stripes.

ANTHEM : Al-Watani (Peace to the Land).

MONETARY UNIT : The Yemeni riyal ( YR ) is a paper currency of 100 fils. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 fils and notes of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 riyals. YR 1 = $0.00546 (or $1 = YR 183.15) as of May 2003.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : The metric system is being introduced, but local measures remain in common use.

HOLIDAYS : Labor Day, 1 May; Day of National Unity, 22 May; National Day, 14 October; Independence Day, 30 November. Movable Muslim holidays include Laylat al-Miraj, 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al- 'Adha', Milad an-Nabi, and 1st of Muharram.

TIME : 3 PM = noon GMT.


FISHING

Fishermen work along the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea coasts. The annual fish catch in 2000 was about 114,751 tons. Principal species of that catch included Indian and Spanish mackerel, cuttlefish, lobster, and scavengers. Fish-processing plants are located at Al-Hudaydah and Al-Mukalla. Exports of fish and fish products were valued at $40.9 million in 2000. Pearl and coral diving have been practiced for centuries.

FORESTRY

Forest and woodland coverage is negligible. Forests once covered Yemen, but overgrazing by goats and the systematic cutting of timber for fuel and construction have almost completely eliminated the forest cover, especially in the south. Roundwood production totaled 302,000 cu m (10.7 million cu ft) in 2000, all of it used for fuel. Lumber imports amounted to $44.9 million in 2000.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The University of Aden, founded in 1975 at Al-Mansoora, has faculties of science, arts, and education; agriculture; engineering; and medicine. Sana University, founded in 1970, has faculties of science, medicine and health sciences, engineering, and agriculture.

INSURANCE

There were at least ten insurance firms in the Yemen in 1999. Much of the Yemen's insurance business is transacted abroad. In 1999, there was 18.8 million dollars of premiums written in Yemen, giving the insurance industry a .30% share of the Gross Domestic Product.

DEPENDENCIES

Yemen has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Almadhagi, Ahmed Noman Kassim. Yemen and the United States: A Study of Power and Super-State Relationship, 1962–1994. London: I.B. Taurus Publishers, 1996.

American University. The Yemens: Country Studies. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1986.

Burrowes, Robert D. Historical Dictionary of Yemen. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 1995.

Chaudhry, Kiren Aziz. The Price of Wealth: Economies and Institutions in the Middle East. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1997.

Crouch, Michael. An Element of Luck: To South Arabia and Beyond. New York: Radcliffe Press, 1993.

Halliday, Fred. Revolution and Foreign Policy: The Case of South Yemen, 1967–1987. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Ismael, Tareq Y., and Jacqueline S. Ismael. The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen: Politics, Economics and Society. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 1986.

Kostiner, Joseph. Yemen: The Tortuous Quest for Unity, 1990– 1994. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1996.

Mackintosh-Smith, Tim. Yemen: The Unknown Arabia. Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press, 2000.

Mundy, Martha. Domestic Government: Kinship, Community and Polity in North Yemen. London: I.B. Taurus, 1995.

Page, Stephen. The Soviet Union and the Yemens: Influence in Asymmetrical Relationships. New York: Praeger, 1985.

Pridham, B. R. (ed.). Contemporary Yemen: Politics and Historical Background. London: Croom Helm, 1984.

——. (ed.) Economy, Society and Culture in Contemporary Yemen. London: Croom Helm, 1985.

Rushby, Kevin. Eating the Flowers of Paradise: A Journey through the Drug Fields of Ethiopia and Yemen. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Saliba, Therese, Carolyn Allen, and Judith A. Howard, eds. Gender, Politics, and Islam. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002.

Stookey, Robert W. South Yemen: A Marxist Republic in Arabia. Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1982.

Wenner, Manfred W. The Yemen Arab Republic: Development and Change in an Ancient Land. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1991.

The Yemeni War of 1994: Causes and Consequences. Edited by Jamal al-Suwaidi. London: Saqi Books, 1995.

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