Yemen Stock Market

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.

Capital City: Sana (+3 GMT)

Chief of State: President Ali Abdallah SALIH

Head of Govt.: Prime Minister Ali Muhammad MUJAWWAR

Currency: Yemeni rial

Main Cities: Aden, Taiz, Hodeida

Major Languages: Arabic

Calling Code: 967

Voltage: 220V

Primary Religions: Muslim

Main Airports

Hodaidah (HOD), Sana’a (SAH) (El-Rahaba), Taiz (TAI) (al-Janad)

U.S. Embassy

P.O. Box 22347, Sanaa, Republic of Yemen

Statistics

GDP: purchasing power parity:

$19.37 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

2.4% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity:

900 (2005 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

11.8% (2005 est.)

Labor force:

5.83 million (2005 est.)

Exports:

$6.387 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - partners:

China 36.3%, Chile 19.1%, Thailand 12.5%, Japan 5.4%, South Korea 4.4%, US 4% (2005)

Imports:

$4.19 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - partners:

UAE 14.4%, Saudi Arabia 11.4%, China 9%, Kuwait 5%, India 4.4%, Turkey 4.4% (2005)

Population:

21,456,188 (July 2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

3.46% (2006 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line:

45.2% (2003)

Major 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

Employing Workers: 53*

Registering Property: 43*

Enforcing Contracts: 37 *

Closing a Business: 82*

*2006 World Bank rank out of 175 countries