Yemen

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Located at the end of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has an area of approximately 527,970 square kilometers (203,065 square miles). Its population numbers 19,349,881 people; Sanaa is the capital. Yemen is bordered by the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. It is mainly composed of deserts and has some mountains. Its climate is hot and dry in the deserts and mild in the mountains.

In 1967 Yemen was divided into two states: the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen). Both countries entered into a civil war that ended with their unification in 1990. After the civil war, two major political players came to the fore and remained key players in 2004: Ali Abdullah Saleh (b. 1942), who served as the president, and Abdullah el Ahmar (b. 1933), who was the speaker of the house.

In 2004 Yemen was a very poor country with a per capita income of only $800. Its life expectancy remains low at sixty-five years: sixty and seventy years for men and women, respectively.

The basis of Yemen's government is the constitution that was created in 1991 and amended in 1994 and 2001. A president, prime minister, and bicameral parliament head the government. In 2004 the president dominated political life, with his party holding a majority in the lower house. Before the elections of 1997, a coalition forged by Saleh and el Ahmar remained the central force in government, especially after the defeat of South Yemen.

Powers are divided between the executive branch and the legislature. The president is elected directly by the people for a term of seven years, during which he appoints the cabinet, prime minister, and other ministers. The legislative branch has been bicameral since 2001. The upper house, Majlis el Shoura, is composed of 110 members appointed by the president, whereas the lower house, Majlis el Nouwwab, numbers 301 members elected directly by the voters for seven-year terms. The bureaucracy is mainly influenced by tribal relations and is directly accountable to the president. The judiciary does not play an important role in the political life of the country. It is still primitive, remaining under the influence of centuries-old tribal values and modern-day political leaders.

Citizens actively participate in the presidential and parliamentary elections; however, most political parties are dependent on tribal loyalties, but some, including Saleh's General People's Congress, do attempt to cut across those lines. Yemen does not have a good record of preserving freedom of speech and human rights. In 2003 Freedom House (a nonprofit organization tracking democracy and freedom around the world) rated Yemen as not free. The U.S. State Department's Human Rights Report the same year noted numerous instances of rights abuse, but did also acknowledge some improvement in Yemen's most recent record compared to that of preceding years.

Bicameral Parliamentary Systems; Gender Discrimination.

Dresch, Paul. A History of Modern Yemen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

The Economist. Pocket World in Figures. London: Profile Books, 2003.

U.S. Department of State. Human Rights Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2004. <http://www.state.gov>.

"Yemen." CIA World Factbook 2004. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2004. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ions/factbook/geos/ng.html>.

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