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General Information
Area: 536,869 sq km (207,286 sq miles).
Population: 18.3 million (2000).
Population Density: 34.1 per sq km.
Capital: Sana’a. Population: 926,595 (1993). Economic & Commercial Capital: Aden. Population: 400,783 (1993).
GEOGRAPHY: The Republic of Yemen is bordered in the northwest, north and northeast by Saudi Arabia, in the east by Oman and in the south by the Gulf of Aden. To the west lies the Red Sea. The islands of Perim and Karam in the southern Red Sea are also part of the Republic. Yemen is predominantly mountainous, supporting terraced agriculture. The Hadramaut is a range of high mountains in the centre of the country. Highlands rise steeply in central Yemen, ranging in height from approximately 200m (656ft) to the 4000m (13,123ft) peak of Jabal Nabi Shoveb. In contrast is Tihama, a flat semi-desert coastal plain to the west, 50-100km (30-60 miles) wide. Surface water flows down from the mountains through the valleys during the rainy season and the area is cultivated for cotton and grain. In the east, the mountains drop away to the Rub al-Khali or ‘Empty Quarter’ of the Arabian Peninsula, a vast sea of sand. The arid coastal plains are fringed with sandy beaches.
Government: Republic since 1991. Head of State: President Ali Abdallah Saleh since 1990. Head of Government: Prime Minister Abdul Kader Bajammal since 2001.
Language: Arabic. English is widely spoken as a second language.
Religion: Sunni Muslim (especially in the north) and Shia Muslim, with some small Christian and Hindu communities. There is also a small Jewish minority.
Time: GMT + 3.
Electricity: 220/230 volts AC, 50Hz.
Communications:
Telephone
IDD is available in parts of the country. Country code: 967. Outgoing international code: 00.
Mobile telephone
GSM 900 network. Operators include Spacetel and Yemen Mobile Phone Company.
Fax
Some hotels have facilities.
Internet
ISPs include TeleYemen (website: www.y.net.ye). There are Internet cafes in Sana’a and Mukalla.
Telegram
Facilities are available. Yemen Telecommunications Company has offices at Steamer Point (24 hours) and at Crater.
Post
Airmail to Western Europe from Sana’a takes about four days; mail to and from other towns may take longer. Post office hours: Sat-Thurs 0800-1400 and 1600-2000.
Press
English-language publications include The Yemen Times (weekly). Arabic dailies include Ash-Jumhuriya and Al-Thaura.
BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change.
BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice):
Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov):
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
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