Yemen

I

Introduction

Yemen, country in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula (Arabia). Tall mountains divide Yemen’s coastal stretches from a desolate desert interior. Yemen is sparsely populated—half of the country is uninhabitable—and its Arab people are largely rural. The site of several prosperous civilizations in ancient times, Yemen declined in importance and was a poor and forgotten land for more than a thousand years. The discovery of oil in the area in the late 20th century held out the prospect of economic development and an easier life for the people of Yemen.

The Republic of Yemen was created in 1990 out of the unification of the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY). The YAR was commonly called North Yemen, and the PDRY was generally referred to as South Yemen, although South Yemen was actually less to the south than to the east and southeast of North Yemen. Sana‘a (Sanaa) is the Republic of Yemen’s capital and largest city.

Yemen is bounded on the west by the Red Sea and on the south by the Gulf of Aden (an arm of the Arabian Sea, which is part of the Indian Ocean), and is separated from Africa by the narrow strait of Bab el Mandeb. To the north and northeast lies Saudi Arabia and to the east is Oman; these two countries are Yemen’s only contiguous neighbors. Yemen covers about 527,970 sq km (about 203,850 sq mi).

II

Land and Resources

Yemen is a largely desert land. There are no permanent rivers in the country, and little natural vegetation besides scrub brush. Yemen possesses several sizable islands, most notably Socotra in the Indian Ocean, Perim in the Bab el Mandeb, and Kamaran and the Ḩānīsh Islands in the Red Sea.

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The rectangular Arabian plate, which defines the Arabian Peninsula, is tilted and Yemen constitutes its uppermost corner. The edge of this corner takes the form of a steep, jagged mountain range that separates a low coastal plain (west and south of the mountains) from a high interior plateau (east and north of the mountains).

A

Natural Regions

The Yemeni highlands average about 1,830 m (about 6,000 ft) above sea level and rise at Jabal an Nabī Shu‘ayb to 3,760 m (12,336 ft), the highest peak on the Arabian Peninsula. The highlands in the north are loftier and more extensive than in the south. Since the northern highlands have a generally less forbidding climate and greater rainfall, they support more intensive and extensive agriculture and a larger population.

To the west and south, the highlands drop abruptly to a low, flat coastal desert plain called the Tihāmah. Averaging about 50 km (about 30 mi) in width, this plain parallels the Red Sea the length of northern Yemen, turns abruptly east at the corner of the peninsula, and then runs parallel to the Gulf of Aden for part of the length of southern Yemen. The Tihāmah is hot, humid, and arid, and has little vegetation.

To the east and north, the highlands descend gradually to the interior plateau that holds the vast Arabian desert known as the Rub‘ al Khali (Empty Quarter). The eastern half of Yemen is basically uninhabitable. The exception is the region of Hadhramaut, a large valley running parallel to the Gulf of Aden coast then turning southward to the sea. Here, some fertile valleys allow agriculture and larger settlements.

B

Climate

The Yemeni highlands have a generally semiarid but otherwise temperate climate. By contrast, the coastal plain is hot and humid much of the year, and at times extremely so; summer and winter winds often bring severe sandstorms. Average temperatures for Yemen as a whole vary from about 27°C (80°F) in June to about 14°C (57°F) in January.

Every year during the summer months, monsoon winds blow inland over the water, picking up moisture, and the mountains force the warm air to rise, cool, and condense. The considerable, although erratic, seasonal rainfall allows for intensive cultivation, much of it on stonewalled terraces and in wadis—streambeds that flow with water only during and after the rains. The average rainfall in the highlands varies from 303 to 762 mm (8 to 30 in), whereas on the coast it varies from 76 to 229 mm (3 to 9 in).

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