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For many centuries, trade was the major source of wealth for the states that occupied the southern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Trade diminished in the 16th century, when the Portuguese set out to control seaborne commerce with the East, turning the Red Sea region, and especially Yemen, into an economic backwater. The only world commodity left to Yemen was the coffee trade, a monopoly that continued for several centuries. The construction of the Suez Canal (completed in 1869) revitalized the Red Sea route between Asia and Europe, proving prescient the British decision to take Aden in 1839. Aden’s deepwater berths and sophisticated and extensive port facilities, which the British constructed over the years, made it one of the world’s preeminent ports.
Still, trade remained quite modest until the economic boom of the 1970s and ’80s; at the height of this boom, the value of Yemeni exports (primarily coffee, cotton goods, and hides and skins) amounted to only a minute fraction of imports, which comprised foodstuffs of all types, manufactured goods (consumer as well as industrial), machinery, transportation equipment, chemicals, and petroleum products—the basic goods demanded by a population formerly isolated from the modern consumer economy. The ratio of exports to imports began to shift dramatically with the start of the export of oil in the late 1980s. With the exception of oil exports, however, Yemen conducts all but an infinitesimal portion of its export trade with its regional neighbours.
Yemen’s biggest trade partners are China and Saudi Arabia. Turkey is another major source of imports. Other major destinations of Yemen’s exports are Thailand, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. Yemen imports grains, food products, chemicals, and machinery. The dominant export product is crude oil, but it also exports gold and food items to its neighbours.
Services
Within the service sector, public administration is one of the largest employers. Overall, the service sector employs about one-fourth of the population and accounts for about two-fifths of the gross domestic product (GDP). Tourism accounts for a relatively small portion of the GDP; despite Yemen’s rich natural and cultural heritage and government efforts to encourage tourism, the infrastructural underdevelopment and political instability have made many visitors wary of travel to the country.
Labour and taxation
Although the government acknowledges the right of workers to organize, union membership in Yemen is minimal. All unions are federated within an umbrella labour organization, the General Federation of Trade Unions of Yemen. Collective bargaining is limited, and work stoppages and strikes are permitted only with government approval. More than half of Yemen’s workforce is engaged in agricultural labour. Unemployment frequently exceeds 30 percent. Child labour is common, particularly in agriculture, and laws limiting the work hours of children under age 15 are seldom enforced. As is common in Muslim countries, the standard workweek is Saturday through Wednesday.
The country derives most of its income from tax revenue, of which taxes derived from the oil industry are the most significant. There is a personal income tax, and income derived from tariffs and other taxation has traditionally been a major source of the state’s non-petroleum-based income. The Islamic tithe (zakāt) is administered by the state (though calculated by the individual); the proceeds are intended for the relief of the poor. Before 2000 the undemarcated frontier with Saudi Arabia, as well as the fluid political situation along those portions of the frontier that were demarcated (e.g., near Najrān, Saudi Arabia), made smuggling—and thus the loss of much-needed import duties—a chronic problem for revenue collectors.
Transportation and telecommunications
Until the 1960s there were virtually no all-weather roads anywhere in Yemen except in the city of Aden. In the last years of the imamate, the first of these roads were built in the north as part of foreign-aid packages by China, the United States, and the Soviet Union. These first roads—i.e., the one from Hodeidah to Sanaa and the one from Mocha (Al-Mukhā) to Sanaa via Taʿizz—represented major feats of engineering. They cut the transportation time between the cities involved from days to hours and set off an explosion of intrastate traffic and trade. Since then, many of the formerly rudimentary roads in the north and south have been paved, and demands for similar improvements have been raised by numerous small towns and villages. Although all the major towns and cities are now served by all-weather roads, there are thousands of miles of tracks that are passable only by all-terrain vehicles; built at an accelerated rate since the mid-1970s, these tracks have provided an outlet for locally produced goods and easier access to consumer products. The former capital cities of Aden and Sanaa remain the transportation hubs of the south and north, respectively, and travel between most of the lesser towns and cities is not possible except through these centres.
The 1970s and ’80s saw the development of a public transportation system based on buses and shared taxis. Beginning in the late 20th century, the distribution of goods has been handled primarily by modern trucks, some of immense size; these trucks are often overloaded, and the accident rate on Yemeni roads is disproportionately high.
Until the early 1960s, about three-fourths of North Yemen’s very modest international trade passed through Aden. Following the revolution of 1962, however, the new government redirected trade through the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, which was expanded and modernized with major assistance from the Soviet Union. The ports of Aden and Hodeidah now handle nearly all of Yemen’s sea traffic. Although Hodeidah’s port is well-equipped, it has experienced periods of serious congestion. Aden’s extensive facilities were underutilized during the socialist period. With unification and the major upgrading of port and manufacturing facilities that began in the late 20th century (including the inauguration of an industrial free zone in 1991 and the opening of a container port in 1999), Aden—which has good road connections to Taʿizz, Ibb, and beyond—will have the ability to handle most of the country’s international trade. Yemen’s other ports, most notably Mocha and Al-Mukallā, used chiefly by small craft and for coastal traffic and, in the case of Mocha, for smuggling, began plans for revival in the late 20th century. While Mocha canceled most of its development plans after Yemen’s unification, in the early 21st century Al-Mukallā was included in a development program designed to expand the infrastructure of three of Yemen’s port cities.
Prior to unification, the state-owned airlines of the two Yemens provided each country with its chief transport link to the outside world for passengers, mail, and light freight. Both airlines, but especially the one in the south, greatly facilitated internal travel and transport between the cities and major towns of Yemen. The two airlines were finally merged nearly a decade after unification. Today, Yemenia (Yemen Airways) operates regular service to a large number of countries in the Red Sea region and to most other Arab states, as well as to a growing number of European transportation hubs. Major airports are at Aden, Sanaa, and Hodeidah. There are a number of other smaller airports and airfields located in other cities.
There are relatively few main phone lines in Yemen, and, like many other less-developed countries, Yemen is experiencing a boom in cellular and wireless phone service, with such service being provided by several private companies. The number of televisions and radios per capita is quite high. Television and radio stations are located in the larger cities, and more-affluent Yemenis have access to satellite feeds from other Arab countries and elsewhere. Internet service is sparse, and few people own computers.
Government and society
The former states of North Yemen and South Yemen had sharply contrasting political systems. North Yemen was a republic governed nominally under a constitution adopted in 1970, suspended in 1974, and largely restored between 1978 and the late 1980s. Although a succession of bodies carried out some of the functions of a legislature, they exercised little real power until the late 1980s. During that period, policy making remained in the hands of a relatively progressive military elite that worked closely with a variety of civilians that included a large and growing group of technocrats, the major tribal leaders, and other traditional conservative notables. Although political parties were formally banned, several parties did exist and operated with varying degrees of influence during and between elections.
South Yemen, also republican in form, had an avowedly Marxist regime, and the political system and economy reflected many of the goals and organizational structures of its “scientific socialism.” The Yemen Socialist Party (YSP), the only legal political organization, determined government policy and exercised control over the state administrative system, the legislature, and the military.
The unified political system created in 1990 represented a pronounced departure from either of the previous ones, in theory and, to a large extent, in practice. The most important change was the decision to establish a multiparty representative democracy.
Constitutional framework
The 1990 constitution (amended in 1994 and 2001) called for those rights and institutions usually associated with a liberal parliamentary democracy. The head of state is the president, who appoints the vice president and the prime minister; the latter is the head of government. The president, elected by direct popular vote, holds office for no more than two seven-year terms and is assisted by a cabinet. The bicameral legislature consists of two houses: the House of Representatives, whose members are elected by universal adult suffrage every six years, and the Shūrā (Consultative) Council, whose members are appointed by the president. The legislature oversees the executive, discusses and drafts legislation, and authorizes government budgets and economic plans. The constitution may be modified with a two-thirds vote by the House of Representatives.
Local government
The issue of redefining territorial and administrative subdivisions after union was complex. In the north the provinces had corresponded to more or less obvious topographical regions. Each province was subdivided into qaḍāʾ (district) and nāḥiyah (tract) levels, largely representing distinctions within the population (e.g., tribal affiliations). In the south, under the British, there had been a major distinction regarding administrative autonomy and political influence between the city of Aden (governed directly from London via the colonial office) and the hinterland, which was divided into more than 20 “statelets,” many of which were clearly associated with ancient tribal groupings of one form or another. In order to break down the old tribal affiliations and the associated economic and political factionalism, the postindependence government abolished these traditional units and reorganized the country into governorates (muḥāfaẓāt).
United Yemen eventually embraced a system based, as in South Yemen, on a series of governorates—20 in total, not counting Sanaa, which forms its own unit. The governorates are in turn divided into several hundred districts. The governors of the governorates are appointed by the federal president, but each jurisdiction has its own elected council. An important issue that remains to be resolved is the amount of authority that the governorates will have in the federal system. The trend in both the north and the south was to provide the governorates with a high degree of autonomy. The first municipal elections under the Local Authority Law (1999) were held in 2001. However, Yemen has lacked the infrastructural resources to conduct efficient local elections, and safeguards providing protection from the interference of the central government have been slow to materialize.
Justice
The two parts of the new state had markedly contrasting legal traditions. In the north the legal system had been a mix of Sharīʿah (Islamic law) and ʿurf (tribal custom). In the south the legal system was a mixture of Sharīʿah in matters of personal status (e.g., marriage, divorce, inheritance) and British commercial and common law (modified to suit the needs of the Marxist government) and, in rural areas, a combination of Sharīʿah and ʿurf.
New legal codes were promulgated in 1991–94. Each district has a court of first instance, and each governorate has a court of appeals; the Supreme Court is located at the capital. These courts have full competency to hear all civil and criminal cases. The Supreme Judicial Council oversees the court system. There are a number of specialized courts. Under the constitution, Sharīʿah is the source of all legislation.
Political process
There are a number of active political parties at the national level, but the composition and membership of political parties are regulated by law. Parties based on such factors as regional, tribal, sectarian, or ethnic persuasion are expressly prohibited. Each party must seek a license from a state committee to legally exist. The most successful party by far is the General People’s Congress; other parties include Iṣlāḥ (the Yemeni Congregation for Reform), the Nasserite Unionist Party, and several socialist organizations. Al-Ḥaqq Party, active in the 1990s, represented the interests of a Zaydī revivalist movement that began in the 1980s; it precipitated the rise of the Houthi movement, whose rebellion in the early 21st century escalated in the 2010s into a civil war that drew the participation of other regional actors.
Security
The combined armed forces of Yemen, including army, air force, and navy, are small and poorly equipped by the standards of the region. Since the unification of the state in 1990, the manpower of Yemen’s conventional army has suffered a general decline. The extensive inventories of Eastern-bloc weapons that the country inherited rapidly became dated, and many weapons systems were discarded. The military consists of volunteers serving two-year enlistments, and there is no consistent military educational or professional development system or enlisted personnel or officers. Military strength has been augmented by a large number of paramilitary forces, mostly associated with the Ministry of the Interior. Also, there are a relatively small number of reservists and tribal levies that the government can call on in times of emergency.
Military officers have often involved themselves in political affairs: in the north the military played the dominant role in the political system following the overthrow of the civilian government by Col. Ibrāhīm al-Ḥamdī in 1974. Internal security is a major concern of the government. The Political Security Organization is the major intelligence organ of the state; police and paramilitary groups provide security, and the Criminal Investigation Department conducts criminal investigations.
Health and welfare
Despite the generally healthy climate of the Yemeni highlands, where most of the population lives, the standard of public health remains very low. Contributing factors include: (1) unsanitary water supplies, (2) numerous cultural patterns that compromise both personal and group hygiene, (3) the presence of numerous diseases at endemic rates (e.g., malaria in the coastal belt and gastroenteritis in the highlands), (4) the very high birth rate, and (5) insufficient personnel and financial resources to provide modern medical care and to undertake any massive public health programs. There are various programs supported and operated by foreign donors that address these needs to some degree. Sanaa and Aden have numerous hospitals, but few meet Western standards of sanitation and medical practice.
Housing
Although Yemeni architecture is among the loveliest and most fascinating in the Arab world, housing stock in general tends to be of poor quality. There are two basic housing types: houses of reed, thatch, and mud brick, which are largely found in coastal regions; and houses of stone and mud brick, which are more frequently found in the highlands. Throughout the country, access to fresh water and hygienic sewage disposal is poor. Houses with running water, internal sewage systems, and electricity remain the exception in most parts of the country, particularly in rural areas, where only a small fraction have indoor plumbing.
Education
Modern systems of education were established in both Yemens during the 1960s, but limited resources and a high birth rate ensured that education continued to reach only a fraction of school-age children. For a variety of social and cultural reasons, certain subgroups of the school-age population—most notably girls—remained underrepresented in the system. Despite the dramatic expansion of teacher training, the lack of adequately qualified Yemeni teachers was a major problem in the north; Egyptian and other Arab expatriates largely filled this void. The overall literacy rate remains relatively low, and the disparity between males and females is large. More than two-thirds of men and less than one-third of women are literate. Partly because of an inadequate infrastructure that includes classroom shortages and poor materials and facilities, only a portion of eligible children enroll in school. Among those who do attend, only a small fraction go on to complete secondary education.
Higher education is limited to a very small minority. The University of Sanaa (founded 1970), established largely with grants from Kuwait, is coeducational and comprises a variety of specialized colleges—e.g., those of agriculture, medicine, commerce, and law. The University of Aden (1975) offers a similar array of specialties. These two senior institutions of higher learning have spawned universities and colleges throughout Yemen, and there are now several small colleges as well as vocational and polytechnic institutes in the larger urban centres that provide training in a variety of fields. However, wealthy families typically send their children abroad for higher education.
In addition, both of the major Muslim sects operate religious institutes for the preparation of judges and other religious personnel, although this often requires additional study at such well-known institutions as al-Azhar University in Cairo. By the early 21st century the number of small religious schools associated with foreign Islamic groups had proliferated. Several thousand small religious academies were closed in 2005, and all non-Yemenis matriculating in unregistered schools were asked to leave the country for fear such institutions were involved in religious extremism.
Cultural life
Yemen is a part of the Islamic world and as such reflects many of the contemporary trends in Islam. Most Yemenis are Muslim and are tolerant of non-Muslims as well as of the various branches of Islam. While proud of their Islamic heritage, Yemenis are also intensely proud of their pre-Islamic history, including that of the Sabaʾ and Ḥaḍramawt kingdoms. In their extensive networks of overland and maritime trade, the ancient Yemenis encountered myriad cultures and civilizations. There is ample evidence of Greek, Roman, Indian, Indonesian, and Chinese influence on various aspects of both traditional and contemporary Yemeni culture.
