Yemen - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Yemen. Strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes. Mother's mean age at first birth is 20.8 years (2013 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 183 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Yemen
Location Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates 15 00 N, 48 00 E
Map references Middle East
Tarrain narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula
Natural Resources petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west
Natural Hazards

sandstorms and dust storms in summer

volcanism: limited volcanic activity; Jebel at Tair (Jabal al-Tair, Jebel Teir, Jabal al-Tayr, Jazirat at-Tair) (244 m), which forms an island in the Red Sea, erupted in 2007 after awakening from dormancy; other historically active volcanoes include Harra of Arhab, Harras of Dhamar, Harra es-Sawad, and Jebel Zubair, although many of these have not erupted in over a century

Irrigated Land 6,800 sq km (2012)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 1,601 km
Border Countries Oman 294 km; Saudi Arabia 1,307 km
Coastline 1,906 km
Climate mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
Area
Total Area
Land Area 527,968 sq km
Water Area 0 sq km
comparative Area almost four times the size of Alabama; slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Contiguous zone 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Elevations
Highest point Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,666 m
Lowest point Arabian Sea 0 m
Mean elevation 999 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 44.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 2.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 41.7% (2018 est.)
Forest 1% (2018 est.)
Other 54.5% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

The vast majority of the population is found in the Asir Mountains (part of the larger Sarawat Mountain system), located in the far western region of the country

People and Society

In Yemen, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asian, European

Population
Pop growth rate 1.78% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 23.4 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 5.5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 4.3% of GDP (2015)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 0.7 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Total fertility rate 2.82 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.37 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 33.5% (2013)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 60.4% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures NA
Net Migration rate -0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Yemeni | Yemeni(s)
Languages
Religions Muslim 99.1% (official; virtually all are citizens, an estimated 65% are Sunni and 35% are Shia), other 0.9% (includes Jewish, Baha'i, Hindu, and Christian; many are refugees or temporary foreign residents) (2020 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 34.4% (male 5,622,998/female 5,430,285)
15-64 years 62.2% (male 10,112,603/female 9,865,805)
65 years and over 3.4% (2024 est.) (male 485,538/female 623,214)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 71.7
Youth dependency ratio 69.4
Elderly dependency ratio 4.7
Potential support ratio 19.9 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 22 years (2024 est.)
Male 21.9 years
Female 22.2 years
Urbanization
Urban population 39.8% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 3.71% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 3.292 million SANAA (capital), 1.080 million Aden, 941,000 Taiz, 772,000 Ibb (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.78 male(s)/female
Total population 1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 44.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 49.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 39 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 68.2 years (2024 est.)
Male 65.8 years
Female 70.6 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 98.5% of population
Improved: rural rural: 84.2% of population
Improved: total total: 99.6% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 1.5% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 15.8% of population
Unimproved: total total: 10.4% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 83.5% of population
Improved: rural rural: 44.2% of population
Improved: total total: 59.1% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 16.5% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 55.8% of population
Unimproved: total total: 40.9% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 20.3% (2020 est.)
Male 32.5% (2020 est.)
Female 8.1% (2020 est.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Yemen

Want to know more about Yemen? Check all different factbooks for Yemen below.

Yemen is found in Western Asia