| Area Total | 527,968 sq 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 |
| Natural Resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west |
| Imports | $4.079 billion (2017 est.) partners: UAE 12.2%, China 12.1%, Turkey 8.7%, Brazil 7.3%, Saudi Arabia 6.5%, Argentina 5.5%, India 4.7% (2017) – food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
| Exports | $384.5 million (2017 est.) partners: Egypt 29.4%, Thailand 16.7%, Belarus 13.5%, Oman 10.5%, UAE 6.5%, Saudi Arabia 5% (2017) -crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish, liquefied natural gas |
| Government | in transition |
| Capital | Sanaa |
| Population | 28.7 million (July 2018 est.) |
| Ethnicity | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asian, European |
| Language | Arabic (official); note: a distinct Socotri language is widely used on Socotra Island and Archipelago; Mahri is still fairly widely spoken in eastern Yemen |
Yemen occupies the southwest corner of the Arabian peninsula. Saudi Arabia is to its north and Oman to the east.
Within Yemen, there has traditionally been a divide between north and south. The country has only been unified since 1990. Since 2011, a civil war has been going on between the Houthis in the south and the government forces in the north. Saudi Arabia has been participating on the side of the government.
Although Yemen is poor, it has many places of historical and archaeological significance. The Queen of Sheba is said to have reigned there in ancient times.
News about Yemen
- How arms dealing has compromised Britain’s foreign policy | Lettersby Guardian Staff on February 13, 2025
Dr Sam Perlo-Freeman, Paul Bennett, Helen Jones and Laura Harling respond to an article by a former diplomat on the UK’s complicity in war crimesThe testimony of the former Foreign Office policy adviser Mark Smith confirms exactly what the Campaign Against Arms Trade has been arguing for decades – the UK’s arms-export control system is rotten to its […]
- Nearly $500m of food aid at risk of spoilage after Trump USAid cutsby Marina Dunbar on February 10, 2025
US government auditors find cuts have ‘degraded USAid’s ability to distribute and safeguard humanitarian assistance’Nearly half a billion dollars of food aid is at risk of spoilage following the decision of Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s “Doge” agency to make cuts to USAid, according to an inspector general (IG) report released on Monday.Following […]
- I saw illegality and complicity with war crimes. That’s why I quit the UK Foreign Office | Mark Smithby Mark Smith on February 9, 2025
Ministers and senior officials protected arms deals facilitating death and horror in Gaza and Yemen. I urge my former colleagues to resist themBritain’s system for controlling arms exports is broken, former diplomat claimsMy name is Mark Smith. I am a former diplomat and policy adviser at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). I spent my […]
- Britain’s system for controlling arms exports is broken, former diplomat claimsby Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor on February 9, 2025
Ex-Foreign Office official says he saw conduct that ‘crossed the threshold into complicity with war crimes’Mark Smith: I saw illegality and complicity with war crimes. That’s why I quit the UK Foreign OfficeBritain’s system for controlling arms exports is broken, subject to political manipulation and has seen conduct that crossed the threshold into […]
- The world at war: the flashpoints that the west ignoresby Simon Tisdall on February 2, 2025
While all eyes are on the Middle East and Ukraine, brutality still reigns in many other regions suffering many other conflictsThe world is becoming a more dangerous place. It’s an often-heard sentiment these days, but is it really true? Historical comparisons are of limited help.Last week’s 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau […]
- UN says seven staff detained in Houthi-controlled Yemenby Agence-France Presse on January 25, 2025
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres demands ‘unconditional’ release of all staff held by Iran-backed rebelsThe UN has suspended all staff movement in Houthi-held areas of Yemen after the Iran-backed rebels detained another seven UN employees.The UN secretary general, António Guterres, called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of all […]
- Cargo ship crew held by Houthi rebels released after more than a year in captivityby Guardian staff with agencies on January 23, 2025
Houthis in Yemen said 25-member crew of Galaxy Leader had been freed ‘in support’ of the Gaza ceasefire agreementSee all our Middle East crisis coverageYemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader more than a year after they seized the Bahamas-flagged vessel off the Yemeni Red Sea coast, Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV has […]
- Strike Houthis while Iran is weak, UN-backed Yemeni government urges westby Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor on January 21, 2025
Tehran ‘massively weakened’ by reverses in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, says vice-president of Aden-based administrationMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe west should seize the opportunity to target the Tehran-backed Houthi leadership in Yemen while the Iranian government is weakened, the vice-president of the UN-backed government in Aden has […]
- Relief trucks start to deliver aid inside Gaza – as it happenedby Kate Lamb (now); Maya Yang, Yohannes Lowe; Tom Bryant and Adam Fulton (earlier) on January 20, 2025
This blog has closed. Follow the latest on our new liveblog hereIsraeli tanks continued to shell areas in Gaza as the scheduled time of 8.30am (0630 GMT) for the ceasefire to take effect passed, Reuters reports.Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a brief televised address on Sunday that the political echelon had directed the military to […]
- Netanyahu says ‘if we must return to fighting, we will do that’ – as it happenedby Adam Fulton (now); Maya Yang, Amy Sedghi and Tom Ambrose (earlier) on January 19, 2025
Prime minister says US has promised Israel will have the weaponry it needs to return to military campaign if necessary. This blog is now closedIn an update on the previous post, the Israeli military said sirens sounded in central Israel on Saturday as it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.Explosions were heard over Jerusalem on Saturday morning, […]
- Israel ratifies ceasefire deal despite opposition from some hardliners – as it happenedby Adam Fulton (now); Nadeem Badshah, Léonie Chao-Fong, Maya Yang, Tom Ambrose, Amy Sedghi, Geneva Abdul and Helen Livingstone (earlier) on January 18, 2025
This blog is now closed.Full report: Israeli cabinet ratifies ceasefire deal with HamasAid increase in ceasefire deal ‘is admission Israel could have done more’, experts sayDuring his final press conference earlier on Thursday, US secretary of state Antony Blinken was heckled by two journalists who criticised him for his support for the war in Gaza.That […]
- Islamist groups in Middle East will emerge from Gaza war weakenedby Jason Burke International security correspondent on January 16, 2025
Hamas, Hezbollah and other militia are enfeebled – but Palestine is likely to stay at forefront of global politicsMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe ceasefire due to come into force on Sunday, barring a major last-minute problem, will cement massive and rapid changes across the Middle East and may seal a significant defeat for the Islamist militant […]
- A ceasefire deal is here. For Gaza, the Middle East and the world, the future remains unknownby Patrick Wintour, diplomatic editor on January 16, 2025
The sacrifice has been so great, the misery so complete, that few can claim with certainty that this was all worthwhileThere may be no winners in war, but history suggests combatants are often eager to convince the world otherwise.The ending of the 15-month conflict in Gaza may prove an exception. The sacrifice has been so great, the misery so complete, and […]
- The Guardian view on Gaza’s suffering: a deepening disaster should not be treated as inevitable | Editorialby Editorial on January 7, 2025
With infants dying of exposure and desperation growing, a ceasefire and hostage release deal have never been more necessaryThe new year has commenced as bleakly as the last one concluded in Gaza. As December came to an end, the UN announced that the healthcare system was on the brink of outright collapse due to Israel’s attacks. Within days of the new […]
- US transfers 11 Yemeni prisoners from Guantánamo to Omanby Guardian staff and agency on January 6, 2025
Major resettlement reduces population in US detention facility in south-eastern Cuba to just 15 peopleThe United States has sent 11 Yemeni detainees at the Guantánamo Bay detention center to Oman, the Pentagon said on Monday, in a major resettlement that nearly halves the detention facility’s remaining number of prisoners.The released men include Tawfiq […]
