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About Yemen

Updated byAnne-Lise Mty

The Republic of Yemen is a Middle-eastern country located in Western Asia with an area of 527,970 km square and a population of about 28 million. Bordered by Saudia Arabia, Oman, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden, Yemen was always an important crossroad connecting Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and has a long history of great kingdoms and ancient civilisations. In fact, Yemen was once home to the Sabaeans people, an ancient people related to the biblical Kingdom of Sheba from the 11th century BCE. Currently however, Yemen is a developing country suffering from the repercussions of a civil war.

There are a number of islands that belong to Yemen, many of which are volcanic. Yemen's geography is diverse and is made up of plains, highlands, and deserts. The coastal plain along the Red Sea is dry and flat, and there are high sand dunes that form the deserts which receives very little rain. The temperature there is usually hot during the day, but decreases dramatically when the sun's gone. Bedouin populations live in the desert and tend to their camel herds. In contrast, the western highlands receive a lot of rain, more so than the central or eastern highlands, but the streams rarely reach the sea due to high levels of evaporation. Yemen is currently facing a water crisis, and could become the first country to run out of water.

The ethnic groups that make up Yemen are predominantly Arabs, followed by South Asians, Persians, Europeans, and Afro-Arabs. There are also many tribal communities that still exist. Standard Arabic is the official language, although Yemeni Arabic is more regularly spoken on a daily basis. English is also widely spoken and taught. Islam is the major language in Yemen, and half of the population is Sunni Muslim while the other half follows Shia Islam. There is a small minority of Christians in the country, but an almost non-existent Jewish population, most of whom have migrated to Israel.

We do our best to provide accurate and up to date information. However, if you have noticed any inaccuracies in this article, please let us know in the comments section below.

About

Anne-Lise studied Psychology for 4 years in the UK before finding her way back to Mauritius and being a journalist for 3 years and heading ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ's editorial department for 5. She loves politics, books, tea, running, swimming, hiking...

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