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Yemen Arab Republic (continued) and cement; partners—Italy 10%, Saudi Arabia 9%, US 9.3%, Japan 9%, UK 8% (1985)

External debt: $3.5 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 2% in manufacturing (1988)

Electricity: 415,000 kW capacity; 500 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: crude oil production, small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; fishing; small aluminum products factory; cement

Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP and 70% of labor force; farm products—grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton, dairy, poultry, meat, goat meat; not self-sufficient in grain

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (1970-88), $354 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.4 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $248 million

Currency: Yemeni riyal (plural—riyals); 1 Yemeni riyal (YR) = 100 fils

Exchange rates: Yemeni riyals (YR) per US$1—9.7600 (January 1990), 9.7600 (1989), 9.7717 (1988), 10.3417 (1987), 9.6392 (1986), 7.3633 (1985)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Highways: 4,500 km; 2,000 km bituminous, 500 km crushed stone and gravel, 2,000 km earth, sand, and light gravel (est.)

Pipelines: crude oil, 424 km

Ports: Al Hudaydah, Al Mukhā, Şalīf, Ra’s al Katib

Merchant marine: 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 192,679 GRT/40,640 DWT

Civil air: 7 major transport aircraft

Airports: 19 total, 14 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 9 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: system poor but improving; new radio relay and cable networks; 50,000 telephones; stations—3 AM, no FM, 17 TV; satellite earth stations—1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 ARABSAT; tropospheric scatter to PDRY; radio relay to PDRY, Saudi Arabia, and Djibouti

Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police

Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,289,217; 734,403 fit for military service; 79,609 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures: $358 million (1987)   Yemen, People's Democratic Republic of [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]



Geography

Total area: 332,970 km²; land area: 332,970 km²; includes Perim, Socotra

Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries: 1,699 km total; Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 830 km, YAR 581 km

Coastline: 1,383 km

Maritime claims:
 * Contiguous zone: 24 nm
 * Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm
 * Extended economic zone: 200 nm
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: sections of boundary with YAR indefinite or undefined; Administrative Line with Oman; no defined boundary with Saudi Arabia

Climate: desert; extraordinarily hot and dry

Terrain: mostly upland desert plains; narrow, flat, sandy coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains

Natural resources: fish, oil, minerals (gold, copper, lead)

Land use: 1% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 27% meadows and pastures; 7% forest and woodland; 65% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: scarcity of natural freshwater resources; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Note: controls southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb linking Red Sea to Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes

People

Population: 2,585,484 (July 1990), growth rate 3.2% (1990)

Birth rate: 48 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 14 deaths/1,000 population (1990)  342