Basic Country Facts

Geography 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 Area: total area: 527,970 sq km land area: 527,970 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) Land boundaries: total: 1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km Coastline: 1,906 km Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 18 nm in the North; 24 nm in the South continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm International disputes: large section of boundary with Saudi Arabia not defined; a dispute with Eritrea over sovereignty of the Hanish Islands in the southern Red Sea has been submitted to arbitration under the auspices of the International Court of Justice Climate: mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east Terrain: 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 lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west Land use: arable land: 6% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 30% forest and woodland: 7% other: 57% Irrigated land: 3,100 sq km (1989 est.) Environment: current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer international agreements: party to - Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change Geographic note: controls Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes