My World Factbook
(Learn more about the new, improved World Factbook)
Note: Most information adapted from the popular World Factbook is distributed between the websites GeoWorld (geography, people, communications & transportation), Politix (government) and Great Depression II (economy).
Geography
Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
15 00 N, 48 00 E
Area: 
total: 527,968 sq km
country comparison to the world: 
49
land: 527,968 sq km
water: 0 sq km
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)
slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
1,906 km
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
Current Weather
mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
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
petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west
arable land: 2.91%
permanent crops: 0.25%
other: 96.84% (2005)
5,500 sq km (2003)
4.1 cu km (1997)
total: 6.63 cu km/yr (4%/1%/95%)
per capita: 316 cu m/yr (2000)
sandstorms and dust storms in summer
volcanism: Yemen experiences limited volcanic activity; Jebel at Tair (Jabal al-Tair, Jebel Teir, Jabal al-Tayr, Jazirat at-Tair) (elev. 244 m, 801 ft), 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
limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - 
