Text | Nan Nan
Editor|Nannan
Yemen's northern border with Saudi Arabia runs mostly through the peninsula's great desert, Rubʿ al-Khali ("Blank Zone"), which remained undemarcated until 2000, as was its eastern border with Oman until 1992.
Yemen is bordered to the south by the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, and to the west by the Red Sea.
Pressure relief drainage
Yemen is an arid country with no permanent waterways. Frequent rainfall in some areas, flows west to the Red Sea in the north through five major waterways, and south to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea through three main waterways in the south.
These intermittently flowing waterways, together with their tributaries and smaller neighbors, divide the highlands and central massif into a large number of plateaus and ridges. In many places, there is evidence of volcanic activity hundreds of years ago; The presence of hot springs and fumaroles (volcanic vents) testifies to continuous underground activity.
In addition, the country straddles one of the most active fault lines in the Red Sea region (Rift Basin) and has experienced several powerful earthquakes in recent times, one of which shook in December 1982 in the Zamar region, killing some 3,000 people and largely destroying several villages and hundreds of smaller settlements.
Soils across the country range from sandy to fertile, and most are low in organic matter, thus limiting agricultural options. However, in some areas, elaborate agricultural terraces cover the mountains from the foot to the top.
The high agricultural productivity of the system is mainly due to the collection and fertile soil collected over the centuries. In modern times, negligence and civil conflicts have taken their toll on earthworks, which are particularly vulnerable to erosion. Nevertheless, the terraces are largely intact and are a breathtaking feature of Yemen's mountains.
climate
Much of Yemen lies at the junction of two main weather patterns: the conventional northerly wind (from the Mediterranean basin) and the southwest monsoon. These create a fairly well-defined seasonal rhythm; Winters are dominated by northerly winds, while in summer the southwest monsoon brings the main rainfall.
The southern rim of the Gulf of Aden, separated from this pattern by the Central Mountains, experiences a pronounced tropical climate. In Aden and Al-Ḥudaydah in the north, temperatures often reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (above 30 degrees Celsius) and humidity is high.
And in Sana'a (above 2,200 meters [7,200 feet]), the average daytime temperature is above 60 degrees Fahrenheit (below 20 degrees Celsius) and humidity is low. In winter, frost and snow cover occasionally occur at the higher northern elevations of the central massif.
Throughout Yemen, precipitation is erratic from year to year, and prolonged droughts are not unknown; There was a period of up to five years when precipitation was one-tenth of normal. A severe drought occurred during the 1962-70 civil war in North Yemen, with lasting social and economic consequences.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Yemen still retained considerable forest cover. However, pressures from rapid population growth – especially increased demand for fuelwood and farmland – have largely depleted forest heritage. At the beginning of the 21st century, only a negligible area of forest cover remained.
Arabian oryx
These same human pressures have had a devastating impact on Yemen's wildlife. There is evidence of the existence of species such as leopards, ostriches, various antelopes (including Arabian antelopes) and big cats (such as lions) dating back a century; Some leopard and antelope species living in Yemen are threatened and in limited numbers.
One of the largest wild mammals still widespread in Yemen is the baboon (Papio hamadryas), although its population is also said to be declining; Smaller mammals include hyenas, foxes and rabbits. Of the two categories of wildlife, birds and insects, Yemen has relatively abundant and diverse populations; Many species remain uncatalogued.
However, the most diverse fauna probably inhabit the waters of the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Gulf of Aden. Among many different species, there are tuna, mackerel, sharks, sardines, lobsters, shrimp, and squid.
People race
Yemen: ethnic composition
The vast majority of Yemenis consider themselves Arabs, but they tend to divide themselves into northern and southern groups, a historical division that has linguistic roots but is difficult to trace.
For example, Yemenis, who are said to have originated in the north, are descendants of the Mesopotamians, who entered the region in the first millennium BC and claim to be the ancestors of the biblical figure Ishmael. Southern ethnic groups representing ancient South Arab ancestry claim to be from the biblical Qaḥṭān.
Minorities including the Mahra, an ethnic group of unknown origins who live in eastern Yemen and parts of Socotra Island, speak a variant of the ancient Himianritian language. (See Mahra Sultanate.) On the Tihāmah coastal plain, Ethiopian and Somali migration has been taking place for many centuries.
Among the coastal population were distinctly Afro-mestizos, as well as a distinct social group known as the Akhdām, who worked menial jobs and were the closest caste to the caste in Yemen.
In the far north, there are still small remnants of once-large Jewish communities (most of which migrated to Israel after 1948), while in Aden and the eastern region there are distinct Somali, Indonesian, and Indian elements in the population, legacy of British colonialism, and economic and political ties dating back two thousand years.
In Arab groups, tribal belonging is another deep-rooted component of social identity. The history of some tribal confederations spans two thousand years.
These affiliations continued to serve as an important basis for the political and social organization of the country, although the post-independence South Yemen and, to a lesser extent, the Government of North Yemen set out to eradicate cultural institutions that were then considered reactionary.
While efforts to detribalize have been at least partially effective, subsequent events have shown that this identity remains socially, economically and politically relevant.
religion
Yemen: Religious beliefs
Across society, the widest distinction between population groups is not based on ethnicity, but on religious beliefs. Islam is the state religion, and the Sunni branch of Islam, represented by Islam, is dominated by the Shāfiʿī school.
Shiites, including the Zeid school, have long dominated politics in the northern mountainous highlands, while the Ismāʿīlīs are now a relatively small group in the Haraz region of northern Yemen and the mountainous region of western Sana'a in Jabbar Manahah. The non-Muslim community is very small and consists mainly of foreign tourists and workers.
All are free to worship as they wish—including the Jewish community—but, as in most conservative Muslim countries, it is illegal for non-Muslims to proselytize to Muslims.
Historically, Yemen has also had Islamic militants, especially since the return of fighters who fought on the side of the mujahideen (Arabic: mujāhidūn, "those involved in jihad") in the Afghan War (1978-92) in the 1980s.
Settlement morphology
Yemen is a predominantly rural country, with about two-thirds of the population living in rural areas. With few exceptions, the rural population is fairly evenly distributed. Monsoon rains caused the western slope of the massif to be so fully dissected, making the area the most densely populated in the country.
Fertile soil is another asset of the region. Yemenis live in almost all geographic areas of the country at varying densities – from sea level to 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) or more. (In fact, the intricacies of subregions and microclimates have created an agricultural base of astonishing diversity.)
The scarcity of arable land greatly affects rural settlement and construction patterns, as does the need for security. Villages tend to be small, with buildings built on land that cannot be cultivated, often along cliffs and rocky outcrops. Houses usually consist of several floors (up to five or more), with the lower floors made of hand-hewn stone.
The upper floors of family dwellings are usually made of mud bricks, which are a quality insulator. These dormitories also have many windows that provide ventilation during the hot summer months. The location of these upper living quarters provides storage space for the lower level.
Sana'a, Yemen: Freedom Gate
Yemen's cities follow the pattern of the rest of the Arab world. The original building consisted of a walled and fortified old town, where ornate multi-storey residences were standard.
The old town also contains shops, souks, schools and mosques. In modern times, urban areas began to expand beyond the old city, and wealthy people began to build larger, more ornate mansions and villas in the nearby suburbs.
Demographic trends
In many ways, the most important demographic trend of our time is the large number of men aged 15 to 45 migrating to other countries for employment. The number of such migrants has fluctuated over the years due to political and economic turmoil.
However, more than 1 million Yemeni nationals are typically employed abroad – mainly Saudi Arabia and smaller Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region, as well as the United Kingdom (industrial regions and Wales), and the United States (industrial areas in the northeast and west-central and agricultural areas in California).
These migrants' remittances play an important role in the balance of payments, greatly increasing the income of most Yemenis and financing many local development projects. Since Saudi Arabia adjusted its labor and visa laws in 2013 to encourage Saudi citizens to find employment, hundreds of thousands of Yemeni workers have been forced to leave Saudi Arabia.
Yemen: Age breakdown
The Yemeni population continues to exhibit the typical characteristics of underdeveloped areas: high birth rates, high infant mortality rates, low literacy rates, and the adverse effects of poor sanitation, unsanitary water supply and inadequate public health services.
More than two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30, and less than one-eighth is aged 45 or over. Major health and education programs funded by foreign governments and the United Nations attempt to address structural and programmatic deficiencies.
economy
Despite the economic progress since the 70s of the 20th century - most notably the beginning of commercial extraction of oil and gas. But Yemen remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Most Yemenis are subsistence agronomists and only about 3% of the country's land is arable (mostly in the west), although about one-third is suitable for grazing.
In the first half of the 20th century, the rulers of the north (imams; See Zaydiyyah) achieved and maintained basic self-sufficiency in food production in their region. In contrast, at the beginning of the 21st century, a united Yemen relied heavily on imported food, despite market expansion and increased investment in the 70s and 80s.
An important reason for this is the scarcity and high cost of domestic labor, which is the result of the massive exodus of adult male labor that began in the 1970s.
In addition to this, these remittance migrants, most of which are transferred through unofficial channels and therefore not taxed, fuel inflation, pushing the price of domestic food higher than the price of imported foods such as U.S. grains and Australian meat.
One of the more important issues raised by the merger of the two Yemenis is the integration of the socialist planned economy in the south with the largely market-driven economy in the north.
By the early 70s of the 20th century, the Southern government nationalized almost all land and housing, as well as most of the country's banks, industries and other commercial enterprises; Since then, all new industries and enterprises, regardless of size, have been state-owned and state-run. Since then, the private sector has been encouraged and promoted by remittances from migrant workers.
After the 1994 civil war, the regime of Colonel Ali Abdullah Saleh, along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, promised Yemen a multi-year structural adjustment matrix in exchange for financial and economic incentives.
The package of reforms and assistance, to be implemented in phases over several years, aims to make Yemen economically viable in the post-remittance era and more attractive to foreign investors in an increasingly globalized international economy.
Reforms, including the elimination of subsidies for many basic necessities, budget deficit reduction, and downsizing the government and the public sector, were painful for many and caused widespread discontent and public protest; Safety net programs have only mitigated the economic blow to Yemenis for some of the most vulnerable, and instances of corruption and favoritism only make sacrifices harder to accept.
However, the regime managed to get very close to the reform timeline in the second half of the 1990s, and the IMF and World Bank repeatedly acknowledged its success. The new container port in Aden was opened in 1999 and the Industrial Free Zone was inaugurated in 1991, and ongoing development offers hope for future economic growth.
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