Yemen is located in the Southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia in the North, Oman in the East, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea in the South and the Red Sea in the West. To the East of the highland interior, the terrain slopes down to the sandy wastes of the deserts of inner Arabia, the “Empty Quarter”. The mountain nearby is the highest between East Africa and Iran. The terrain is made up of a narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains. The climate is mostly desert, hot and humid along the West coast and temperate on the mountains as a result of seasonal monsoons.

The economy is based on agriculture, fishing and mining. Main agricultural products are millet, corn, cotton, wheat, barley and sorghum. The fishing industry is being encouraged. The natural resources of the country are crude oil, rock salt, marble, lead, zinc, and nickel. The discovery of oil is the most significant development. There is also a traditional handicraft industry of fine textiles, jewellery, leatherwork, carpets and glass in Yemen.

GDP at Current Market Prices:	13079.57 million US$ (2004)
Per Capita GDP:	679.38 US$ (2004)
Share of Sectors in GDP:	14.24% Agriculture, 40.0% Industry, 45.0% Services, (2003)
Total Exports:	4295.62 million US$ (2003)
Total Imports:	- million US$ (2004)
Major Exports Items:	Crude oil, hides, skins, cotton, coffee, dried and salted fish
Major Imports Items:	Machinery and equipment, manufactured goods, live animals, wheat and sugar
Major Trading Partners:	China, Thailand, UAE, Saudi Arabia and  South Korea

Government

Ministry of Industry and Trade

Ministry of Information

Central Bank of Yemen

Central Statistics Organization