Middle East–N. Africa
Yemen
Capital: Sana'a
- 40MPopulation
- 40MMuslim
- 99%Muslim share
- $700GDP per person
- 17%Unemployment
- 80%In poverty
- 55%Literacy
- 63Life expectancy
- System
- divided (war since 2014)
- In power
- Presidential Leadership Council
- Currency
- rial
- In the UN since
- 1,947
Life today
Poetry and qat gatherings survive war; coffee terraces cling to mountains; most need aid.
Word on the street
WhatsApp voice and qat afternoons; poetry is still the national currency of talk.
Names the world knows
- Tawakkol Karman Nobel laureate
- Abd Rabbuh M. Hadi former president
- Balqees Fathi singer
- Al-Baraduni national poet
Did you know?
Sana'a's tower-houses are sometimes called 'Manhattan of the desert'.