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The Republic of Yemen occupies the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. It has land borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman, and a coastline on the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea.

Yemen is separated from Djibouti and Somalia by the Gulf of Aden. and from Eritrea by the Red Sea. Several islands in the Red Sea, the largest of which are the Hanish Islands, Kamaran, and Perim, are part of Yemen, as is the Arabian Sea island of Socotra. Its coastal area along the Red Sea is marshy, due to the presence of several lagoons. The Rub al Khali Desert in the east receives almost no rain and is populated only by Bedouin camel herders.

The Yemeni government has been split since 2014. The Houthis, a Shi'ite group, took control of the capital city of Sana'a and claimed to be in control of the government in 2015. President Hadi fled to Aden, previously the capital of South Yemen, and was then evacuated to Saudi Arabia, where he remains the official leader of the government based in Aden. As of 2018, few countries have recognized the Houthi government as legitimate.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, the first elected president of Yemen, was forced to resign during the 2011 Arab Spring. He has remained politically active, supporting the Houthis during their takeover in 2015.

The 2011 Yemeni revolution began as one of several Arab Spring protests in the Middle East. In March of 2011, police snipers killed more than fifty protesters in Yemen's capital city, and dozens more were killed in May, leading to a lack of international support for President Saleh's government. The United Nations called for his resignation, and power was transferred to Vice President Hadi, while Saleh sought refuge in Saudi Arabia.

Saleh returned in 2012 and was granted immunity, while his son, a general, continued to hold power within sections of the military. On the day that Hadi was sworn in, a suicide attack on the presidential palace killed twenty-six guards. Three months later, a suicide bombing killed ninety-six soldiers. A car bomb killed eleven people. Responsibility for these attacks was claimed by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). United States special operations troops came into the country in response to increasing terror attacks by AQAP.

In September of 2014, anti-government forces led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi forced Hadi to agree to a unity government, then refused to participate in it. Instead, the president's home was shelled, and the president was placed under house arrest until his government resigned in January of 2015. Hadi fled to Aden, his hometown in the south, from where he rescinded his resignation and called for recognition as the legitimate president of Yemen. When US personnel were evacuated, he was forced to seek refuge in Saudi Arabia.

Since then, Saudi Arabia has conducted airstrikes against the Houthi government, announcing its intentions to lead coalition forces against the Houthis. This coalition included Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Pakistan, Sudan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, with the United States assisting with intelligence and logistics. Hadi troops have since taken control of Houthis, but jihadist groups have been active in the city and country.

Yemeni ethnic groups are primarily Arabs, its society being primarily tribal in nature. Yemenite Jews were once a prominent minority in Yemen, but most emigrated to Israel following World War II. Religion in Yemen is divided between two Islamic groups, the Sunni and the Shia. The Sunnis, the majority sect, are primarily in the south and southeast. Shias Muslims are divided between the Zaidi and the Ismaili. The Zaidi are largely in the north and northwest, while the Ismailis are in the urban centers of Sana'a and Ma'rib. Only about one-half of one percent of Yemenis are non-Muslim.

Modern Standard Arabic is the official language of Yemen, while Yemeni Arabic is the most widely used language of the country. English is the most common foreign language, and widely taught and used in the south, once a British colony.

The service sector is the largest economic sector of the Yemeni government, accounting for more than 60% of its GDP, followed by the industrial sector with just over 30%. Most Yemenis are employed in agriculture, although that represents only a small part of the country's GDP. Common crops include grain, vegetables, fruits, coffee, cotton, dairy, fish, livestock, and poultry. Sorghum is its most common grain. Yemen's industries include crude oil production and petroleum refining, food processing, and small-scale production of textiles and other products.

Topics in this category are concentrated on the Republic of Yemen, and may include government or news sites, as well as those representing businesses, schools, religious institutions, and organizations in Yemen.

 

 

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