According to Countryaah.com, with capital city of Sanaa, Yemen is a country located in Western Asia with total population of 29,825,975. Yemen is bordered on the north by Saudi Arabia, on the west by the Red Sea and on the east by Oman. To its south lies the Gulf of Aden and to its southeast lies Somalia. Yemen also shares maritime borders with Eritrea, Djibouti and Qatar. The coastline of Yemen is approximately 1,906 km long, making it one of the longest coastlines in the Arabian Peninsula. The country’s terrain is mountainous in the western part and coastal plains are found along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden coasts. The interior contains vast desert regions including Rub al Khali, which covers an area of around 600,000 sq km in southern Saudi Arabia and northern Yemen. Visit countryaah for countries that start with letter Y.
Yemen is a republic, and the constitution prescribes elections to a legislative assembly (parliament) and president.
As a result of the war in Yemen, from 2015, the established political system has been put out of order, and the country has by no means ceased to act as a state formation. There are rival centers of power in Sanaa and Aden. The internationally recognized government has been expelled from the capital Sanaa, and the president has gone into exile in Saudi Arabia. The Houti rebel movement controls much of the country, including the capital. Various militia groups are fighting for control of southern Yemen, including Aden; some of them for detachment. See ABBREVIATIONFINDER for how YE can stand for Yemen.
Constitution and political system
The two former states of North Yemen and South Yemen were merged into one state formation in 1990. They had very different political foundations. Both were republics; South Yemen with a Marxist regime. Under the new constitution of 1991, Yemen is a unified state, Arab and Islamic republic. The head of state, the president, is elected to the general election for seven years and can be re-elected once. The executive power lies with the president, who appoints the prime minister, who heads the government. The president is also supreme commander of the country’s defense.
The legislative power has been added to the House of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwaab) with 301 members, who are elected in the general elections for a term of six years. In addition, there is a 59-member consultative council (shura) established in 1997. The members are appointed by the president. The two bodies are sometimes referred to as two chambers in parliament, with the consultative council as a form of upper house. See a2zcamerablog.com for Yemen reunification.
Yemen has a multi-party system, but politics has been dominated by two parties; The General People’s Congress and the Islah Party.
Administratively
Administratively, Yemen is divided into 20 provinces (governorates; muhafazat), as well as the metropolitan area of Sanaa.
Judiciary
The judicial system is based on Islamic law. In the former northern Yemen there was also a tribal justice system that has been retained to some extent. Similarly, the justice system has also been influenced by South Yemen, which is based on English common law, modified with elements of Marxist law.
The judicial system consists of three levels, with first instance at district level and appellate courts at provincial level, as well as the Supreme Court.
Yemen’s defense
As a result of the 2015 Yemen War, which followed a civil war following the uprising in 2011–2012, national defense has partially disintegrated. The government was expelled from the capital Sanaa by the Houti rebels in 2015, and re-established itself in Aden.
Remaining parts of the government forces have established themselves in former South Yemen, where a number of local militia groups are also active.
Government forces
Yemen has a post-selection military service, with 24 months of initial service. The total force figures for the government forces are 40,000 active personnel (2018, IISS).
The government forces have a workforce of about 40,000 active personnel, including associated militias. Materials include an unknown number of tanks (T-54 and T-55, T-62, T-72, and M60), clearing vehicles, storm tanks, armored personnel vehicles, medium- heavy artillery, light air defense artillery and six reconnaissance aircraft.
Foreign forces
As a result of the 2015 war, foreign ground forces have also been deployed in Yemen, primarily in the southern part. In 2018–2019, the United Arab Emirates had an estimated 3,000 soldiers, including tanks and combat helicopters, in Yemen; Saudi Arabia had 1,500 personnel, with tanks and combat helicopters. Also Sudan had 950 personnel and tanks in Yemen.
In 2019, the United Arab Emirates withdrew its troops from Yemen, and operational support for militia groups in the south was taken over by Saudi Arabia.