Yemen (2004) | Cook Islands (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz
note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate |
none |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.6% (male 4,751,776; female 4,582,277)
15-64 years: 50.6% (male 5,166,437; female 4,973,543) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 273,199; female 277,635) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish | copra, citrus, pineapples, tomatoes, beans, pawpaws, bananas, yams, taro, coffee; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 44 (2003 est.) | 9 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 16
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.) |
total: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 527,970 sq km
land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
total: 240 sq km
land: 240 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming | 1.3 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. | Named after Captain Cook, who sighted them in 1770, the islands became a British protectorate in 1888. By 1900, administrative control was transferred to New Zealand; in 1965 residents chose self-government in free association with New Zealand. The emigration of skilled workers to New Zealand and government deficits are continuing problems. |
Birth rate | 43.16 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.729 billion
expenditures: $4.107 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $28 million
expenditures: $27 million, including capital expenditures of $3.3 million (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | Sanaa | Avarua |
Climate | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east | tropical; moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 1,906 km | 120 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 | 4 August 1965 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Yemen
conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Cook Islands former: Harvey Islands |
Currency | Yemeni rial (YER) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.044 billion (2003) | $141 million (1996 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Cook Islands is fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense, in consultation with the Cook Islands |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. KRAJESKI
embassy: Saawan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 303-151 through 159 FAX: [967] (1) 303-160/161/162/164/165 |
none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI
chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
none (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | Yemen protests Eritrea fishing around the Hanish Islands awarded to Yemen by the ICJ in 1999; nomadic groups in border region with Saudi Arabia resist demarcation of boundary in accordance wih 2000 Jeddah Treaty; Yemen protests Saudi erection of a concrete-filled pipe as a security barrier in 2004 to stem illegal cross-border activities in sections of the boundary | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.3 billion (2003-07 disbursements) | $13.1 million; note - New Zealand continues to furnish the greater part (1995) |
Economy - overview | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production. It has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices, but now benefits from current high prices. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. International donors, meeting in Paris in October 2002, agreed on a further $2.3 billion economic support package. Yemen has worked to maintain tight control over spending and to implement additional components of the IMF program. A markedly high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. Plans include a diversification of the economy, encouragement of tourism, and more efficient use of scarce water resources. | Like many other South Pacific island nations, the Cook Islands' economic development is hindered by the isolation of the country from foreign markets, the limited size of domestic markets, lack of natural resources, periodic devastation from natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure. Agriculture provides the economic base with major exports made up of copra and citrus fruit. Manufacturing activities are limited to fruit processing, clothing, and handicrafts. Trade deficits are offset by remittances from emigrants and by foreign aid, overwhelmingly from New Zealand. In the 1980s and 1990s, the country lived beyond its means, maintaining a bloated public service and accumulating a large foreign debt. Subsequent reforms, including the sale of state assets, the strengthening of economic management, the encouragement of tourism, and a debt restructuring agreement, have rekindled investment and growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.8 billion kWh (2001) | 25.51 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 3.01 billion kWh (2001) | 27.43 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Te Manga 652 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans | Polynesian (full blood) 81.3%, Polynesian and European 7.7%, Polynesian and non-European 7.7%, European 2.4%, other 0.9% |
Exchange rates | Yemeni rials per US dollar - NA (2003), 175.625 (2002), 168.672 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (1999) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a seven-year term (recently extended from a five-year term by constitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Frederick GOODWIN (since 9 February 2001); New Zealand High Commissioner Kurt MEYER (since July 2001), representative of New Zealand
head of government: Prime Minister Jim MARURAI (since 14 December 2004); Deputy Prime Minister SIR Geoffrey HENRY (since 14 December 2004) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister; collectively responsible to Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the UK representative is appointed by the monarch; the New Zealand high commissioner is appointed by the New Zealand Government; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually becomes prime minister |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish | copra, papayas, fresh and canned citrus fruit, coffee; fish; pearls and pearl shells; clothing |
Exports - partners | China 31.7%, Thailand 20.3%, India 15.6%, South Korea 4.9%, Malaysia 4.3% (2003) | Australia 34%, Japan 27%, New Zealand 25%, US 8% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large circle of 15 white five-pointed stars (one for every island) centered in the outer half of the flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $15.09 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $105 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 15.2%
industry: 45% services: 39.7% (2003) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 7.8% services: 75.2% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2003 est.) | 7.1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 48 00 E | 21 14 S, 159 46 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes | the northern Cook Islands are seven low-lying, sparsely populated, coral atolls; the southern Cook Islands consist of eight elevated, fertile, volcanic isles where most of the populace lives |
Highways | total: 67,000 km
paved: 7,705 km unpaved: 59,295 km (1999 est.) |
total: 320 km
paved: 33 km unpaved: 287 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 25.9% (2003) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals | foodstuffs, textiles, fuels, timber, capital goods |
Imports - partners | UAE 12.9%, Saudi Arabia 10.2%, China 8.9%, US 4.9%, Kuwait 4.4%, France 4.1% (2003) | New Zealand 61%, Fiji 19%, US 9%, Australia 6%, Japan 2% (2000) |
Independence | 22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen had become independent in November of 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) | none (became self-governing in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965 and has the right at any time to move to full independence by unilateral action) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | 1% (2002) |
Industries | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement | fruit processing, tourism, fishing, clothing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 63.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 68.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 58.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10.8% (2003 est.) | 3.2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ACP, AsDB, FAO, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFRCS, IOC, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Irrigated land | 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | High Court |
Labor force | 5.79 million (2003 est.) | 8,000 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force | agriculture 29%, industry 15%, services 56%
note: shortage of skilled labor (1995) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,746 km
border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.24% other: 96.98% (2001) |
arable land: 17.39%
permanent crops: 13.04% other: 69.57% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic | English (official), Maori |
Legal system | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on New Zealand law and English common law |
Legislative branch | a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 27 April 2003 (next to be held NA April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14 |
unicameral Parliament (25 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 September 2004 (next to be held by 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CIP 10, DAP 9, Demo Tumu 4, independent 1; note - one seat undecided pending by-election note: the House of Ariki (chiefs) advises on traditional matters and maintains considerable influence, but has no legislative powers |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.36 years
male: 59.53 years female: 63.29 years (2004 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 19,766 GRT/24,794 DWT
by type: cargo 1, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Hong Kong 2, Lebanon 1 registered in other countries: 5 (2004 est.) |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,074 GRT/7,520 DWT
by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: Australia 1, United Kingdom 1 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | establishment of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand, in consultation with the Cook Islands and at its request |
Military branches | Army (including Special Forces), Naval Forces and Coastal Defenses (including Marines), Air Force (including Air Defense Forces), Republican Guard | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $885.6 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 7.9% (2003) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 4,617,064 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,590,720 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 255,426 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) | Constitution Day, first Monday in August (1965) |
Nationality | noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni |
noun: Cook Islander(s)
adjective: Cook Islander |
Natural hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer | typhoons (November to March) |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Pipelines | gas 88 km; oil 1,174 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | there are more than 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]
note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, represents the remnants of the former South Yemeni leadership; leaders of the 1994 secessionist movement have been pardoned by President SALIH and some are now returning to Yemen from exile |
Cook Islands People's Party or CIP [Geoffrey HENRY]; Democratic Alliance Party or DAP [Terepai MAOATE]; New Alliance Party or NAP [Norman GEORGE]; Cook Islands National Party or CIN [Teariki HEATHER]; Demo Party Tumu [Robert WOONTON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 20,024,867 (July 2004 est.) | 21,200 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 15.7% (2001) | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.44% (2004 est.) | NA (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun | Avarua, Avatiu |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Religions | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu | Christian (majority of populace are members of the Cook Islands Christian Church) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
NA (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network
domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: country code - 967; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
general assessment: Telecom Cook Islands offers international direct dialing, Internet, email, fax, and Telex
domestic: the individual islands are connected by a combination of satellite earth stations, microwave systems, and VHF and HF radiotelephone; within the islands, service is provided by small exchanges connected to subscribers by open-wire, cable, and fiber-optic cable international: country code - 682; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 542,200 (2002) | 6,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 411,100 (2002) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 1 (outer islands receive satellite broadcasts) (2004) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula | low coral atolls in north; volcanic, hilly islands in south |
Total fertility rate | 6.75 children born/woman (2004 est.) | NA children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 35% (2003 est.) | 13% (1996) |