Baath Party 2,
independents 54, election pending 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: there are over 12 political parties
active in Yemen, some of the more important are: General People's
Congress (GPC), President Ali Abdallah SALIH; Yemeni Reform Grouping
or Islaah, Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR; Yemeni Socialist Party
(YSP), Ali Salih UBAYD; Nasserite Unionist Party, leader NA; Baath
Party, leader NA
note: following the May-July 1994 civil war, President SALIH's General
People's Congress and Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Yemeni
Reform Grouping, or Islaah, formed a coalition government, but it is
unclear whether this coalition will continue in light of the GPC's
landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election; the YSP, a
loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU,
CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent),
ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery : Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760, 4761
FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador David G. NEWTON
embassy: Dhahr Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa
mailing address : P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa
telephone: [967] (1) 238843 through 238852
FAX: [967] (1) 251563

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 symbolic eagle centered in the white band

Economy

Economy - overview: The northern city Sanaa is the political capital
of a united Yemen, and the southern city Aden, with its refinery and
port facilities, is the economic and commercial capital. Future
economic development depends heavily on Western-assisted development
of the country's moderate oil resources. Former South Yemen's
willingness to merge stemmed partly from the steady decline in Soviet
economic support. The low level of domestic