imyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa
mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa
telephone: (1) 238842
FAX: (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 heraldic eagle centered in the white band

@Yemen:Economy

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, but was harmed by low oil prices in 1998. Yemen has
embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to
modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to foreign debt
relief and restructuring. Aided by higher oil prices in 1999, Yemen
worked to maintain tight control over spending and implement
additional components of the IMF program. The high population growth
rate of 3.4% and internal political dissension complicate the
government's task.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.7 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 4% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $750 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 20%
industry: 42%
services: 38% (1998)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 30.8% (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1999 est.)

Labor force: NA

Labor force - by occupation: most people are employed in agriculture
and herding or as expatriate laborers; services, construction,
industry, and commerce account for less than one-half of the labor
force

Unemployment rate: 30% (1995 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.8 billion
expenditures: $1.95 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1999 est.)

Industries: crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale
production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing;
handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 2.24 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 2.083 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: g