Geography of Yemen
Location: Middle East, in the south of Arabia, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, west of Oman and south of Saudi Arabia.Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 48 00 E
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total:
527,970 kmē
land:
527,970 kmē
water:
0 kmē
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)
Area - comparative: slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Land boundaries:
total:
1,746 km
border countries:
Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Coastline: 1,906 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
18 nautical miles in the North; 24 nautical miles in the South
continental shelf:
200 nautical miles or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone:
200 nautical miles
territorial sea:
12 nautical miles
Climate: mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east
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
Elevation extremes:
lowest point:
Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point:
Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west
Land use:
arable land:
3%
permanent crops:
0%
permanent pastures:
30%
forests and woodland:
4%
other:
63% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 3,600 kmē (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: sandstorms and dust storms in summer
Environment - current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements:
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
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
- See also : Yemen
