| Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia |
| Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 48 00 E |
| Map references | Middle East |
| Area | total: 527,968 sq km land: 527,968 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) |
| Area - comparative | almost four times the size of Alabama; slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,601 km border countries (2): Oman 294 km, Saudi Arabia 1307 km |
| Coastline | 1,906 km |
| 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 |
| 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 | highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,666 m lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m mean elevation: 999 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west |
| Land use | agricultural land: 44.5% (2018 est.) arable land: 2.2% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 41.7% (2018 est.) forest: 1% (2018 est.) other: 54.5% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 6,800 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 2.1 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer volcanism: limited volcanic activity; Jebel at Tair (Jabal al-Tair, Jebel Teir, Jabal al-Tayr, Jazirat at-Tair) (244 m), which forms an island in the Red Sea, erupted in 2007 after awakening from dormancy; other historically active volcanoes include Harra of Arhab, Harras of Dhamar, Harra es-Sawad, and Jebel Zubair, although many of these have not erupted in over a century |
| 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 |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
