Country · Asia
Yemen
Republic of Yemen
Yemen is a country in Western Asia. About 28.5 million people live there, in an area of 527 968 square kilometres. Its capital city is Sana'a.
Picture credit: yeowatzup (CC BY 2.0) · المصور أنس الحاج (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Rod Waddington (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Rod Waddington (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Aneta Ribarska (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Yemen?
Yemen lies in Western Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 1 670 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 1 906 km long.
It shares a border with 2 countries: Oman and Saudi Arabia.
How big is Yemen?
Yemen covers 527 968 square kilometres.
That is about 5.1 times the size of Iceland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 49th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 54 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Yemen?
About 28.5 million people live in Yemen.
That is the 49th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Arabic.
They pay with the Yemeni rial (﷼).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 60 years.
The land of Yemen
The land of Yemen sits on average 999 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 1 906 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 95 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Yemen different?
A dish the country is known for: Saltah.
Websites from here often end in .ye.
Yemen and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 4 live in Yemen.
It takes up about 0.4 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 12th of 46 by size, and 19th by population.
Yemen and its neighbours
Saudi Arabia, its largest neighbour, is about 4.1 times bigger.
Saudi Arabia has more people: 33.7 million against 28.5 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, one lives wild in Yemen: Desert locust. The highest mountain in the country is Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb, at 3 666 metres. The longest river in the country is the Wadi Hadramaut. The country has no large natural lake; its largest body of water, Marib Reservoir, is a reservoir.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Yemen compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 18 times as big as Yemen: 9 372 610 km² against 527 968 km². See both on one map
- Yemen is about 2.2 times as big as the United Kingdom: 527 968 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Yemen?
The capital of Yemen is Sana'a. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Yemen?
About 28.5 million people live in Yemen, which makes it the 49th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Yemen?
Yemen borders Oman and Saudi Arabia — 2 neighbours in total.
How big is Yemen?
Yemen covers 527 968 square kilometres, making it the 49th largest country in the world. That is about 5.1 times the size of Iceland.
What is the highest mountain in Yemen?
The highest mountain in Yemen is Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb, 3 666 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Yemen?
The longest river in Yemen is the Wadi Hadramaut.
What is the largest lake in Yemen?
The largest body of water in Yemen is Marib Reservoir, a reservoir of about 30 km²; there is no large natural lake in the country.
Which continent is Yemen in?
Yemen is in Asia, in the part called Western Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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