Country explorer: Yemen
EXPERIMENTAL
2024
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Overview
Yemen is a arid, low-income country in the Middle East with a medium-sized population. Its economy has declined in recent decades, and is based on oil, agriculture and fishing.
Yemen has been in [ongoing civil war](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_civil_war_\(2014%E2%80%93present\)) since 2014.
Economy
Yemen has faced significant economic challenges, reflected in its low GDP per capita compared to regional peers like Egypt and Jordan, high rates of poverty across multiple thresholds, persistent unemployment, and volatile inflation rates, distinguishing it as a nation grappling with deeper economic and humanitarian crises than many of its counterparts.
Demographics
Yemen has experienced a steady population growth marked by a declining fertility rate from over 6 children per woman to below 4, amidst ongoing conflict and significant net migration losses, alongside a fluctuating life expectancy reflecting the nation's healthcare and socio-political challenges, characteristics that distinguish it from many peers with more stable demographic and health indicators.
Basic needs
Yemen has faced significant challenges in improving access to basic needs, including clean cooking fuels, electricity, and safely managed sanitation facilities, indicative of the broader socio-economic struggles and infrastructural shortcomings that set it apart from many of its regional peers.
Human development
Yemen's human development indicators reveal a complex scenario of marginal improvements in education and literacy, alongside stark challenges in health outcomes, particularly child mortality, highlighting both its distinct struggles with conflict and economic instability and shared development obstacles with low-income countries.
Environment & energy
Over the last two decades, Yemen has faced a significant reduction in renewable internal freshwater resources per capita, indicating escalating water scarcity amidst modest increases in forest area and evolving energy production techniques, reflecting broader environmental and energy challenges akin to those of similarly situated countries in the region.
Technology & innovation
Yemen has shown gradual growth in technology and innovation indicators like internet usage and mobile phone subscriptions, reflective of evolving digital accessibility, yet it remains behind its peers, highlighting ongoing challenges in fully harnessing the potential of technology and innovation within its unique socioeconomic context.
Culture & society
Yemen has faced profound societal transformations marked by a slight increase in the share of the population born abroad, a steady decline in self-reported life satisfaction, persistently high gender inequality, and an increasing age dependency ratio, reflecting challenges that resonate with several low-income countries yet are exacerbated by its unique political and humanitarian context.
Governance
Yemen has witnessed significant deterioration in governance, as evidenced by declines across rule of law, corruption perception, political civil liberties, and press freedom indices, positioning it distinctively low among its peers and reflecting profound challenges in societal and governmental structures.