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. Yemen will work in 1999 to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. The high population growth rate of 3.3%, internal political dissension, and continued low prices make the government's task especially difficult.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$12.1 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 1.8% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$740 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 16%
industry: 46%
services: 38% (1996)

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): 11% (1998 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: $2.3 billion
expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 budget 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: 1.9 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 1.9 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)

Agriculture—products: grain, fruits, vegetables, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, poultry, beef; fish

Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports—commodities: crude oil, cotton, coffee, dried and salted fish

Exports—partners: China 31%, South Korea 19%, Thailand 17%, Thailand 5%, Brazil 5%, Japan 5% (1997)

Imports: $2.8 billion (c.i.f., 1998 est.)

Imports—commodities: food and live animals, machinery and equipment, manufactured goods

Imports—partners: UAE 9%, Saudi Arabia 8%, US 7%, France 6%, Brazil 5% (1997)

Debt—external: $4.9 billion (1998)

Economic aid—recipient: $176.1 million (1995)

Currency: Yemeni rial (YRl) (new currency)

Exchange rates: Yemeni rials (YRl) per US$1—140.940 (October 1998), 129.286 (1997), 94.157 (1996), 40.839 (1995), 12.010 (official fixed rate 1991-94)

Fiscal year: calendar year

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