World Factbook
Yemen
Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
female
54.1% (2023 est.)
Languages
note
note: a distinct Socotri language is widely used on Socotra Island and Archipelago; Mahri is still fairly widely spoken in eastern Yemen
Languages
Arabic (official)
major-language sample(s)
كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Muslim 99.1% (official; virtually all are citizens, an estimated 65% are Sunni and 35% are Shia), other 0.9% (includes Jewish, Baha'i, Hindu, and Christian; many are refugees or temporary foreign residents) (2020 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.03 male(s)/female
total population
1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.78 male(s)/female
Birth rate
29.07 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
21.9 years
total
20.5 years (2025 est.)
female
22.2 years
Population
male
17,275,539
total
34,505,496 (2025 est.)
female
17,229,957
Nationality
noun
Yemeni(s)
adjective
Yemeni
Tobacco use
male
33.1% (2025 est.)
total
20.2% (2025 est.)
female
7.3% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
39.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
3.71% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
34.4% (male 5,622,998/female 5,430,285)
15-64 years
62.2% (male 10,112,603/female 9,865,805)
65 years and over
3.4% (2024 est.) (male 485,538/female 623,214)
Ethnic groups
predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asian, European
Child marriage
women married by age 15
6.5% (2023)
women married by age 18
29.6% (2023)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
70.2 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
64.8 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
18.4 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
5.4 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.1 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
4.3% of GDP (2015)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
2.5% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.65 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 51.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 61.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 77.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 48.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 38.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 22.8% of population (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
49.9 deaths/1,000 live births
total
42.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
39 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
2.22% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.78 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
the vast majority of the population is found in the Asir Mountains (part of the larger Sarawat Mountain system), located in the far western region of the country
Life expectancy at birth
male
65.8 years
female
70.6 years
total population
68.2 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
118 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 44.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 59.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 83.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 55.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 40.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 16.9% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
3.292 million SANAA (capital), 1.080 million Aden, 941,000 Taiz, 772,000 Ibb (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
17.1% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
20.8 years (2013 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
63.9% (2023 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
40.7% (2022 est.)