Yemen was one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Between the 12th century BC and the 6th century AD, it was part of the Minaean, Sabaean, and Himyarite kingdoms, which controlled the lucrative spice trade, and later came under Ethiopian and Persian rule.
The republic of Yemen is situated in the Southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. It shares boarders with Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the East and Somalia, Ethiopia and Eretria to the South. It lies on a 2,000 kilometers coast stretching from the Red Sea in the West to the Arabian Sea in the Southeast and the Aden Gulf in the South.
Yemen is the least developed country in the Middle East, with GDP per capita of US$650 and GNI per capita of US$500. Inflation rate lies at 12% with commercial interest rate at 18%.
Yemen has a population size of 23 Million, one of the most ethnically homogenous in the region, with 3% population annual growth rate. Yemen has a population density of 41 persons per square kilometer.
