Yemen

Official name: 
Republic of Yemen
Name in local language: 
الجمهوريّة اليمنية transliterated as al-Jumhuriya al-yamaniya
Form of government: 
Republic
Political system: 
Conflict situation
  • Founding date/ Date of independence: Unification of two Yemens - 22 May 1990; Northern Yemen state had existed since 1912 and Southern Yemen since 1967.
  • Date of constitution/reform: 16 May 1991, amended 29 September 1994 and 24 February 2001. Constitutional review process currently underway.
  • Form of state: Decentralized
  • Administrative divisions: 20 provinces + Sanaa capital
  • Official language(s): Arabic
  • Other spoken languages: Mehri, Soqotri and Bathari
  • Official religion: Islam (non-denominational)
  • Minorities: Linguistic: Mehri, Soqotri and Bathari. Religious: Sunni Islam (Shafí) 55%, Shia Islam (Ismaili and Zaydi, mainly Houthis) 42%, others (Jews, Christians, and Hindus) 3%
  • Dominant actor(s):Military-economic-tribal complex 
  • Elected institutions of government: Parliament, Presidency and local councils
  • Non-elected institutions of government: Consultative Council
  • Party system: Multi-party system (25 political parties), mainly the General People Congress (GPC), the hegemonic party, and the Islamist party Islah. Away from the political system, there are the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) and the Southern Movement (Hirak al-Janoubi), from which emerged the Sothern Transition Council (STC).

Current authorities

  • Head of state: Abdel Rabbuh Mansur Hadi (GPC party), in exile since January 2015. Revolutionary government in Sana'a, led by Mohamed Ali al Houthi, since January 2015.
  • Head of government (exile):  Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed (GPC), since 2018
  • Minister of Foreign Affairs: Khaled Hussein Alyemany, desde 2018
  • Minister of Interior: Ahmed bin Ahmed Maisar, since 2017.
  • Head(s) of Legislative Branch: Sultan al-Barakani (CGP), since april 2019, in a parliament which gathers outside the capital, Sanaa.
  • Composition legislative branch: Link to PDF
  • Head of the Judiciary:
  • Schematic representation of the political system: Link to PDF

Links