Talk:Yemen/Archive 1

Latest comment: 10 years ago by 107.222.205.242 in topic Demographics

Economy edit

The article states "In terms of GDP per capita, Yemen is one of the richest countries in the Arab world." According to Wikipedia's gdp per capita information, this is completely untrue. Why is this on here? 75.23.104.129 04:15, 10 January 2007 (UTC)Reply

This has since been changed to "poorest". -- Beland 23:17, 30 October 2007 (UTC)Reply

Demographics in Yemen, about the Islamic groups edit

there is a very large black population in the arab gulf and yemen that needs to be accounted for.

To AlZaidi, Salam Zaidi, I reverted your edition because of your own refrences. First of all, your first reference which is the Yemen Embassy in Canada says that the Yemeni are divided into Sunni's and Shi'is and then other religious groups. 55% are Sunni and 42%Shi'is while 3% for other religious groups. That's what the embassy says in the reference you provided yourself. Now in your other reference, it says that Sunnis are 53% (and NOT 50% as you edited) and Shi'is are 47%. That second reference that you wrote (http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/yemen.htm) does not seem a trustworthy website, and even check its homepage; truely I wouldn't put that as a reference. Therefore, I prefer to stick to the data provided by the Yemen Embassy in Canada. You want the truth, in Yemen you do not care who is Shafi'i or Zaidi; you rarely hear it. On the other hand, you NEVER hear "He is Sunni or he is Shi'i" you never hear it. We don't have these divisions, and I don't know why you make it that big of a deal. Besides, you live in Canada and you define yourself as a third-generation-Yemeni Canadian, so you probably don't know how life is in Yemen, and all the information you have is from the internet. Don't trust all what you read in the internet; you would find a lot of bias in the internet even though it's a huge sourse of information. Now if we want to put references about the percentage of Shi'is or Sunnis or Shafi'is or Zaidis, we have to look for Yemeni governmental websites because they are trustworthy, and I don\t think they would lie about the number because it's not a percentage for an election or for the unemplyment in Yemen, for example, so I don't think they would lie about it. Finally, (to AlZaidi again) try to be flexible in discussion and in opnions, there is nothing called "all or none"; accept the other!
Y4All 19:29, 24 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

Free and fair edit

Under politics it says "International observers judged elections to be generally free and fair". I would really like to know what observers said this. When a candidate gets 96% of the vote you know something isn't right. And according to the BBC the main opposition party was barred from fielding a candidate. This doesn't sound like free and fair to me.

I'm removing the description of the elections as free and fair.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.217.114.202 (talkcontribs) 20:37, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Free and Fair is a matter of judgement and opinion. The international observers from around the world (especially europe) did say it was "generally free and fair" I don't see why that should be removed? since it did say "international observers" and we are refering to their opinion rather then our own. Put it back. Also the % was not 96%. It was 77% in favor of the current president. The other candidate is less known to the masses, who in general, are not educated. Most naturally voted for the more safe canditate, where the much needed change in government would also mean chaos and instability.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Mazighe (talkcontribs) 01:31, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Population Dispute edit

I Al-Zaidi have marked the demographics section with the disputed banner for the following situation.

Anonymous User talk:86.108.118.165. maintains there the population in Yemen is 53% Sha'fi and 47% Zaydi, this is mathematically impossible since this leaves no margin for the Western Ismailis, Jafaris, Jews, Christians, Hanbalis etc... This Anonymous user has now threatened me with vandalism and blockage twice!.

I have maintained the verified numbers are as follows, Yemenis are divided into two principal Islamic religious groups: 50-55% Sunni and 42-47% Shi'a. The denominations are as follows: 50-55% of the Shafi'i and other orders of Sunni Islam. 40-45% of the Zaidi order of Shi'a Islam, 2-5% of the Ja'fari and Western Isma'ili orders of Shi'a Islam.[1],[2]

This incompasses all Islamic schools and leaves a margin for the non-Muslim inhabitants of Yemen. It also includes User talk:86.108.118.165's figures of 47% Zaidi and 53% Shafi'i as incompatible possibilities, meaning that either figure can exist but not both at the same time as that would nullify the existence of any other faith or sect. I ask the Wikipedia members to maintain mathematically logic and encylcopedic integrity regarding the impossible false uncompromising vandalism of User talk:86.108.118.165.

Thank you

Al-Zaidi

Where are the sources? Are there any official numbers on the population or anything else about yemen? I couldn't find any numbers given out by the yemeni government. It would help a lot if someone would point out where to find the official statistics of this country by the yemeni government itself and not by secondary sources and it doesn't matter if its in Arabic. Jidan 22:26, 21 December 2006 (UTC)Reply


I agree with you Jidan, refrences should be written. For me, I will try to read about this topic in Yemen Encyclopedia; it's a very good refrence. Aymx (Don't imitate, innovate) 11:12, 22 December 2006 (UTC)Reply


The Picture edit

90% of Yemeni people live in the Mountains of Yemen of which a major characteristic is Terraces. Amazing Terraces of Green, up and down the mountain side. Yet always, always if anyone wishs to propagate an image of an Arab country such as Yemen they look for the photos that highlight the colors of Tan & Browns. Yemen is an agricultural country where the great majority live in those agricultural centers. Why don't you put a photo of Yemen, the famous Yemen of mountains and Green to show that yes the Arab Muslim world has amazing shades of green to go along with tans & sand. If one puts a photo of china will they put the photo of the desert where rarely people live? NO. They will show the place where the majority live. Yet for Yemen you and all those who propagate an image of an Arab as being "less". This is anti-semitism for the most semitic people on earth are Arabs. by BB —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.209.13.181 (talkcontribs) 19:41, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

Don't be ridiculous. If you have a nice green picture Yemeni terraces put it up. Don't call me a racist for putting up a picture of Yemen that doesn't fit your river valley and rainbows stereotype. A large part of Yemen is indeed desert (or semi desert), and I believe a lot of people like the Yemeni desert and its architecture, I know I do. TastyCakes 22:12, 13 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

Yes, I know you like the Yemeni desert and probably like African American Tap dancing in regards to their culture or maybe a maharaja & snake charmer of India. The stereotype remains on your side of the court. by BB —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.209.13.181 (talkcontribs) 14:17, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

You are clearly trawling for an argument over a trivial subject. I will say again: if you have a picture you feel is more representative, put it up. It's not like anyone is going to go and delete your picture for being too green. But maybe if you did that you'd have nothing to whine about... TastyCakes 21:41, 25 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

No whining involved...but you do not see the point since you come from the long line of colonialists and orientalists that simply distort all things not in line with their rainbows. Rainbows that cater to the imagination of the west, sometimes done innocently, sometimes blatantly. This is not stated as a blame-game, rather when an African American sees something that somehow reflects a view of a past subjugator or a Jew of past racism, however minute, they make it clear to the college graduate that has never been in their shoes that its easy to place a picture up to replace another, but its much harder to speak to minds that inadvertantly stereotype. Textbooks used to call Yemeni people "Dervishes on a barren landscape" while revealing photos of the desert that the British occupied, mind you the British occupied the most uninhabited spot in Yemen with the town center having only 600 people. They used those photos to depict Yemen and their people while the other 90% were in the mountains cultivating. That went on from the daguerreotype photos until the British left in the 1960s. So to know something of history reflects why an African American, a Latin, an Asian or a Yemeni protests any remnant of past oppressions. by BB —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 2006 24.209.13.181 (talkcontribs) 13:58, 28 April (UTC)

1) I don't have a picture of yemen's terraces, but you are right that they are nice. Once again, add it if you want.
2) The picture is in the HISTORY section, not the "where most Yemeni's live" section. If I had a picture of that stone bridge thing in the middle of nowhere, I'd have put that in, even though it's in the middle of a desert, so I found the most "historic" picture I had.
3) You don't know anything about me, please do not pretend you do. TastyCakes 00:39, 29 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

You are so right I don't know anything about you..So you have been to Yemen. My mistake, it only seemed like you have not been there before. Please excuse. I hope I have calmed you down. :-) And sorry did you mean that photo is relevant because its in the history section? because..Actually in general the mountain villages are older then the desert villages. And the greatest population dencity in Yemen live in the Oldest most Historical parts of Yemen. From your comments it is apparent that you are making an asumption that (like most countries) people moved from the old areas to newer areas. The oldest Arab expeditions were the expeditions held by the mountaineers going east & north into the desert, after already building the mountain civilization. For example according to UNESCO the capital of sanaa is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. That does not even mention all the millions that live in the villages around Sanaa, Ibb, Taiz. By BB —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.209.13.181 (talkcontribs) 04:44, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

I lived in Yemen for about 4 years. I agree the big cities are indeed just as old, but because they have changed so much (full of cars and street signs) I don't think they convey Yemen's long history as well as isolated little towns like the one in the picture. I have other similar pictures of places like Kawkaban, but they are all from the North and none are particularly green. TastyCakes 05:36, 1 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

You must have been blind or have not lived there. I had lived there for 20 years and worked in the tourism sector. The big cities are only recognized as a congregation point between very ancient villages that depend on agriculture and are much older then most cities and villages of the world. by BB —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.209.13.181 (talkcontribs) 14:18, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

You are confusing me. I don't even know what you're arguing any more and this discussion is pointless and of no benefit to the article. And I don't particularly care if you do believe me. Goodbye TastyCakes 01:27, 2 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

Yes I was well aware of your not knowing what it was about from the beginning. Many points on the Yemen page actually make that quite clear. It is fine not to know because you are not required in life to know everything like a Yemeni would about their country so to abdicate from this discussion is well wise of you. No ill will what so ever. Oh, and goodbye to you as well. :-) by BB —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.209.13.181 (talkcontribs) 22:23, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

This is ridiculous I looked at the picture it is a very nice picture its amazing how they build on the clifs like that, but if you want to get rid of it be my guest and stop nagging about its orientalist and colonialist representation of Yemen, its not, its a representation of the HISTORY of Yemen, Give me a break! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.231.150.45 (talkcontribs) 05:38, 21 August 2006 (UTC)


Unification edit

I don't see much in the article about the unification of Yemen. A few times it is mentioned that it is a unified country (ie "after unification ... "), occassionally mentioning "the former north Yemen" (technically the "n" in "north" should be capitalized, but lowercase is correct too, just not as much IMHO). I think the history section should be expanded to include that, since they have a national day celebrating it, it's probalby a significant event in the country's history!

I don't know that much about the unification, so I wouldn't be a good person to write the needed paragraph or so, all I remember is reading somewhere that the Yemenis were inspired by the reunification of Germany, seeing that they could probably do the same thing (if you noticed, the Yemens and the Germanies were unified in the same year.) --Canuckguy 14:32, 22 September 2005 (UTC)Reply

That is incorrect. Yemen's unity was rolling on its way for a very long time and was not the least affected by Germany. First of all Yemen united before Germany. Yemen May 22 1990 & Germany Oct. 3 1990. One may say Germany was affected by Yemen, yet in reality German unity & Yemen unity were completely unrelated. Yemen was set to reunify years before 1990 yet it was delayed. One must understand the Yemeni unity was not the fall of one land or regime rather it was a political merge. The President of the South became Vice President. It was the will of the people on both sides of the border and to achieve a political merge of 2 governments takes much doing & time something that the 3rd world takes its time doing, very slowly. It could not be rushed by German unity, especially since Yemen united first. by BB —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.209.13.181 (talkcontribs) 14:20, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

Terrorist? edit

There is refernce to the British being ousted by terrorist campaign. This is potentially POV though I know nothing about the history. "Terrorist" is rhetorical and difficult to define and invites POV warring. Angrynight 21:56, 22 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

It's kind of complicated. My understanding is that the British were set on leaving, but then the Americans said "hey we could use a friend in the region" and so they tried to reverse their pull out. At that point a guerilla type campaign was begun and under increasing violence the British pulled out anyway. Don't know how accurate this account is. TastyCakes 07:46, 23 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

As for the term terrorist in regards to South Yemen. One can easily read old news clippings (some available on the net) where the Brits continually and made it a point on calling anyone in Aden wishing the Brits out "a terrorist". Sounds very familiar now a days doesn't it. by BB

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.209.13.181 (talkcontribs) 14:17, 2 April 2006 (UTC)

Actually, I think you'll find that anyone who wanted the British out and were willing to act violently to support that goal were called terrorists. There's a bit of a difference.. TastyCakes 21:44, 25 April 2006 (UTC)Reply

In general colonialists caused the most terror upon the masses yet since colonialists also possessed the media they could, and still can, call anyone they like, whatever they like. by BB

Stop trolling for arguments with divisive POV crap. TastyCakes 20:12, 31 May 2006 (UTC)Reply
I think BB makes a good point, how is that "POV crap"? Also, isn't "POV crap" to insist that the inhabitants of a country fighting against colonialists/imperialists are terrorists? --Inahet 04:11, 1 June 2006 (UTC)Reply
I didn't insist it. I said that is what they needed to do at the time to be labelled terrorist. I didn't say they were terrorists, and indeed as the targets were mostly military I agree that insurgent would be a more accurate description. On the other hand, no notable source I have seen referred to the british occupation of Aden as "terrorist". Say whatever bad things you want about colonisation and imperialism, it simply does not fit under the definition of terrorism as defined by any non-POV source. Furthermore, unlike many arab media sources, Western media was, as it is now, independent of the government. In any case, BB comes here to argue, not improve the article. He calls the British terrorists because he knows it will piss off people like me. As I said, it's divisive and doesn't help anything, least of all the article. TastyCakes 04:40, 1 June 2006 (UTC)Reply

Oh thank you Inahet, I didn't mean to get TastyCakes furious. No need for insults "tastycakes" and words like "crap" :-). First of all I never called the British "Terrorists". The discussion was the use of a people rebelling colonialization and being called "terrorists" and that (as I said before as a interesting note) "In general colonialists caused the most terror upon the masses yet since colonialists also possessed the media they could, and still can, call anyone they like, whatever they like."

These statements are merely facts. I used the word terror, not terrorist, if you see them as one and the same, then your argument falls apart, for even you saw the term as meaning something negative and took great offence to it. How does it make others feel then? Or is it only you that matters? I appologize if this touchy issue is an issue we should not talk about. I appologize also for ever infering that colonialists ever brought terror, maybe they took over by the power of love.

As for the term "terrorist" we will leave that as a term to describe Aden's revolt against British occupation. Yes, you're correct that George Washington & those crucial to the Revolutionary War in America as a revolt against British occupation may sound similar, but they are not. Yes Aden & America revolted against British occupation, yet Aden = Terrorism .... America = Revolutionary Rebellion. Don't worry I will keep that clear in my mind from now on, and thank you. by BB

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.209.13.181 (talkcontribs) 10:12, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

This issue has already been fixed in the article. So why exactly did you see the need to comment on it here? Were you simply unable to pass up a chance to take a swipe at the British? As I said, I don't think the Yemenis involved in the Aden revolt classify as terrorists by a non-POV stance. Whoever changed it in the article was right to do so. The British held power in Aden by threat of force, not terror. There might be a better argument for them using terror in South Africa, where blacks were "hunted" by Boer's from an early stage, or even North America with the widespread killing of natives. But in Aden this just wasn't so. As I said before "colonialists" do not and did not control the media. They were mostly Western, of course, which makes them POV to some extent, but there were dissenters then as there are now. And for the record, I don't think you're capable of "making me furious", you just piss me off. TastyCakes 16:31, 7 June 2006 (UTC)Reply

TasyCakes; he was trying to appologise and be polite, clearly something your incapable of. Your entire tone is inflamatory and not adding to this debate in any way, as you've already pointed out it has been fixed.

In any case this entire article needs more sources cited.

Contribute to Yemen Portal edit

{{Portal|Yemen}}

Greetings, Yemen portal has started, so would you please add to it all the links you know about Yemen in Wikipedia?

To go to Yemen portal, just press on the sign on the right.

Aymx (Don't imitate, innovate) 12:13, 18 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

Qat edit

The references to Qat are probably not needed at all, as there is an entire article on the plant and it's effects as a drug. It was also written with bad grammar which I have fixed, however references to the drug's effects on teenagers and on society are totally subjective and there no sources cited. It's also problematic to refer to the "positive" effects or "side effects", these should generally just be called something neutral like effects

The majority of the references to Qat should be deleted and edited into a new section: "The use of Qat in Yemen culture". This can contain the current (but edited) references to the drug's effects on Yemen culture but only where sources can be cited.

I fully agree; there is no need for such a large section on Qat in this article--it's currently longer than the section on governance! Certainly, the drug is worth mentioning, but not at such length. I'm going to trim it down, though it may need further trimming by other editors. --The Way 03:23, 15 January 2007 (UTC)Reply
I have moved the Qat section earlier to a new article Qat in Yemen [3], but it was reverted. Anyway, its too large and im moving it. Jidan 14:24, 15 January 2007 (UTC)Reply


Human rights edit

I removed the following:

  • Shia's are especially subject to abuse by the Sunni dominated government of Yemen.

First of all, they are not just shia's, they are Zaydi shia's, and that's a big difference. They are more nearer to sunni teachings than shia teachings found in Iraq or Iran. And the yemen government is not dominated by sunni's, at least provide a reliable source, i.e. not a freelance website like worldpress.com.

  • According to the press reports, the Chief of the Yemeni Supreme Shia Council has stated, “(Iraqi) military men advised Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh to kill Shias in the country as did Saddam in Iraq.” The ongoing violence in the Shia region of Saada has also been labeled a “genocide” by Sistani, the influential Shia leader of Iraq. Many Shias have fallen victim to the Yemeni security forces, which have been reportedly infiltrated by Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s former henchmen.[4].

DELETE 1) Again worldpress.org 2) What an "(Iraqi) military men" or a cleric sitting in Iraq thinks is totattly irrlevent. Human rights and non-profit non-political organizations are the only reliable source . Jidan 14:43, 15 January 2007 (UTC)Reply

Christian Science Monitor and World Press are reliable sources, don't try to remove sourced information that doesn’t suit your personal views. "The Shia cleric sitting in Iraq", Ayatollah Sistani, is an influncial leader of the world's Shias, this is similar to the Pope commenting on the treatment of Catholics in a country. Like it or not, Zaydi Shias are Shias nonetheless. --Mardavich 14:54, 15 January 2007 (UTC)Reply
Well, it depends on what you understand under sourced information. I can open my own website and write "Jidan is the best guy in the wolrd",but that wouldn't be a reliable source, would it? ;) Anyway, I conntacted user user:Al-Zaidi, he is a profi oin this topic. Until then, please stop throwing spam into the article. Thank you. Jidan 15:09, 15 January 2007 (UTC)Reply
Since the section was getting big, I moved it to Human rights in Yemen. Please see Talk:Human_rights_in_Yemen Jidan 15:52, 15 January 2007 (UTC)Reply

Revert war over human rights section edit

Pejman47, why are you repeatedly (1, 2) restoring material that has been moved to another page, where a direct link to it exists from the location you keep replacing the text in? Your edit comment on that last change doesn't even make any sense. — Hex (❝?!❞) 17:44, 16 January 2007 (UTC)Reply

You shouldn't move a topic totally to other article. human rights section should contains a brief of important issues. So I reverted a summary of it.--Sa.vakilian 17:50, 16 January 2007 (UTC)Reply

Sa.vakillian is right, that is the convention in other articles on countries that I have read so far. It looks better as well. 209.105.201.250 19:19, 8 June 2007 (UTC)Reply

Yemen, homeland of arabs? edit

I've been reading a bit, still don't know too much about this.. but I've heard that Yemen is one of the places where the purest Arabs live and also possibly an ancestral homeland?? Any sites anyone can provide about this?Domsta333 03:59, 5 February 2007 (UTC)Reply

Before you can do anything, you first have to figure out what an arab is and then what an arab is supposed to look like and finally, what is 'pure' arab is supposed to be.--71.235.81.39 22:24, 20 May 2007 (UTC)Reply


Is Yemen Bicontinental? edit

Category Bicontinental was recently added, is it correct? I see that Socotra island is in category of African islands but neither of these article actually contains anything on part of Yemen/Socotra being considered bicontinental/Africa. It would be nice if the articles could support the categories they are in not the other way around. Can somebody with knowledge of those things explain? Thank you.--Pethr 05:28, 18 February 2007 (UTC)Reply

the island of socotra does actually lay in the african plate [5]. I haven't noticed that before! Jidan 16:48, 18 February 2007 (UTC)Reply

human rights edit

The Human rights in Yemen article seems to contradict the human rights section here, I think this needs correcting. QZXA2 00:07, 28 April 2007 (UTC)Reply

Demographics edit

A question about Yemen's Demographics: I have read that Yemen has a native black population who do not have recent African origin. It is believed that these people are decendants of the first wave of people to leave Africa thousands of years ago. There are only a few populations of these people that still exist. The Andamanese are one of the more famous groups from that lineage.

There is no mention of these people in the demographics section. Is there actually a native, non-african, black population who have been omitted, or do these people not actually exist? It would be good if someone who actually lives or has lived in Yemen could clarify this for me. Thanks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 211.30.68.206 (talkcontribs) 09:36, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

The part about "a native black population who do not have recent African origin. It is believed that these people are decendants of the first wave of people to leave Africa thousands of years ago." is, of course, nonsense. If they really were so long in Yemen, they would have mixed up with the rest long time ago. This is not the remote Andaman islands. The lighter majority is in Yemen for a long time. СЛУЖБА (talk) 02:13, 2 March 2011 (UTC)Reply

Hi, most of the black population live close to the sea, either the red sear or arabian sea, and believed to be the remenants of the army of Ashab Alfeel, Ibrahah Alashram, from the Habashi Invasion to Yemen. Some of the troops just stayed in Yemen and lived there. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.20.170.189 (talk) 07:15, 6 January 2010 (UTC)Reply

Also keep in mind that Yemen has had a very long history of Black slavery, stretching from the time of Muhammad atleast and probably before his time aswell. Most Yemenis [non black] are part black today because of that long history, and the "Black" Yemenis are most likely the non mixed descendents of slaves. In the Americas we have the same thing since there was slavery here aswell, African-American/Afro-Brazilians etc. 107.222.205.242 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 20:03, 11 February 2014 (UTC)Reply


There is a statistic for the Shia/Sunni Split in Yemen being 13-15/85-88 and as its citation it links to the Yemen embassy in Canada site, however I visited that site and the Yemen Embassy in Canada says that there are 55% Sunnis and 42% Shia, I am changing it to reflect the information of the cited site —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.52.215.67 (talk) 23:25, 12 March 2008 (UTC)Reply

The UNHCR web site to which a link is provided in the article here (footnote 36) and the Yemeni sources all give the break down for Sunni/Shia (Zaydis, Ismailis, Imamis) as 53/47 and 55/45 respectively. Whoever is tampering with these figures, is counting that his vandalizing this article will not be discovered by keeping the citations on, but misrepresenting their content. That is a shame. By changing figures on Wikipedia, he/she cannot change the facts on the ground in Yemen itself. One hopes that the religious war being waged in the Middle East between the Wahhabis and the Shias do not become pervasive here as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Izady (talkcontribs) 03:19, 18 December 2009 (UTC)Reply

In page about North Yemen it is said it had population of some 7 milion in 1990. In page abouth South Yemen, it is said that it had population of some 2,6 milion in 1990. And just 20 years later, unified Yemen has population of some 23 milion? How come? —Preceding unsigned comment added by YossarianBa (talkcontribs) 20:44, 8 June 2008 (UTC)Reply

Nothing odd. Yemen has a VERY high fertility. СЛУЖБА (talk) 02:18, 2 March 2011 (UTC)Reply

Population edit

The info box says a population of 23 million as of 2009, while in the demographics subsection it says 28 million in 2005, that's a horribly large difference. Could someone sort that one? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.71.31.52 (talk) 03:04, 3 January 2010 (UTC)Reply

Culture? edit

why is ONLY Qat under culture? Yemen has a FAR richer culture than some leaf you chew, refer to www.myspace.com/yemeni_culture.com, -Mokha 128.208.35.227 22:57, 4 October 2007 (UTC)Reply

I have deleted this segment and planning to post (very soon) something meaningful to it to replace the shallow piece that was definitely a misrepresentation to the rich culture of Yemen. My apologies to the person who originally posted this, but, I just can’t allow Yemen’s face be distorted on my watch. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 143.165.144.50 (talk) 01:07, 5 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

Longitude edit

Longitude "12d 24m E" of the capital is wrong. Also say "the population" instead of "the size, in terms of population". --User:Jidanni 2006-07-24

I fixed the phrasing, at least. -- Beland 23:35, 30 October 2007 (UTC)Reply

Sana'a edit

Could someone clarify why Sana'a population is listed as being larger than the governate it is in? Does it extend beyond the governate, or are these numbers from two different years, or are they just wrong, or what? -- Beland 23:37, 30 October 2007 (UTC)Reply

the population listed is wrong —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.250.55.144 (talk) 19:50, 7 December 2007 (UTC)Reply
Sana'a population listed is not city population, the city proper is separate governorate Amanat al Simah and so capital population is not included in Sana'a governorate as capital is not its part. The population numbers are official 2004 national census Bogomolov.PL (talk) 06:14, 10 December 2007 (UTC)Reply

Human Rights (Shiaa) edit

The Zaydi Shiaa's are not discriminated against. All presidents and powerful military leaders of Northern Yemen and of united Yemen are of Zaydi orgin. But the problem with Al-Houthi is a new problem with the extremist militant Zaydi group called Al-Shabab Al-Mo'men. It only involves a few thousand fighters it does not involve the millions of Shia's in Yemen. The supreme Shiaa council and its leader are unknown to most people. I tried searching for it on the internet and only found the mentioned quote. Thinking that the president was advised to kill all shia's is really stupid because he would not kill his own tribe in such a tribal country. Wikiarabia (talk) 12:46, 18 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

The mentioned reference is a blog and is not considered a reliable source. What the reference says makes no sense and was not published in any newspaper. The reference only contains the quote by the head of the Supreme Yemeni Shia and does not say anything about discrimination against shia's.

This is a link to a more unbiased report about the Saada war.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/shabab-al-moumineen.htm

This link confirms that the president himself is Zaidi.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6331149.stm

If you insist on putting the quote by the shia supreme council you have to put the other side of the story.

Wikiarabia (talk) 13:27, 18 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

1. The first sentence claiming that Zaidiyyah Shias are subject to abuse by the government is not mentioned in any of your references. This is User:Zeydi's opinion and should be removed.

2. The quote form the Chief of the Yemeni Supreme SHia Council. This Council is unheard of. I tried searching google in both Arabic and English and the only thing I could find was this quote. This council doesn't even have a website. There is no name for the Cheif of the Council. There is no way he could know what advice is given to the president. Even if all this were true why should this be put in the Human Rights section of Yemen if the President received bad advice from some Iraqi advisors. Besides the President himself is Shia(FACT) and his tribe are Shia(FACT) and in such a tribal country he would not kill his own tribe so this whole quote doesn't make any sense.

3. Al-Sistani's opinion is biased simply because he is a religious Shia figure who has never been to Yemen he was only told the story from the Shia rebels. I accept leaving this sentence but you should also add a sentence quoting somebody from the Yemeni government calling those Shia'a rebels Terrorists so you could have all points of view.

4. I don't see what the quote from Nizar Hamzeh has to do with the Human Rights of Shia muslims. Besides that is a personal opinion of some Academic.

5. All what User:Zeydi has written is one side of the story. There must be another side which is the war that his been going on since 2004 because this is the main cause of everything mentioned by User:Zeydi.

6. There should be a separation between the vast majority of Shia Muslims in Yemen and Al-Houthi's followers. There is no discrimination against Shia Muslims in General and here are some examples (remember Shias are about 40% of the population):

A. The current President and all previous presidents (of northern Yemen) were Zaydi Shia (FACT) B. All official Mofti's of the Republic of Yemen were Zaydi Shia (FACT) C. The Big Mosque in Sana'a (the Capital) is a Zaydi Shia mosque and the Friday Prayer in this mosque is shown everyweek on national TV (FACT) D. The president's relatives are the most powerful people in the country and they're mostly Zaydi Shia (FACT).Wikiarabia (talk) 09:31, 27 May 2008 (UTC)Reply

Since there is an unbiased article on the Sa'dah insurgency which explains everything about that war I suggest having a short paragraph like this:

Since the start of the Sa'dah insurgency hundreds of Zaydi Shia's accused of supporting Al-Houthi have been arrested and held without charge or trial. Some Zaydis reported harassment and discrimination by the Government because they were suspected of sympathizing with the al-Houthis. However, it appears the Government's actions against the group were probably politically, not religiously, motivated. Wikiarabia (talk) 10:12, 27 May 2008 (UTC)Reply

Economy edit

Yemen is a poor country but it is not the poorest country in the World at least not by GDP per Capita. Such statetment should have a reference to some statistics not just stated as a fact because it is not. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikiarabia (talkcontribs) 09:55, 4 July 2008 (UTC) In fact according to IMF [6] there are 47 countries that have less GDP per capita than Yemen. The the iraqi aid to Yemen is a lie because Iraq itself was under sanctions and Iraqi children were dying because of lack of medicines. If there was any aid the reference should mention how much money was paid to Yemen and provide reliable resources.Wikiarabia (talk) 10:04, 4 July 2008 (UTC)Reply

Image copyright problem with File:ANewDayinOldSana'a.jpg edit

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Sana'a links edit

The actual title of the article for Sana'a is now just that. All of the links in the article refer to San'a', which merely redirects to the article. Is this intentional or outdated? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.36.124.14 (talk) 01:03, 18 January 2009 (UTC)Reply

tiny mistake edit

the image with cheney is wrong because he's now no longer vice president. that image description needs to be changed. im new to wikipedia so i dont know how to do it.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.55.210.172 (talkcontribs) 00:14, 20 February 2009

Hi there, welcome to Wikipedia. The caption already says "former" Vice President? To get started with editing, take a look at Wikipedia:Tutorial. — Hex (❝?!❞) 01:04, 20 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.24.252.110 (talk) 21:13, 27 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

Only republic on the arabian peninsula? edit

It says in the intro that Yeman is the only republic on the Arabian peninsula. What about Syria (Syrian Arab Republic), Israel (State of Israel), Lebanon (Republic of Lebanon) and others? YeshuaDavid (talk) 12:44, 30 March 2009 (UTC)Reply

Those are not on the Arabian peninsula. TastyCakes (talk) 14:38, 30 March 2009 (UTC)Reply
Hmm sorry I take that back, according to that article it looks like Syria is within the political and geographical definition of the peninsula. So I agree, the intro should be changed... TastyCakes (talk) 14:40, 30 March 2009 (UTC) Sorry again, I was looking at Jordan, not Syria. It seems by the political definition of the Arabian peninsula, the article is correct. However since the "geographical definition" includes parts of other republics, perhaps this statement should be removed as misleading... TastyCakes (talk) 14:45, 30 March 2009 (UTC)Reply

Independence? edit

Why does it not say anything about Yemen's independence from the United Kingdom in the infobox? Flosssock1 (talk) 21:41, 18 September 2009 (UTC)Reply

Hmm I agree it should seem to say it. I've added it in. TastyCakes (talk) 21:12, 22 September 2009 (UTC)Reply
Thanks, Flosssock1 (talk) 14:47, 24 September 2009 (UTC)Reply

page view edit

Wow, this article went from 3.500 page views on December 20, to 39.500 page views on December 30. [7] The Ministry (talk) 21:36, 7 January 2010 (UTC)Reply

Why two governate maps? edit

Given that this article is part of the English version of Wikipedia, what is the point of including a second map of the governates in Arabic? phreakydancin (talk) 20:23, 29 January 2010 (UTC)Reply

  Done Already dealt with by 14 July 2010

Government and politics edit

Why doesn't this article have a Government and politics section like every other country article on Wikipedia? That seems like pretty basic information to include. Kaldari (talk) 05:40, 7 June 2010 (UTC)Reply

Agreed. The History of Yemen and Foreign relations of Yemen articles are very brief, and do not adequately cover the governing structures or relations of the nation. The inclusion of a Government and politics section seems quite important. CSvensgaard (talk) 03:26, 1 July 2010 (UTC)Reply
Have started a Governance section, including details of the administrative divisions. Anyone care to add information on national government? Skinsmoke (talk) 17:42, 14 July 2010 (UTC)Reply
  Done It's back! The sections on Politics and Administrative divisions were lost during a vandal attack on 28 February 2010. An editor partially reverted the attack, but missed these two. I have restored the deleted text under Governance. Skinsmoke (talk) 18:07, 14 July 2010 (UTC)Reply

Etymology of Yemen edit

The article '[[8]]' states regarding the etymology of the name Yemen the following: "Yemen or al-yaman means "the south". One etymology derives Yemen from yamin the "right side" as the south is on the right when facing the sunrise; yet this etymology is considered suspect. Another derives Yemen from yumn meaning "felicity" as the region is fertile; indeed the Romans called it Arabia Felix." This would imply the origin of the word is from some Arabic word. But the Cambridge History of Islam, Vol 1A, page 6 passingly remarks the following: "[...]may possibly be called the Yemenites, from a Sabaic word which denotes south". This would mean, or for that matter any other Arabic origin, Yemen has been named from the vantage point of a place north of Yemen, which is strange. Anyone has any idea? Can someone add this origin somewhere in the article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Prophetoffrivolity (talkcontribs) 12:12, 14 September 2010 (UTC)Reply

Since both Arabic and Sabaic are Semitic, they could have had the same words. I'm not a specialist on this, however.
I don't see any oddities in a country taking the name its' neighbours call it. Such examples are abundant in history.
I'm adding this etymology to the article. СЛУЖБА (talk) 02:33, 2 March 2011 (UTC)Reply
I noticed this entry after I put in my entry on Etymology below. I'm doing a copy and paste: There is something wrong with this section about the source of the word "Yemen". I can't speak for the word yumn, but it appears that the word "falicity" actually means something like happiness, not fertility. Also the Latin word "felix" actually means lucky, not firtile. Apparently the Roman reference to "Arabia Felix" actually ment "Lucky Arabia" and not "Firtile Arabia". This is according to Wiktionary upon looking up the word "falicity". The "Arabia Felix" name for Yemen makes me very curious about what happened there for the Romans to consider it lucky.DavidHenrickson (talk) 12:27, 24 February 2012 (UTC)Reply

Population of Sana'a edit

I corrected a caption to reflect its Aramco World citation, and used the one million present population from the chart of governates. However, it looks like the present population is about two million: http://www.bing.com/search?q=Sana'a+Yemen So my caption fix was probably wrong, but I can't count noses and won't make all the figures agree. Bing isn't a splendid source. Maybe someone else could? - 67.224.51.189 (talk) 01:12, 21 September 2010 (UTC)Reply

Where is Hawta? edit

I can't find it on any maps, but the NYTimes has an article about it.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/world/middleeast/22yemen.html Ydorb (talk) 21:42, 22 September 2010 (UTC)Reply

The Yemen edit

Isn't this country also known as the Yemen? For example, there is the book Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday. This may be an exclusively British English usage, but it does exist. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rredwell (talkcontribs) 19:35, 16 February 2011 (UTC)Reply

A Presidential republic? edit

This article defines Yemen as a Presidential republic, with a directly elected executive president, but according to its own Government section, the Head of Government is actually the Prime Minister, who must be approved by two-thirds of the Assembly of Representatives. This appears to be the definition of a semi-presidential republic, in which the Prime Minister and President share executive power and the Prime Minister must be approved by the legislature, so why is it defined as a Presidential republic?--90.199.141.85 (talk) 20:05, 7 March 2011 (UTC)Reply

As of today the president on the page is listed as "unknown" -- is this a sign of "abuse", or did Saleh get overthrown, and the new head of government has not yet been determined? Stopde (talk) 12:30, 21 November 2011 (UTC)StopdeReply

شاب جزائري حر edit

هل استطيع التعرف...... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 197.200.53.243 (talk) 09:31, 24 June 2011 (UTC)Reply

Nothing yet on Yemen's climate, the object of my inquiry. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.40.56.184 (talk) 13:49, 16 July 2011 (UTC)Reply

Saleh is President according to incumbant Yemeni authorities. edit

It is a bad thing that Wikipedia underrepresents the official view of incumbant Yemeni authorities that Saleh is still President. СЛУЖБА (talk) 23:24, 19 January 2012 (UTC)Reply

I see it was an uncited anon edit. I reverted it on this page. Needs to be reverted on other pages as well. СЛУЖБА (talk) 00:28, 23 January 2012 (UTC)Reply

Etymology edit

There is something wrong with this section about the source of the word "Yemen". I can't speak for the word yumn, but it appears that the word "falicity" actually means something like happiness, not fertility. Also the Latin word "felix" actually means lucky, not firtile. Apparently the Roman reference to "Arabia Felix" actually ment "Lucky Arabia" and not "Firtile Arabia". This is according to Wiktionary upon looking up the word "falicity". The "Arabia Felix" name for Yemen makes me very curious about what happened there for the Romans to consider it lucky.DavidHenrickson (talk) 12:05, 24 February 2012 (UTC)Reply

foreign relations edit

i hope that whoever wrote that section was not a saudi arabian. i edited because it was ignoring the saudi role in yemen and the fact that saleh's government used al-qaeda against houthis. The article is about yemen not Somalia, yet a large portion of the section was discussing the "historical good relations" between Yemenis and Somalians. uh.. no they don't especially the tribes who look down to Somalians as slaves. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.23.14.212 (talk) 09:14, 7 December 2012 (UTC)Reply

Territory edit

Could someone make the island of Socotra on the map in the country infobox green, as it belongs to Yemen. RikSchuiling (talk) 09:27, 14 March 2013 (UTC)Reply

Yamnat edit

Under "Etymology", the word "yamnat" is said to be in Old South Arabian. I was puzzled, as the script of the same only used consonants. Perhaps some other version gives vowels. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.180.222.5 (talk) 16:33, 21 October 2013 (UTC)Reply

1962 edit

It is not clear who abolished slavery in 1962. There was something of a change in the government at that time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.180.222.5 (talk) 16:40, 21 October 2013 (UTC)Reply

Blacklisted Links Found on the Main Page edit

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