Yemeni diaspora refers to Yemeni migrants and their descendants who, whether by choice or coercion, emigrated from Yemen and now reside in other countries.

Yemeni Jewish man, year 1914
Overseas Yemenis
اليمنيون في الخارج
Total population
~7,000,000
Regions with significant populations
 Saudi Arabia2,000,000
 Egypt700,000
 Israel400,000 (Ancestry)
 India300,000 (Ancestry)
 United States200,000
 United Arab Emirates100,000
 United Kingdom80,000
 Madagascar60,000
 Turkey40,000
 Ethiopia36,000
 Jordan32,000
 Malaysia20,000
 Eritrea18,000
 Somalia12,000
 Canada8,115
 Pakistan65,000
 Djibouti5,000
 Netherlands3,777
 Oman2,500
Languages
Yemeni Arabic, Yemenite Hebrew
Religion
Predominantly Islam Significant minorities of Judaism.

There are 7 million Yemenis living outside Yemen, including 2 million in Saudi Arabia.[1][2] In the United Kingdom there are between 70,000 and 80,000 Yemenis. An estimated 10,000 Yemenis in Birmingham, making about 1% of the city's population. Over 200,000 Yemenis reside in the United States, and around 3,000 live in Italy. Other Yemenis also reside in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan,[3] Qatar, Bahrain and Turkey, as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and the former USSR.

Yemeni merchants and sailors often from the Hadhramaut and Aden regions, due to their historical maritime trading networks, were often influential in spreading Islam to regions in the Indian Ocean, especially the Swahili Coast, Madagascar, Southern India, Sri Lanka, East Timor, Indonesia, and Malaysia. A smaller number of modern-day Indonesians are of Yemeni descent, their original ancestors having left Yemen for the Southeast Asia over four centuries ago; Yemenis also contribute part of the small Muslim community in East Timor.[4] Similarly, many South Indian and Malagasy Muslims trace their ancestry back to Yemeni migrants, contributing to the Yemeni Indian population of roughly 300,000, as well as a population of roughly 60,000 Yemenis in Madagascar.

Due to the conflict in Yemen, many have migrated to the northern coasts of Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia. In 2017, Djibouti was home to over 40,000 Yemeni refugees.[5]

Yemenite Jews in Israel edit

Almost 435,000 Yemenite Jews live in Israel. Yemenite Jews have a unique religious tradition that marks them out as separate from Ashkenazi, Sephardi and other Jewish groups. Yemenite Jews are generally described as belonging to "Mizrahi Jews", though they differ from the general trend of Mizrahi groups in Israel, which have undergone a process of total or partial assimilation to Sephardic culture and Sephardic liturgy.

Avigdor Kahalani originating from Yemen was a former Israeli soldier and politician and Israeli Minister of Internal Security and member of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. Ofra Haza was a famous Israeli singer most known for "Im Nin'alu" and for representing Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 with "Hi". Dana International of mixed Yemeni and Romanian origin won Eurovision Song Contest 1998 representing Israel with "Diva". Both Haza and Dana International have also sung in Arabic and in Yemeni dialects. Bo'az Ma'uda also of Yemeni descent represented Israel in Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with "The Fire in Your Eyes".

Very active names of Yemeni (or partial Yemeni) origin particularly in Israeli Mizrahi music include Zohar Argov, Daklon, Eyal Golan, Zion Golan, Yishai Levi, Avihu Medina, Haim Moshe, Shimi Tavori, Margalit Tzan'ani amongst others.

Notable Yemenis of the diaspora edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Yemenis in Saudi Arabia: Less Money to Send Home, More Pressure to Leave". Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies. 2020-09-03. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  2. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Yemeni Workers at Risk of Mass Forced Returns". Human Rights Watch. 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  3. ^ Salameh, Dalal; Wakim, Rebecca (translator) (19 September 2021). "Taking Refuge in Amman: "I Left My Roots in Yemen"". 7iber | حبر. Retrieved 2022-01-10. {{cite web}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ Yemenis in the UK
  5. ^ Adow, Mohammad (17 November 2017). "Yemenis find refuge in Africa's Djibouti". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 28 October 2019.

See also edit