Yemen
Al Saleh Mosque, Sana’a
Full Name: Republic of Yemen, Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah
Date of Independence:
North Yemen - 1 November 1918, from the Ottoman Empire
South Yemen - 30 November 1967, from the UK
Official unification/establishment of ROY - 22 May 1990
Capital: Sana’a
Population: 30.4 million (July 2021 est.)
Foreign-Born Population: 387,000 (mid-2020 est.), with the majority from Somalia and Ethiopia as refugees and asylum seekers
Government Structure: “In transition”
There is ongoing conflict between Iran-backed Houthi rebels, a sect of the Zaidi Shiite community, and Saudi-backed Yemeni government under President Hadi
Yemen currently has no fully functioning central government - control of territory is fractionated between armed groups and political rivals
Leader(s):
President Abd Rabuh Mansur Hadi
Prime Minister Maeen Abd al-Malik Saeed - Head of Government
Primary Flow of Immigration: Sending country
-0.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
The number of internally displaced people (IDP) is higher than the number of emigrants from Yemen due the military blockades and the dangers of traveling
Djibouti has played a key role in helping to evacuate Yemeni migrants to other Gulf States
Major Destinations of Emigrants:
The majority of Yemeni emigrants end up traveling across the border into Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but they also immigrate to nearby East African countries
Primary “Push” Factors:
Migrants from the Horn of Africa continue to immigrate to Yemen in search of work in the northern Gulf states, despite facing poor conditions, violence, and the threat of deportation
Nearly 27,700 migrants from the Horn of Africa were recorded entering Yemen by the end of 2021
Houthi rebels pushed thousands of Ethiopian migrants out of northern Yemen, claiming they were responsible for the spread of COVID-19
Continued conflict has forced more and more migrants to return to East Africa and make the journey across the Red Sea a second time, rather than make it across Yemen
Yemen is currently facing one of the worst human rights crises in the world - famine is rampant throughout the country and Houth rebels have blocked aid from being able to reach those most in need
Further Reading:
Yemen’s Tragedy: War, Stalemate, and Suffering”
