Yemen 🇾🇪
Yemen is a country in Asia with a population of 33,696,614. Its capital is Sana'a. The official currency is YER, and the main languages are Arabic.
Quick facts
- Capital: Sana'a
- Continent: Asia
- Population: 33,696,614
- Area: 527,968 km²
- Density: 63.8 people per km²
- Currency: YER
- Languages: Arabic
- ISO code: YE
Where Yemen sits
Yemen 🇾🇪 is one of 48 countries in Asia, with its capital at Sana'a. It covers 527,968 square kilometres — 49th in the world — and is home to about 33,696,614 people, 46th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Yemen compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Yemen sits closest to Ghana and Malaysia. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Thailand and Spain.
At 63.8 people per square kilometre it is close to the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Arabic is an official language in 25 countries here, among them Algeria, Bahrain, Chad and Comoros, and 20 others. The YER is used by Yemen and no one else.
To see Yemen next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Yemen
Sanaa is about 2,300 m above sea level, which makes it one of the highest capital cities in the world. For the flag, read it from the bottom up as a story: black past, red struggle, white future.
The flag of Yemen: red, white and black
🇾🇪 The flag is three horizontal stripes of red, white and black. The colours come from the Arab Liberation flag. They stand for dark times (black) overcome through struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white).
Region and neighbours
Yemen is a country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, with coasts on the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, and including the Socotra islands. It shares land borders with 2 countries: Saudi Arabia and Oman.
- Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 — capital Riyadh
- Oman 🇴🇲 — capital Muscat
Three facts about Yemen
- About a third of the plants on the island of Socotra grow nowhere else on Earth, and the island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- The old town of Shibam is famous for its tall mudbrick buildings, up to eleven storeys high, and is nicknamed the 'Manhattan of the Desert'.
- For centuries Yemen was a leading producer of coffee, which was shipped from the port of Mocha.
Sources: Wikipedia: Yemen, Wikipedia: Flag of Yemen, Wikipedia: Sanaa, Wikipedia: Socotra, Wikipedia: Shibam, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Yemen
- Asian capitals quiz — match Yemen to Sana'a
- Asian flags quiz — spot the Yemen flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Yemen
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Yemen those are:
- Asia map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Asia flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Asia capitals quiz — match it to Sana'a
- Yemen capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Yemen
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Yemen
- Capital of Yemen: Sana'a — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 48 countries of Asia
Nearby countries
- Afghanistan 🇦🇫 — capital Kabul
- Armenia 🇦🇲 — capital Yerevan
- Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 — capital Baku
- Bahrain 🇧🇠— capital Manama
- Bangladesh 🇧🇩 — capital Dhaka
- Bhutan 🇧🇹 — capital Thimphu
- Brunei 🇧🇳 — capital Bandar Seri Begawan
- Cambodia 🇰🇠— capital Phnom Penh
- China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
- Georgia 🇬🇪 — capital Tbilisi
- India 🇮🇳 — capital New Delhi
- Indonesia 🇮🇩 — capital Jakarta
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Yemen flag?
The flag of Yemen is three horizontal stripes of red, white and black. The colours come from the Arab Liberation flag. They stand for dark times (black) overcome through struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white).
Which countries border Yemen?
Yemen shares land borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman.
How can I remember the capital of Yemen?
Sanaa is about 2,300 m above sea level, which makes it one of the highest capital cities in the world. For the flag, read it from the bottom up as a story: black past, red struggle, white future.