Name: Yemen Continent: Asia Population: 19,300,000 Religion: Muslim predominant; small numbers of Jewish, Christian & Hindu

The Republic of Yemen was created in 1990 by the merger of North Yemen and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen). In the 19th Century, the British set up a protectorate around the port of Aden, and left in 1967. North Yemen had been a part of the Ottoman Empire until 1918. The southern part of the country became South Yemen, and in 1967 became a marxist state, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. Thousands voted with their feet, fleeing to North Yemen. This emigration resulted in bad blood between the two young nations. Subsequent to the unification in 1990, political progress was made. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was short-lived. In 2000, a border delimitation agreement was reached with Saudi Arabia. Yemen is one of the poorest of the Arab nations, but has been working with the IMF to restructure its debt and streamline its economy. It is developing its oil industry to improve its economic posture.

Timeline of Events Date Event 2000 12 October 2000 USS Cole Attacked in Aden Go here for timeline sources.