Yemen Cities

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Yemen Cities by Population

22 cities shown of 22 total Yemen cities that are over 1,000 in population...

1. Sanaa 1,937,451
2. Al Hudaydah 617,871
3. Ta`izz 615,222
4. Aden 550,602
5. Al Mukalla 258,132
6. Ibb 234,837
7. Sayyan 69,404

8. Zabid 52,590
9. Bajil 48,218
10. Hajjah 43,549
11. Dhi Sufal 37,997
12. Al Bayda' 37,821
13. Bayt al Faqih 34,204
14. Yarim 33,050

15. Sahar 31,859
16. Lahij 23,375
17. Jawf al Maqbabah 14,175
18. Hadiboh 8,545
19. Qulansiyah 3,500
20. Kilmia 2,013
21. At Tahalif 1,281
22. Al Hamdi 1,273

Yemen History

In 1839, the British occupied the port of Aden and established it as a colony in September of that year. They also set up a zone of loose alliances around Aden to act as a protective buffer. North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and became a republic in 1962. In 1967, the British withdrew and gave back Aden to Yemen due to the extreme pressure of battles with the North and its Egyptian allies. After the British withdrawal, this area became known as South Yemen. The two countries were formally united as the Republic of Yemen on May 22, 1990.

Yemen is the fastest growing democracy in the Middle East. It is a Presidential republic with a bicameral legislature. Under the constitution, an elected president, an elected 301-seat House of Representatives, and an appointed 111-member Shura Council share power. The president is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government. The constitution provides that the president be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates endorsed by at least fifteen members of the Parliament. The prime minister, in turn, is appointed by the president and must be approved by two thirds of the Parliament. The presidential term of office is seven years, and the parliamentary term of elected office is six years. Suffrage is universal for people age 18 and older.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh became the first elected President in reunified Yemen in 1999. After an initial reluctance to run once more, he was re-elected to office in September 2006. Saleh's victory was marked by an election that international observers judged to be generally free and fair"". Popular demonstrations and editorials of support in major papers helped change his mind to run again. In April 2003, parliamentary elections were held, and the General People's Congress maintained an absolute majority. There was a marked decrease from previous years in election-related violence. The constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sana'a. Since the country is an Islamic state, the Islamic Law is the main source for laws. Indeed, many court cases are debated by the religious basis of the laws. For this reason, many judges are religious scholars as well as legal authorities. Unlike Saudi Arabia and other Islamic states, however, the consumption of alcohol by non-Muslims is tolerated."

As of February 2004, Yemen is divided into twenty governorates and one municipality. The population of each governorate is listed in the table below.