Location:
Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 48 00 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 527,968 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 527,968 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 0 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)
country comparison to the world: 50

Area - comparative:
almost four times the size of Alabama; slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
Area comparison map:

Land boundaries:
total: 1,601 km
border countries (2): Oman 294 km, Saudi Arabia 1,307 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
1,906 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:
mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east

Terrain:
narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula

Elevation:
mean elevation:
[see also: Mean Elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes:
lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m
highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west

Land use:
agricultural land: 44.5% arable land 2.2%; permanent crops 0.6%; permanent pasture 41.7%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 1%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 54.5% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
6,801 sq km (2004)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
2.1 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 3.57 cu km/yr (7%/2%/91%)
per capita: 162.4 cu m/yr (2005)

Natural hazards:
sandstorms and dust storms in summer
volcanism: limited volcanic activity; Jebel at Tair (Jabal al-Tair, Jebel Teir, Jabal al-Tayr, Jazirat at-Tair) (elev. 244 m), which forms an island in the Red Sea, erupted in 2007 after awakening from dormancy; other historically active volcanoes include Harra of Arhab, Harras of Dhamar, Harra es-Sawad, and Jebel Zubair, although many of these have not erupted in over a century

Environment - current issues:
limited natural freshwater resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes