e world's
population remains malnourished, primarily because local production
cannot adequately provide for large and rapidly growing populations,
which are too poor to pay for food imports; conditions are especially
bad in Africa where drought in recent years has intensified the
consequences of overpopulation
Economic aid:
$NA

@World, Communications

Railroads:
239,430 km of narrow gauge track; 710,754 km of standard gauge track;
251,153 km of broad gauge track; includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km
of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in
the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and only
4,160 km in North America; fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr
attained by France's SNCF TGV-Atlantique line
Highways:
total:
NA
paved:
NA
unpaved:
NA
Ports:
Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille,
New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Merchant marine:
23,943 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 397,225,000 GRT/652,025,000
DWT, bulk carrier 5,473, freighter 12,581, passenger-cargo 347, tanker
5,542 (all data as of January 1992)

@World, Defense Forces

Branches:
ground, maritime, and air forces at all levels of technology
Defense expenditures:
somewhat less than $1.0 trillion, 3% of total world output; decline of
5%-10% (1993 est.)

@Yemen, Geography

Location:
Middle East, along the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, south of Saudi
Arabia
Map references:
Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
527,970 sq km
land area:
527,970 sq km
comparative area:
slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming
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)
Land boundaries:
total 1,746 km, Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km
Coastline:
1,906 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
18 nm in the North; 24 nm in the South
continental shelf:
200-m depth in the North; 200 nm in the South or to the edge of the
continental margin
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
undefined section of boundary with Saudi Arabia; a treaty with Oman
defining the Yemeni-Omani boundary was ratified in December 1992
Climate:
mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western