Western Asia · YEM

Yemen

The story · 10 chapters

How it was drawn

Ancient incense kingdoms, then Zaydi imams in the north and British Aden in the south. North and South Yemen united in 1990.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Yemen fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Roman Empire26 BC to 24 BC
Augustus sends Aelius Gallus to conquer the incense kingdoms. His army marches down western Arabia and besieges Marib, the Sabaean capital, but thirst and disease force it to turn back.
Kingdom of Aksum523 to 570
After the Himyarite king Dhu Nuwas persecutes the Christians of Najran, Aksum's King Kaleb invades around 525 and ends Himyar's independence. Aksumite generals such as Abraha rule Yemen until Persia drives them out around 570.
Ayyubid Sultanate1174 to 1229
Saladin's brother Turan-Shah conquers Yemen in 1174, and Ayyubid princes rule its lowlands and towns for half a century, fighting the Zaydi imams of the highlands, until their governor Umar ibn Rasul founds the Rasulid dynasty.
Kingdom of Portugal1513
Afonso de Albuquerque attacks Aden in 1513, hoping to close the Red Sea to Muslim trade, but his scaling ladders break and the Portuguese sail away. Aden's strategic value soon draws the Ottomans.
Ottoman Empire1538 to 1636
The Ottomans take Aden in 1538 and Sanaa in 1547, but the Zaydi imams never stop fighting. Al-Qasim's revolt from 1597 and his sons' campaigns force the last Ottoman troops to leave in 1636.
British Empire1839 to 1967
Britain seizes Aden in 1839 as a coaling station on the route to India, then builds a protectorate over the southern sultanates. An armed revolt from 1963 forces a British withdrawal in November 1967.
Ottoman Empire1849 to 1918
The Ottomans return to the Red Sea coast in 1849 and take Sanaa in 1872. Zaydi revolts under the imams continue, and the Treaty of Daan in 1911 grants Imam Yahya autonomy. The Ottomans leave after their defeat in 1918.
Saudi Arabia1932 to 1934
Imam Yahya and Ibn Saud dispute Asir and Najran. In the 1934 war Saudi forces advance down the coast to Hodeidah. The Treaty of Taif returns Hodeidah to Yemen but leaves Asir, Jizan and Najran in Saudi hands.
South Yemen1972 to 1994
The two Yemens fight border wars in 1972 and 1979. They unite in 1990, but southern leaders try to secede in 1994, and northern forces defeat them in a short civil war, taking Aden in July.
Eritrea1995 to 1998
Eritrean forces seize Greater Hanish island in the Red Sea in December 1995. The two states accept arbitration, and a 1998 ruling gives most of the disputed islands to Yemen.
Saudi-led coalitionSince 2015Still open
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their allies begin air strikes in March 2015 to restore the government ousted by the Houthis, who answer with missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. A truce since April 2022 has largely held, without a final peace.

Today

Yemen now

The Kingdom of Yemen (colloquially known as North Yemen) became independent from the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and in 1962 became the Yemen Arab Republic. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became the People's Republic of Southern Yemen (colloquially known as South Yemen). Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation and changed the country's name to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

Capital: Sanaa
Government: in transition
Head of government: Salem Saleh bin Braik
Head of state: Rashad al-Alimi
Languages: Arabic
Area: 527,968 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population39.4 million2023 · 4.6 million in 1950
Life expectancy69.3 years2023 · 28.9 years in 1950
GDP per person$1,9592022 · $1,452 in 1950
Living in cities37%2025 · 2% in 1950
Literacy37%1994 · 3% in 1950
Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending4.0% of GDP2014
War deaths4.1 per 100,0002025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

Saudi Arabia
United States

Tensions

Iran, Islamic Rep.

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Yemen fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Roman Empire26 BC to 24 BC

Augustus sends Aelius Gallus to conquer the incense kingdoms. His army marches down western Arabia and besieges Marib, the Sabaean capital, but thirst and disease force it to turn back.

Kingdom of Aksum523 to 570

After the Himyarite king Dhu Nuwas persecutes the Christians of Najran, Aksum's King Kaleb invades around 525 and ends Himyar's independence. Aksumite generals such as Abraha rule Yemen until Persia drives them out around 570.

Ayyubid Sultanate1174 to 1229

Saladin's brother Turan-Shah conquers Yemen in 1174, and Ayyubid princes rule its lowlands and towns for half a century, fighting the Zaydi imams of the highlands, until their governor Umar ibn Rasul founds the Rasulid dynasty.

Kingdom of Portugal1513

Afonso de Albuquerque attacks Aden in 1513, hoping to close the Red Sea to Muslim trade, but his scaling ladders break and the Portuguese sail away. Aden's strategic value soon draws the Ottomans.

Ottoman Empire1538 to 1636

The Ottomans take Aden in 1538 and Sanaa in 1547, but the Zaydi imams never stop fighting. Al-Qasim's revolt from 1597 and his sons' campaigns force the last Ottoman troops to leave in 1636.

British Empire1839 to 1967

Britain seizes Aden in 1839 as a coaling station on the route to India, then builds a protectorate over the southern sultanates. An armed revolt from 1963 forces a British withdrawal in November 1967.

Ottoman Empire1849 to 1918

The Ottomans return to the Red Sea coast in 1849 and take Sanaa in 1872. Zaydi revolts under the imams continue, and the Treaty of Daan in 1911 grants Imam Yahya autonomy. The Ottomans leave after their defeat in 1918.

Saudi Arabia1932 to 1934

Imam Yahya and Ibn Saud dispute Asir and Najran. In the 1934 war Saudi forces advance down the coast to Hodeidah. The Treaty of Taif returns Hodeidah to Yemen but leaves Asir, Jizan and Najran in Saudi hands.

South Yemen1972 to 1994

The two Yemens fight border wars in 1972 and 1979. They unite in 1990, but southern leaders try to secede in 1994, and northern forces defeat them in a short civil war, taking Aden in July.

Eritrea1995 to 1998

Eritrean forces seize Greater Hanish island in the Red Sea in December 1995. The two states accept arbitration, and a 1998 ruling gives most of the disputed islands to Yemen.

Saudi-led coalitionSince 2015Still open

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their allies begin air strikes in March 2015 to restore the government ousted by the Houthis, who answer with missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. A truce since April 2022 has largely held, without a final peace.

Yemen now

Capital

Sanaa

Government

in transition

Head of government

Salem Saleh bin Braik

Head of state

Rashad al-Alimi

Languages

Arabic

Area

527,968 km²

Then and now

Population39.4 million2023 · 4.6 million in 1950

Life expectancy69.3 years2023 · 28.9 years in 1950

GDP per person$1,9592022 · $1,452 in 1950

Living in cities37%2025 · 2% in 1950

Literacy37%1994 · 3% in 1950

Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending4.0% of GDP2014

War deaths4.1 per 100,0002025