Global Connections

The Country of Yemen

1. Describe the country’s physical geography (terrain). Provide pictures, if available.

It is a narrow plain with trapezoid topped hills, it has rough mountains, the desert upland plains are split in half. It is part of the Arabian Peninsula where it is all desert. It has an area of 527, 968 sq km.



http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2010-01-10-YemeniterrainidealfortourismandterrorismAbuFadil.jpg

2. What is the climate? Note: Climate can range across regions.

The climate is desert climate, it is hot and humid near the west coast. In the western mountains they experience seasonal monsoons, and in the east it is really hot, dry and harsh.

3. Does this country have a fresh water supply?

It does have a fresh water supply but it is limited, and they don’t have very good ways of transporting water. It has access to a seaport because it is on the Arabian Peninsula. It controls its water source but the sources is limited. The source of water are rivers, and ocean through the process of desalination.

4. What industries does the country support?

The country supports  crude oil productions, petroleum refining, cotton textiles, leather goods, food processing, handicrafts, cement, commercial ship repair and natural gas production.  The GDP composition by sector for industry is 39%.

5. What international issues is the country currently facing?

The international issues Yemen is facing is that Saudi Arabia has concrete-filled security barriers to discourage illegal border activities. It has refugees from countries mostly Somalia. More international issues is that people trafficking, for sex and labor.

What role have natural resources played in the politics and economy of the Middle East? 

Water plays a big role in economy because if one country builds a damn upstream of a river another country get less water then before. This causes disputes and arguments about property. Their vast reserves of oil interest many country, mostly European countries and the United States. They divide the land up that's not theirs, to satisfy their growing need for oil. The price of oil has increased causing the cost of land to drill to increase, while western countries pay more for the oil, the Middle East profits more from the oil. Water is only abundant in a few Middle East countries, and most of them rely on other countries to get their water.