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Unlike other people of the Arabian Peninsula who have historically been nomads or semi-nomads, Yemenis are almost entirely sedentary and live in small villages and towns scattered throughout the highlands and coastal regions.

Yemenis are divided into two principal Islamic religious groups: the Zaidi sect of the Shi'a, found in the north and northwest, and the Shafa'i school of Sunni Islam, found in the south and southeast. Yemenis are predominantly of Arab origin, although African admixture is present among inhabitants, especially in the Yemen Hadramawt, where the population's DNA is about 35% Sub-Saharan, the highest level in the Near East. However, this is only on the female line, and Sub-Saharan admixture on the male line is virtually nill in the Arab world.[1] Arabic is the official language, although English is increasingly understood in major cities. In the Mahra area in the extreme east, several non-Arabic languages are spoken. When the former states of north and south Yemen were established, most resident minority groups departed.

Demographics of Yemen, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Population: 20,727,063 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46.5% (male 4,905,831; female 4,727,177)
15-64 years: 50.8% (male 5,364,711; female 5,172,811)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 274,166; female 282,367) (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.46% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 43.07 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 59.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 61.75 years
male: 59.89 years
female: 63.71 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.67 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Yemeni(s)
adjective: Yemeni

Ethnic groups: predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians,Somali's, and Europeans

Religions: Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

Languages: Arabic

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 50.2%
male: 70.5%
female: 30% (2003 est.)

See also : Yemen