Governorates of Yemen

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Updates: 

ISO 3166-2 has come out in a second edition, dated 2007-12-15. It gives a code for San`a' city, as shown below.

Stefan Helders directed me to a preliminary report of the 2004 census . It shows a new governorate named Raimah. He believes that it was formed by taking part of Al Hudaydah and possibly San`a' governorates. I haven't been able to find any confirmation that Raimah exists, so I won't add it to the standard list just yet. The Spring 2004 issue of the Yemen Economic Update  from the World Bank says, "the Cabinet approved in January 2004, a draft law on setting up a new governorate at Al-Raima to be composed of five districts." Other sources imply that the capital would be Jebin, and that Raimah (or Raymah, or Raima) was at least partly in San`a'. Here is the new set of divisions, if the census report is true.

I found a source  for the areas of the governorates. It says that they were measured from topographic maps using a GIS.

Yemen Gateway, an independent organization devoted to the study of Yemen, reports  that a presidential decree was issued on 1998-07-29, creating two new governorates: Amran and Al-Dali'. The decree required the approval of parliament to take effect. I have no evidence that the parliamentary approval was ever secured. All the same, the new governorates seem to be operating. A little more information can be found on the Yemen Times Press Review pages for 1998-08-09  and 1998-08-16 . ISO 3166-2 Newsletter number I-4, dated 2002-12-10, lists the two new governorates. FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 9, affecting FIPS PUB 10-4, dated 2004-10-01, assigns FIPS codes to the two new governorates. It also changes the FIPS codes of the old governorates from which the new ones were formed. Details are below under Primary subdivisions and Change history.

Country overview:  

In 1900, modern Yemen consisted of the Turkish vilayet of Yemen along the Red Sea, and a collection of territories on the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea which were in the British sphere. The border between them was delimited starting in 1902. This border remained in place through several changes in government, until 1990, when the two countries merged.

Other names of country: 

1. Arabic: al-Jamhuriya al-Yamaniya (formal)
2. Danish: Yemen
3. Dutch: Jemen, Republiek Jemen (formal)
4. English: Republic of Yemen (formal)
5. Finnish: Jemen
6. French: Yémen m
7. German: Jemen m
8. Icelandic: Jemen
9. Italian: Yemen m
10. Norwegian: Jemen, Republikken Jemen (formal)
11. Portuguese: Iémen, Iémene, Iêmen m (Brazil), Yémen, República f do Iémen m (formal)
12. Spanish: Yemen, República f Árabe del Yemen m (formal)
13. Swedish: Jemen, Yemen

Origin of name: 

from Arabic for right-hand, its position relative to Mecca as seen from Africa

Primary subdivisions: 

Yemen is divided into nineteen governorates and one municipality.

Further subdivisions:

The governorates are subdivided into 333 districts, which are subdivided into 2,210 sub-districts, and then into 38,284 villages (as of 2001).

Territorial extent: 

Aden includes the islands of Socotra, Perim, and Kamaran, along with Socotra's neighbors, `Abd al Kuri and The Brothers (Samha and Darsa). Yemen also owns the Hanish Islands and other islands in the Red Sea. A recent source states that Socotra is now in Hadramawt.

Origins of names: 

1. Aden: probably from Akkadian edinnu: plain
2. Hadramaut: possibly from Hebrew Hatsarmawet, Biblical person (Genesis 10:26)

Change history: 

In 1900, North Yemen was the vilayet of Yemen in the Ottoman Empire. Aden was a British possession, administered from Bombay. The rest of South Yemen, including Socotra, Perim, and Kamaran islands, was loosely under British protection in various forms.

1. 1918-11: Yemen vilayet became independent as the Imamate of Yemen.
2. 1932: Aden province split from Bombay presidency of India.
3. 1934: Yemen and Saudi Arabia concluded Treaty of Taif, delimiting some of Yemen's northern boundary and assigning some disputed territory to Asir in Saudi Arabia.
4. 1937-04-01: Aden split from India as a crown colony. The crown colony itself was only about 195 sq. km. Socotra, Perim, and Karaman were administered from Aden. The rest of the mainland was divided into the Eastern Aden Protectorate and the Western Aden Protectorate.
5. 1958-03-08: Imamate of Yemen joined a loose federation with Egypt and Syria, which had recently merged as the United Arab Republic. The federation was called the United Arab States. Yemen pulled out in 1961.
6. 1959-02-11: Federation of Arab Amirates formed from some of the sheikhdoms of Aden Protectorate.
7. 1962: Following a coup, Imamate of Yemen became Yemen Arab Republic. At about this time, its divisions were Al Hudaydah, Hajjah, Ibb, Rida', Sa`dah, San`a', and Ta`izz governorates.
8. 1963-01: Name of Federation of Arab Amirates, now including more sheikhdoms (mostly from the Western Aden Protectorate) and Aden itself, changed to Federation of South Arabia. The remaining part of the Aden Protectorate became the South Arabian Protectorate.
9. 1967-11-30: Britain pulled out of Aden. Kuriya Muriya Islands were transferred to Oman. People's Republic of Southern Yemen formed by merging Aden State and Protectorate of South Arabia. Its capital was Madinat ash Sha'b. It was divided into six governorates, identified by Roman numerals from I to VI, increasing from west to east. Roughly, governorate I corresponded to present-day `Adan and part of Lahij; governorate II to the rest of Lahij; III to Abyan; IV to Shabwah; V to Hadramawt; and VI to Al Mahrah. According to the book cited below (at 1980-03), there was also a governorate named Thamud, adjacent to Hadramawt.
10. ~1968: Capital of Southern Yemen moved from Madinat ash Sha'b to Aden. 22 directorates were established as secondary subdivisions, under the six governorates.
11. 1970-12-01: Name of People's Republic of Southern Yemen changed to People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. To avoid confusion, this was commonly known as South Yemen, and the Yemen Arab Republic as North Yemen.
12. ~1980: In North Yemen, Rida' governorate split into Al Bayda' and Dhamar. At about this stage, North Yemen was divided into eight liwa (provinces), as follows (source: Encyclopædia Britannica, 1984 edition).

1. 1980-03: In South Yemen, Thamud governorate merged with Hadhramawt. The divisions of South Yemen as a result were as follows, according to Ismael, Tareq Y., and Jacqueline S. Ismael, The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen: Politics, Economics and Society. Frances Pinter, London, 1986.

1. ~1984: In North Yemen, Al Jawf, Al Mahwit, and Ma'rib governorates split from other governorates.
2. 1990-05-22: The two Yemens merged to form Republic of Yemen.
3. ~1994: San`a' city split from San`a' governorate.
4. 1998-07-29: Amran governorate (HASC code YE.AM, ISO code YE-AM) was formed from parts of Al Mahwit, Hajjah, and San`a' governorates. Al-Dali' governorate (HASC code YE.DL, ISO code YE-DA) was formed from parts of Ibb, Lahij, and Ta`izz governorates. However, the corresponding update to the FIPS standard implies that the governorates that ceded territory were Al Bayda' (former FIPS code YM07), Al Jawf (YM09), Hajjah (YM12), Ibb (YM13), Lahij (YM06), and Ta`izz (YM17).

Other names of subdivisions: 

The Arabic definite article Al is sometimes omitted at the beginning of a name.

1. `Adan: Aden (variant)
2. Al Bayda': Albaidah, Al Baidha, Al-Baydha, Al Beida, Baidaa (variant)
3. Al Dali': Ad Dali', Aldalee, Al Dhale’, al-Dhalea, Al-Dhaleh, Al-Dhalia, Dala'a, Dhala, Dhali' (variant)
4. Al Hudaydah: Al Hodeida, Al-Hodeidah, Al Hudaidah, Hodiedah, Hudaidah (variant)
5. Al Jawf: Al Jouf, Aljowf, Jawf (variant)
6. Al Mahrah: Al Ghaydah (obsolete); Al-Mahara, Almaharah, al-Mahra, Mahra (variant)
7. Al Mahwit: Almahweet, Mahweet (variant)
8. Amran: 'Amran (variant)
9. Hadramawt: Hadhramaut, Hadhramawt, Hadhramout, Hadramaut, Hadramawt, Hadramout (variant)
10. Hajjah: Hajja (variant)
11. Lahij: Laheg, Lahej, Lahj (variant); Tuban (obsolete)
12. Ma'rib: Mareb (variant)
13. Sa`dah: Sa'ada, Saadah, Sa'da, Saidah (variant)
14. San`a': Sana'a (variant)
15. Shabwah: 'Shabwa, Shibwah (variant)
16. Ta`izz: Taez, Taiz (variant)