8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Asia / Western Asia

Born in Yemen

About 1 in 95 people born in 2023 started life in Yemen. A boy can expect to live 67 years and a girl 71, up from 27 and 32 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 73% have basic drinking water.

1 in 95
odds of being born here
1.4 million births · Ranked 20th of 230
67 / 71
years of life, boys / girls
Was 27 / 32 in 1950
$1,811
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 174th of 203 · extrapolated
37%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 40 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 495 in every 1,000 births to 40.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0200400600195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth67.2 years for boys, 71.4 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 539.8 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year189,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.1World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles45%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.1%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year38 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year39 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 8.0 children on average in 1950. Now it is 4.6.

Children per woman
02.557.510195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman4.59UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.7 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 45 and the poorest fifth 7.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2014
7%Poorest fifth
11%Second
15%Middle
21%Fourth
45%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,811 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth45% / 7% (2014)World Bank PIP
Unemployment16.9% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises8.1% a year (2014)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person-2.2% (2018)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming32% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed53% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment44% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Sanaa, with 1.9 million people.

37%
live in cities
84%
have electricity at home
73%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Sanaa1.9 million
Aden1.1 million
Taiz940,600
Ibb771,514
Al Ḩudaydah734,699
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Arabic74%
English9%
Arabic is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Amanat Alasimah1.9 million
Aden1.1 million
Ta‘izz957,394
Al Hudaydah869,711
Ibb Governorate842,561
Muhafazat Hadramaout616,210
Dhamār160,114
Sanaa Governorate101,263
Omran90,792
Şa‘dah51,870

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 17 regions
  • Amanat Alasimah1.9 million
  • Aden1.1 million
  • Ta‘izz957,394
  • Al Hudaydah869,711
  • Ibb Governorate842,561
  • Muhafazat Hadramaout616,210
  • Dhamār160,114
  • Sanaa Governorate101,263
  • Omran90,792
  • Şa‘dah51,870
  • Ḩajjah43,549
  • Al Bayda37,821
  • Shabwah37,315
  • Laḩij23,375
  • Abyan Governorate19,879
  • Al Jawf18,241
  • Ma’rib16,794

People on the move

About 6.1% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Saudi Arabia1,999,619
United Arab Emirates192,423
Kuwait75,513
Residents born abroad1.0% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 6.1% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostSaudi Arabia (2.0 million), United Arab Emirates (192,423), Kuwait (75,513)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $3.8 billion a year (2016)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

18% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

18%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20242,159Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19502; the deadliest, in 1982, killed about 2,800 people (magnitude 6)NOAA NCEI
Hurricane-strength storms since 19801NOAA IBTrACS
Deaths in organized violence67,731 between 1994 and 2024UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Yemen, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Yemen

Elsewhere in Asia

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences