Contiguous zone: 18 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 meters;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: sections of the boundary with PDRY are indefinite or undefined; undefined section of boundary with Saudi Arabia
Climate: desert; hot and humid along coast; temperate in central mountains; harsh desert in east
Terrain: narrow coastal plain (Tihama); western mountains; flat dissected plain in center sloping into desert interior of Arabian Peninsula
Natural resources: crude oil, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, nickel, and copper; fertile soil
Land use: 14% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 36% meadows and pastures; 8% forest and woodland; 42% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: subject to sand and dust storms in summer; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Note: controls northern approaches to Bab el Mandeb linking Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes