An official report by the government of Yemen indicates that 50 percent of the 20-million population now live under the poverty line, and that 18 percent of them live on less than a dollar a day. Some 49 percent live on less than two dollars a day.
The report has been issued by Yemen's Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. It says that this poor state of living of the Yemenis is to further deteriorate, in view of the rapid population growth, which is put at around 3.2 percent, one of the highest in the world.
The report says that at this rate of growth, Yemen's population is set to double in 18 years time.
According to the Yemeni report, unemployment among the Yemenis has reached 39 percent.
