The Yemeni parliament has approved a 2003 budget forecasting a deficit of 64 billion rials ($359 million). The budget was proposed by the cabinet in November and predicts spending to reach YR 668 billion and revenues to hit YR 531.2 billion.
Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh must approve the budget draft before it can be implemented. The government of Yemen began to implement macroeconomic stabilization and structural adjustment programs in 1995 with support provided by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), assisted by a broad range of international donors.
With a gross national product per capita of $460, Yemen’s 18.5 million people remain on average among the poorest in the world. About 42 percent of households live below the poverty line and approximately 25 percent are unemployed or underemployed. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
