; Gulf State's Poverty Can Be Solved Only Through Democratic Process

Summary

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The present crisis in Yemen is serious indeed, but its origins have been widely misunderstood regionally and internationally. Ours is not a crisis of democracy, as it is so often portrayed, even though some of the government's political opponents have ruthlessly exploited it to further their own ends. The truth is that the crisis, at its heart, is one of poverty, dependency and development.

Yemen is one of the world's poorest countries. It has limited but declining oil revenues, few other natural resources and a growing water shortage, which is undermining its agricultural potential. At the same time, Yemen has a rapidly growing population of almost 25 million and an unemployment rate that is far higher than the official figure of 35 percent, especially among our young people.

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Extract

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; Gulf State's Poverty Can Be Solved Only Through Democratic Process

Our annual government income is around $7 billion. Yet we have expenditures of $10 billion. Much of this goes to subsidies without which many Yemenis would be unable to survive. Fuel subsidies account for 30 percent of o...

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