Yemenis

For a specific analysis of the population of Yemen, see Demographics of Yemen.

Yemenis or Yemenites (Arabic: يمنيون) are the citizen population of Yemen.

Yemenis

Arabic: يمنيون
Map of the Yemeni people around the world   Yemen   + 1,000,000   + 100,000   + 10,000   + 1,000
Total population
Yemen : 31,461,438[1] Yemeni diaspora : 7,000,000 Total : 38,461,438
Regions with significant populations
Saudi Arabia	1,803,469[2]
Egypt	700,000[3]
India	300,000 (incl. ancestry)[4]
United States	91,288[5]
United Arab Emirates	90,000[6]
United Kingdom	70,000-80,000[7]
Eritrea	71,000[citation needed]
Madagascar	61,000[8]
Israel	50.000[9][10] (Number of Yemenite Jews that migrated to Israel)
Ethiopia	37,500[citation needed]
Jordan	32,000[11]
Turkey	30,000[12]
Malaysia	20,000[13]
Canada	8,115[14]
Djibouti	5,129[15]
Pakistan	5,000[16]
Sweden	3,785[17]
Netherlands	3,777[18]
Oman	2,500[19]
Languages
Arabic: varieties of Yemeni Arabic (majority) · Standard Arabic (official) · Mehri · Socotri · Hobyot · Razihi · Judeo-Yemeni (historically)
Religion
Predominantly Islam · significant minorities of Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Other Arabs

Genetic studies

Further information: Genetic history of the Middle East

Yemen, located in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, serves as a crossroads between Africa and Eurasia. The genomes of present-day Yemenis provide insights into the region's complex history, as DNA can reveal patterns of human migration and interaction over millennia. Despite its historical significance, Yemeni populations have been underrepresented in genetic studies until recent years. Researchers have posed several questions about Yemen's genetic history, including whether its populations retain genetic traces of the first Out-of-Africa migrations, how subsequent population movements have influenced its gene pool, and the relative contributions of ancient (Pleistocene) versus recent (Holocene) population events. Additionally, Yemen's unique geographic position raises questions about its influence on the genetic structure of its inhabitants.^[20]

When talking about Levantine DNA in Yemen. It is about Natufian DNA, which makes up about 50-60% of Yemeni autosomal DNA. While current Levantines have a mixture of Anatolian, Zagrosian, Caucasian, and Natufian DNA, current Levantines did not shape nor affect Yemeni DNA, as Natufian DNA migrated to the Arabian peninsula thousands of years ago. Also, the population closest to Natufians are Yemenis and other populations in the Arabian peninsula.^[21]

Studies have begun to shed light on these questions. A 2008 investigation examined regional differences in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) across Yemen. This study revealed varying distributions of minimal sub-Saharan, and majority West Eurasian mtDNA lineages, with the majorty of Yemeni populations showing closer genetic ties to Middle Eastern and North African groups. Notably, Yemenis display the highest frequency of the West Eurasian R0a haplogroup detected to date, suggesting that southern Arabia might have been a site of its initial expansion. Sub-Saharan haplogroup M1 was primarily found in southwestern Yemen near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, whereas non-African M haplotypes occurred with low frequency in western Yemen and were more common in Hadhramaut. These findings highlight the stratification and diverse origins of the Yemeni gene pool, shaped by gene flow from West Eurasia.

In their 2017 paper, Ranajit Das, Paul Wexler, Mehdi Pirooznia, and Eran Elhaik analyzed the Lazaridis et al. 2016 study concluding that the Natufians, together with one Neolithic Levantine sample, clustered in proximity to modern Palestinians and Bedouins, and also "marginally overlapped" with Yemenite Jews. Ferreira et al. (2021) and Almarri et al. (2021) found that ancient Natufians cluster with modern Arabian groups, such as Saudi Arabians and Yemenis, which derive most of their ancestry from local Natufian-like hunter-gatherer peoples and have less Neolithic Anatolian ancestry than Levantines.^[22] Sirak et al. (2024) found that medieval Socotra (the Soqotri people)—similar to modern Saudis, Yemenis, and Bedouins—have a majority component that is "maximized in Late Pleistocene (Epipaleolithic) Natufian hunter–gatherers from the Levant".^[23][24]

Yemenis in Sanaa

More recent research, published in 2024, used genome-wide data from Yemeni and neighbouring populations to investigate the genetic history of Arabia. Principal component analysis showed that Yemenis form a genetic continuum with other Arabian and Levantine populations, distinct from East African and Indian groups.^[25] The findings provide a detailed, complementary understanding of the genetic landscape across Yemen and its likely ancestral sources. As per the study, this aligns with prior research by Vyas et al., which documented gene flow between Yemen, Arabia, and the Levant. Moreover, the study identifies patterns of Neanderthal introgression in Yemenis, resembling those found in Bedouin and other populations in Southwest Asia.^[25]

Social hierarchy

See also: Tribes of Yemen

Yemeni tribesmen

Yemen is notable as the most tribal nation in the Arab world, largely due to the significant influence of tribal leaders and their deep integration into various aspects of the state.^[26] Estimates vary, with approximately 200 tribes in Yemen, although some reports list more than 400.^[27][28]

There is a system of social stratification in Yemen that was officially abolished at the creation of the Republic of Yemen in 1962. In practice this system has not disappeared, and Yemeni society is still organized around social hierarchies. The difference between social ranks is manifested by descent and occupation and is consolidated by marriages between people of the same ranks.

There are five status groups. At the top of the hierarchy, there are the religious elites, also called sada. These are then followed by the strata of judges (quad). The third hierarchical status is the qaba’il, who are the peasants, who belong to tribes and who live mainly from agriculture and trading. The fourth group is called the mazayanah. This group is composed of people who have no land and provide different kinds of services such as butchers and craftsmen. Finally, at the bottom of the hierarchy are the slaves (a’bid) and even further below them Al-Akhdam, which means servants.^[29]

Diaspora

Main article: Yemeni diaspora

The Yemeni diaspora is largely concentrated in the United Kingdom, where between 70,000 and 80,000 Yemenis live. Over 20,000 Yemenis reside in the United States, and an additional 2,800 live in Italy. Yemenis also reside in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain, as well as India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Madagascar, and the former USSR. A smaller number of modern-day Pakistanis are of Yemeni descent, their original ancestors having left Yemen for the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia over four centuries ago.^[30] Arab Indonesians are Indonesian citizens of Arab or mixed Arab-Indonesian descent, mainly Hadharem from Yemen. The census of 2005 recorded a total of 87,227 Arab Indonesians.^[31] Around 50.000 Yemenite Jews migrated to the State of Israel. In 2015, due to the conflict in Yemen, many have migrated to the northern coasts of Djibouti, Madagascar, and Somalia in Africa.

Notable Yemenis

• Abu Bakr Salem, Yemeni singer
• Amna Al-Nasiri, Yemeni plastic artist, art critic, writer
• Tawakkol Karman, Yemeni Nobel Laureate, journalist, politician, and human rights activist
• Anwar al-Awlaki, Yemeni-American imam
• Hind Al-Eryani, Yemeni activist and journalist
• Ali al-Jifri, Yemeni Islamic scholar
• Shoshana Damari, Yemenite jewish Israeli singer
• Shatha Altowai, visual artist
• Saber Bamatraf, Yemeni pianist, composer and cultural activist.
• Arwa Othman, Yemeni writer, journalist, human rights activist and former Minister of Culture
• Balqees, Yemeni singer
• Saadaldeen Talib, politician