Yemen flag

Officially the Yemen Republic, Yemen exported US$661 million worth of products around the world in 2025.

That calculated dollar amount results from a -70.2% drop over the 5-year period starting from $2.2 billion in 2021.

Year over year, Yemen’s total revenues from exports advanced by 9.7% compared to $602.3 million for 2024.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2025, the Yemeni rial depreciated by -3.13% against the US dollar since 2021. Yemen’s modestly stronger local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars less expensive for international buyers starting from American dollars.

The top 5 most valuable products exported from Yemen are frozen whole fish, moluscs, copper waste and scrap, electronic waste and scrap, then guavas, mangoes, dates and figs. Collectively, those 5 leading export groupings generated just over one-half (50.6%) of the total value of Yemen’s exported goods for 2025.

Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East. Geographically, the Arab nation shares borders with Saudi Arabia to its north, Oman to its east and northeast, the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden to its south and the Red Sea to its west.

The latest available country-specific data from 2024 shows that 89.1% of products exported from Yemen were bought by importers in: Saudi Arabia (57.7% of Yemen’s global total), Malaysia (7.1%), Oman (5.4%), United Arab Emirates (5.1%), Egypt (3.7%), Somalia (2.2%), Thailand (1.9%), Kuwait (1.5%), Italy (1.3%), Hong Kong (1.1%), Qatar (1%) then the Netherlands (0.9%).

Given its population of 41.8 million people, Yemen’s total US$661 million in 2025 exports translates to roughly $16 for every resident in the Middle Eastern country. That per-capita average lags the average $20 per person one year earlier in 2024.

By value, Yemen’s top 10 export categories accounted for 96.1% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Copper was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 18.5% from 2021 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales was plastics, both as materials and items made from plastic, via a 13.4% advance.

Yemen’s shipments of electrical machinery and equipment posted the remaining gain in value, up by 7.2%.

The leading decliner among Yemen’s top 10 export categories was iron, steel: thanks to a -74.0% year-over-year drop.

Please note that the results listed above are at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level.

At the more detailed 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, frozen whole fish represents Yemen’s most valuable exported product at 13.5% of the Middle Eastern country’s total. In second place were moluscs (12.9%) trailed by copper waste and scrap (8.2%), electronic waste and scrap (8.1%), guavas, mangoes, dates and figs (7.8%), miscellaneous fresh fruits (5.3%), fresh whole fish (3.8%), iron or steel waste and scrap (3.7%) then aluminum and waste scrap (3.4%).

The following types of Yemeni product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports is the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

Overall, Yemen incurred a projected -US$8.8 billion trade deficit for 2025, expanding by 247.7% from -$2.5 billion during 2024.

Below are exports from Yemen that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Yemen’s goods trail Yemeni importer spending on foreign products.

 
In macroeconomic terms, Yemen’s total exported goods represent 0.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2025 ($70 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 0.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2025 compares to 1.2% for 2024. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Yemen’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Yemen’s unemployment rate averaged 17.3% for 2025, up from the average 17% one year earlier in 2024 per Trading Economics metrics.

Yemen’s capital city is Sana’a.

See also Yemen’s Top 10 Imports, Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Exports, Oman’s Top 10 Exports and Crude Oil Exports by Country

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Africa: Kenya. Accessed on September 25, 2026

EXCHANGE-RATES.org, Exchange Rate History (Yemeni Rial (YER) To US Dollar (USD)). Accessed on September 25, 2026

Forbes 2025 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 25, 2026

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 25, 2026

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on September 25, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 25, 2026

Wikipedia, Category: Companies of Yemen by industry. Accessed on September 25, 2026

Wikipedia, Yemen. Accessed on September 25, 2026