Population and Demographics of Yemen
A very young population · 41.13% under age 15 in 2024
The 2000-to-2024 series records a 106.8% increase, which is more informative than a single annual rate alone. By 2050, the medium path points to 70.98 million, equivalent to a +74.9% change from the 2024 estimate.
Population Over Time in Yemen
Over the 24 years from 2000 to 2024, Yemen added roughly 20.96 million people, leaving the 2024 total at 40.583M. Looking ahead, the medium projection points to 70.976M in 2050, 74.9% higher than the 2024 level. The chart connects dated reference points only and should not be read as an annual interpolated series.
Age Structure and Sex Balance
Looking beyond the headline population number, Yemen's 2024 age structure is very young. Children under 15 make up 41.13% of the population, compared with 2.52% aged 65 or older, and 56.35% are 15 to 64. The age balance is weighted toward younger residents.
Population by broad age group
Yemen's 2024 population is 49.3% female and 50.7% male in the World Bank series. Males exceed females by 1.4 percentage points.
Female and male population share
Males made up 50.7% of the population in the World Bank's 2024 series, compared with 49.3% females.
What Is Shaping Population Change
Population is moving +3.03% annually in Yemen, where fertility is estimated at 4.5, with the youngest broad age group at 41.13% and the oldest at 2.52%.
The historical series puts Yemen's 2000-to-2024 population change at +106.8%, whereas the medium projection changes the population +74.9% by 2050; that contrast is reported without assigning unsupported causes.
2024 estimate for Yemen. The world comparison value is 2.25 children per woman.
Yemen vs. World
Yemen's demographic position looks different depending on the measure: annual change is higher than the world rate, fertility is above it, and its population is younger than the global median-age profile.
| Indicator | Yemen | World | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual population change | +3.03% | +0.87% | 2024 |
| Total fertility rate | 4.5 | 2.25 | 2024 |
| Median age | 18 | 30.6 | 2024 |
All three comparison rows use 2024 values from the same harmonized country table. That table attributes its demographic series to UN World Population Prospects 2024, so no different-year values are mixed into this comparison.
Key Takeaways
Yemen has 40,583,164 people in the 2024 estimate, with the population changing +3.03% over the year.
The 2024 age structure is 41.13% under 15, 56.35% aged 15 to 64 and 2.52% aged 65 or older.
The 2024 female and male shares are 49.3% and 50.7% respectively.
By 2050, the medium projection is 70.976M, differing from 2024 by roughly 30.39 million people.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Yemen?
The 2024 harmonized population estimate for Yemen is 40,583,164 people.
Is the population of Yemen growing or declining?
In the 2024 estimate, Yemen's population is growing, with annual change of +3.03%.
What percentage of the population of Yemen is aged 65 or older?
People aged 65 or older account for 2.52% of Yemen's 2024 population in the UN WPP-based broad age data.
What is the projected population of Yemen in 2050?
The UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium projection puts Yemen's 2050 population at 70,976,403.
What is the fertility rate in Yemen?
The 2024 harmonized fertility estimate for Yemen is 4.5 children per woman.
Sources & methodology
This profile uses United Nations World Population Prospects 2024 as the primary framework for globally comparable population, age, fertility and projection data. The World Bank is the primary source for the female population share. Some country values were accessed through secondary retrieval interfaces that republish or organize UN data; those interfaces are identified below as secondary and are not treated as the original statistical publishers.
View sources used for this page
Primary global framework for the population estimates and projections.
Harmonized 2024 country table based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized broad age shares based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized reference for the 2000 population point.
Harmonized 2050 country projection based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Used for the 2024 female share; the male share is calculated as the remainder to 100%.