South Yemen

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People's Republic of Southern Yemen (1967–1970) People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (1970–1990)
1967–1990
Flag Emblem (1970–1990)
Anthems:  "النشيد الوطني لجمهورية اليمن الديمقراطية الشعبية" (National Anthem of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen) "رددي أيتها الدنيا نشيدي" (Repeat, O World, My Song)
Show map of Middle East Show administrative divisions Location of claimed territory of South Yemen (red) – in Asia (tan & white) – in Arabia (tan)
Capital and largest city	Aden 12°48′N 45°02′E / 12.800°N 45.033°E / 12.800; 45.033
Official languages	Arabic
Religion	Islam[a]
Demonym(s)	Yemeni/Yemenite
Government	Communist state[4]
General Secretary
• 1978–1980	Abdul Fattah Ismail
• 1980–1986	Ali Nasir Muhammad
• 1986–1990	Ali Salim al-Beidh
President
• 1967–1969 (first)	Qahtan al-Shaabi[b]
• 1986–1990 (last)	Haidar al-Attas[c]
Prime Minister
• 1969 (first)	Faysal al-Shaabi
• 1986–1990 (last)	Yasin Said Numan
Legislature	Supreme People's Council
Historical era	Cold War
• Independence declared; Arab League membership	30 November 1967
• UN membership	14 December 1967
• Corrective Move	22 June 1969
• Constitution adopted	31 October 1978
• Civil war	13 January 1986
• Unification	22 May 1990
Area
• Total	360,133 km2 (139,048 sq mi)
Population
• 1973 census	1,590,275[5]
• 1988 census	2,345,266[5]
Currency	Yemeni dinar (دينار) (YDD)
Calling code	+969[6]
ISO 3166 code	YD
Internet TLD	.yd[d]
Preceded by Succeeded by Federation of South Arabia Protectorate of South Arabia Yemen
Today part of	Yemen
ISO 3166-1 = YD ISO 3166-3 = YDYE

Part of a series on the
History of Yemen
Timeline
Ancient history Kingdom of Awsan (c. 800 – c. 700 BC) Kingdom of Saba' (c. 1200 – c. 275 CE) Kingdom of Ḥaḑramawt (c. 1000 – c. 290 BCE) Kingdom of Qatabān (c. 1000 – c. 200 AD) Kingdom of Ma'in (c. 600 – c. 150 BCE) Kingdom of Ḥimyar (c. 110 – c. 525 CE) Axumite Yemen (c. 517 – c. 570 ) Sasanian Yemen (c. 570 – c. 630 )
Islamic history First Islamic State (c. 622 – c. 632) Rashidun Caliphate Umayyad Caliphate Abbasid Caliphate Ziyadid dynasty Najahid dynasty Sulayhid dynasty Ayyubid dynasty Rasulid dynasty
Modern history Ottoman Eyalet Qasimid state Aden Protectorate Ottoman vilayet Mutawakkilite Kingdom Unified Yemen (1990-present)
Related topics Portuguese Socotra Yemeni unification 1994 Civil War Yemeni revolution Civil war (2014–present) COVID-19 pandemic Red Sea crisis
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South Yemen,^[e] officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen,^[f] abbreviated to Democratic Yemen,^[g][h] was a country in South Arabia that existed in what is now southeast Yemen from 1967 until its unification with the Yemen Arab Republic in 1990. The sole communist state in the Middle East, it comprised the southern and eastern governorates of the present-day Republic of Yemen, including the island of Socotra. It bordered the Yemen Arab Republic to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the east, the Arabian Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Aden to the south. Its capital and largest city was Aden.

South Yemen's origins can be traced to 1874 with the creation of the British Colony of Aden and the Aden Protectorate, which consisted of two-thirds of present-day Yemen. Prior to 1937, what was to become the Colony of Aden had been governed as a part of British India, originally as the Aden Settlement subordinate to the Bombay Presidency and then as a Chief Commissioner's province. After the collapse of Aden Protectorate, a state of emergency was declared in 1963, when the National Liberation Front (NLF) and the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) rebelled against the British rule. The Federation of South Arabia and the Protectorate of South Arabia were overthrown to become the People's Republic of Southern Yemen (PRSY) on 30 November 1967.

On 22 June 1969, the Marxist–Leninist faction of the NLF led by Abdel Fattah Ismail and Salim Rubai Ali, overthrew the Nasserist President Qahtan al-Shaabi in an internal bloodless coup that was later called the Corrective Move. The Marxist–Leninist takeover later led to the creation of the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), and South Yemen's transformation into a one-party, socialist state. The official name of the state was changed a year after the reforms to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), and was able to establish strong relations with Cuba, East Germany, North Korea, China, and the Soviet Union. Despite its efforts to bring stability into the region, it was involved in a brief civil war in 1986. The PDRY unified with the Yemen Arab Republic, on 22 May 1990 to form the present-day Republic of Yemen.

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