South Yemen

People's Republic of South Yemen (1967–1970) جمهورية اليمن الجنوبية الشعبية People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (1970–1990) جمهورية اليمن الديمقراطية الشعبية
1967–1990
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: وحدة ، حرية ، إشتراكية Waḥdah, Ḥurrīyah, Ishtirākīyah ("Unity, Freedom, Socialism")
Anthem: النشيد الوطني لجمهورية اليمن الديمقراطية الشعبية An-Našid al-Waṭane al-Jomhuriyat al-Yaman ad-Dimoqrâṭiya aš-Šaʿbiya "National Anthem of People's Democratic Republic of Yemen"
Show map of Middle East Show globe Location of claimed territory of South Yemen (red) – in Asia (tan & white) – in Arabia (tan)
Capital and largest city	Aden 12.7855° N, 45.0187° E
Official languages	Arabic
Religion	Islam[a]
Demonym(s)	Yemeni/Yemenite
Government	Unitary Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist republic[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
• 1986–1990 (last)	Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas
Prime Minister
• 1969 (first)	Faysal al-Shaabi
• 1986–1990 (last)	Yasin Said Numan
Legislature	Supreme People's Council
Independence  from the United Kingdom
Historical era	Cold War
• Independence declared	30 November 1967
• UN membership	14 December 1967
• Constitution adopted	31 October 1978
• Unification	22 May 1990
Area
• Total	360,133 km2 (139,048 sq mi)
Population
• Estimate	2,200,000[5]
Currency	South Yemeni dinar (YDD)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+969
ISO 3166 code	YD
Internet TLD	.yd
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

South Yemen,^[b] officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen,^[c] officially abbreviated to Democratic Yemen,^[d][e] was a state that existed from 1967 to 1990 as the only communist state in the Middle East and the Arab world.^[6] It was made up of the southern and eastern governorates of the present-day Republic of Yemen, including the island of Socotra. It was bordered by North Yemen to the North-West, Saudi Arabia to the North, and Oman to the East.

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 South Yemen on 30 November 1967, which later changed its name to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen after the reforms that happened a year from the Corrective Move, with it becoming a Marxist–Leninist one-party state in 1969 and was supported by Cuba, East Germany, North Korea and the Soviet Union. Despite its efforts to bring stability into the region, it was involved in a brief civil war in 1986. South Yemen was unified with the Yemen Arab Republic, commonly known as "North Yemen", on 22 May 1990 to form the present-day Republic of Yemen.

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