Yemen is divided into twenty governorates (muhafazah) and the Capital district:
| Division | Arabic | Capital City | Area km² |
Pop (2012) |
Key |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former North Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic), until 1990 | |||||
| 'Amran | عمران | 'Amran | 9,587 | 967,634 | 2 |
| Ad Dali' | الضالع | Ad Dali' | 4,786 | 597,936 | 4 |
| Al Bayda' | البيضاء | Al Bayda' | 11,193 | 660,105 | 5 |
| Al Hudaydah | الحديدة | Al Hudaydah | 17,509 | 2,687,674 | 6 |
| Al Jawf | الجوف | Al Jawf | 30,620 | 534,408 | 7 |
| Al Mahwit | المحويت | Al Mahwit | 2,858 | 599,340 | 9 |
| Amanat Al Asimah | أمانة العاصمة | San'a' | 126 | 2,575,347 | 10 |
| Dhamar | ذمار | Dhamar | 9,495 | 1,645,436 | 11 |
| Hajjah | حجة | Hajjah | 10,141 | 1,811,394 | 13 |
| Ibb | إب | Ibb | 6,484 | 2,505,816 | 14 |
| Ma'rib | مأرب | Ma'rib | 20,023 | 291,403 | 16 |
| Raymah | ريمة | Raymah | 2,442 | 483,196 | 17 |
| Sa'dah | صعدة | Sa'dah | 15,022 | 887,482 | 18 |
| Sana'a | صنعاء | San'a' | 15,052 | 1,042,468 | 19 |
| Ta'izz | تعز | Ta'izz | 12,605 | 2,817,696 | 21 |
| Former South Yemen (People's Democratic Republic of Yemen), until 1990 | |||||
| 'Adan | عدن | Aden | 1,114 | 589,419 | 1 |
| Abyan | أبين | Zinjibar | 21,939 | 764,342 | 3 |
| Al Mahrah | المهرة | Al Ghaydah | 82,405 | 122,453 | 8 |
| Hadramaut | حضرموت | Al Mukalla | 191,737 | 1,263,754 | 12 |
| Lahij | لحج | Lahij | 15,210 | 865,791 | 15 |
| Shabwah | شبوة | Ataq | 47,728 | 546,467 | 20 |
| Yemen | اليَمَن | San'a' | 528,076 | 24,259,561 | TOTAL |
The governorates are subdivided into 333 districts (muderiah), which are subdivided into 2,210 sub-districts, and then into 38,284 villages (as of 2001).
Before 1990, Yemen existed as two separate entities. For more information, see Historic Governorates of Yemen.