The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, in collaboration with UNICEF, has released a new edition of the Yemen Economic and Social Update, highlighting the importance of accelerating economic growth and creating employment opportunities as key pathways to reducing poverty.

The report notes that Yemen continues to face significant challenges to economic growth and broad-based recovery. Real GDP contracted by approximately 43% between 2015 and 2024, following an estimated 50% contraction during 2011–2021, reflecting the depth of the country’s economic crisis and its cumulative long-term impacts.

The report also highlights a sharp decline in GDP per capita, which fell from US$1,430 in 2014 to US$471 in 2024, while cumulative economic losses since 2015 are estimated at approximately US$126 billion.

In the labour market, youth unemployment reached 32.4%, significantly exceeding both the global average (13.6%) and the Arab regional average (25.9%), underscoring the economy’s limited capacity to generate sufficient employment opportunities.

Yemen’s ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI) also declined to 184th out of 193 countries, reflecting continued deterioration in education, health, and living standards.

On the humanitarian front, the number of people in need of assistance increased to approximately 23.1 million in 2026, while humanitarian funding remained critically insufficient, with only 28% of funding requirements met in 2025.

The report further indicates that 50.3% of Yemeni households experience multidimensional poverty, with higher prevalence in rural areas.

The publication underscores the strong relationship between weak economic growth and rising poverty and unemployment, warning of the long-term consequences for human capital and Yemen’s prospects for sustainable recovery.

It calls for an urgent package of policy measures, including support for a comprehensive and sustainable peace process and an end to the coup, stimulating economic growth, promoting labour-intensive sectors, improving the business environment, increasing investment in infrastructure and human capital, expanding youth employment and vocational training programmes, and facilitating a gradual transition from humanitarian assistance to economic recovery and sustainable development.

The report concludes that an integrated approach linking peace, economic growth, and job creation is essential to reducing multidimensional poverty and achieving sustainable recovery in Yemen.