View source for South Yemen

{{Short description|1967–1990 state in Western Asia}}
{{About|the country that existed until 1990|the 1994 self-proclaimed successor secessionist state|Democratic Republic of Yemen}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox former country
| conventional_long_name = People's Republic of Southern Yemen<br />{{small|{{nobold|(1967–1970)}}}}<br />{{nobold|{{lang|ar|{{Script/Nastaliq|جمهورية اليمَنَ الجنوبيّة الشعبيّة|size=25px}}}}}}<hr />People's Democratic Republic of Yemen<br />{{small|{{nobold|(1970–1990)}}}}<br />{{nobold|{{lang|ar|{{Script/Nastaliq|جمهورية اليمَنَ الدِّيمقراطية الشعبيّة|size=25px}}}}}}
| life_span              = 1967–1990
| p1                     = Federation of South Arabia
| flag_p1                = Flag of the Federation of South Arabia.svg
| p2                     = Protectorate of South Arabia
| flag_p2                = Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
| s1                     = Yemen
| flag_s1                = Flag of Yemen.svg
| image_flag             = Flag of South Yemen.svg
| flag                   = Flag of South Yemen
| flag_type              = Flag
| coa_size               = 80px
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of South Yemen (1970-1990).svg
| coat_alt               = Emblem of South Yemen
| symbol_type            = [[Emblem of Yemen|Emblem]]<br />(1970–1990)
| national_motto         = {{lang|ar|لنناضل من أجل الدفاع عن الثورة اليمنية، وتنفيذ الخطة الخمسية، وتحقيق الوحدة اليمنية}}<br />{{small|''[[List of national mottos|linunadil min ajl aldifa' an althawrah alyamaniah, wa tanfidh alkhutah alkhamsiah, watahqiq alwahdatul yamaniah]]''}}
| englishmotto           = "For the struggle to defend the [[Aden Emergency|Yemeni revolution]], implement the five-year plan, and achieve the [[Yemeni unification]]"
| anthems                = {{plainlist|
*"{{lang|ar|النشيد الوطني لجمهورية اليمن الديمقراطية الشعبية}}"{{br}}([[National Anthem of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen]]; 1967–1979){{pb}}{{center|[[File: National Anthem of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.ogg]]}}
*"{{lang|ar|رددي أيتها الدنيا نشيدي}}"{{br}}([[National anthem of Yemen|Repeat, O World, My Song]]; 1979–1990){{pb}}{{center|[[File:National Anthem of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (1979-1990), Republic of Yemen (1990-2006).oga]]}}
}}
| image_map              = {{Switcher|[[File:South Yemen in its region.svg|frameless]]|Show map of Middle East|[[File:Image-South Yemen governorates.svg|frameless]]|Show administrative divisions|default=1}}
| image_map_caption      = {{map caption |countryprefix=claimed territory of |location_color= red |region= Asia |subregion = [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]]}}
| capital                = [[Aden]]
| coordinates            = {{coord|12.8|N|45.03|E|type:city|display=inline}}
| largest_city           = capital
| official_languages     = [[Arabic]]
| languages              = {{unbulleted list|[[Mehri language|Mehri]]|[[Hobyot]]|[[Socotri]]}}
| religion               = [[Islam]] ([[State religion|official]])
| government_type        = {{unbulleted list|'''1967–[[Corrective Move|1969]]:'''|[[Nasserism|Nasserist republic]]<hr/>|'''1969–1990:'''|[[communist state]]{{refn|{{sfn|Clark|2010|p=112}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Lansford |first=Tom |date=20 March 2014 |title=Political Handbook of the World 2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iC_VBQAAQBAJ |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |page=1602 |isbn=978-1483386263 |access-date=21 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Banks |first1=Arthur S. |last2=Overstreet |first2=William |date=1983 |title=Political Handbook of the World: 1982-1983: Governments and Intergovernmental Organisation as of January 1st 1983 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGO1zwEACAAJ |publisher=[[McGraw Hill Education|McGraw-Hill]] |page=556-557 |access-date=29 July 2025}}</ref>}}}}
| title_leader           = [[Secretary-General of the Yemeni Socialist Party|Secretary-General]]
| leader1                = [[Abdul Fattah Ismail]]
| year_leader1           = 1978–1980
| leader2                = [[Ali Nasir Muhammad]]
| year_leader2           = 1980–1986
| leader3                = [[Ali Salim al-Beidh]]
| year_leader3           = 1986–1990
| title_representative   = [[President of South Yemen|President]]
| representative1        = [[Qahtan al-Shaabi]]{{efn|as [[President of South Yemen#President of the People's Republic of South Yemen|President]]}}
| year_representative1   = 1967–1969 (first)
| representative2        = [[Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas|Haidar al-Attas]]{{efn|as [[President of South Yemen#Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Council|Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Council]]}}
| year_representative2   = 1986–1990 (last)
| title_deputy           = [[Prime Minister of South Yemen|Prime Minister]]
| deputy1                = [[Faysal al-Shaabi]]
| year_deputy1           = 1969 (first)
| deputy2                = [[Yasin Said Numan]]
| year_deputy2           = 1986–1990 (last)
| legislature            = [[Supreme People's Council (South Yemen)|Supreme People's Council]]
| era                    = Cold War
| event_start            = [[Withdrawal from Aden|Independence]] declared; [[Arab League|Arab League membership]]
| date_start             = 30 November
| year_start             = 1967
| event1                 = [[Member states of the United Nations|UN membership]]
| date_event1            = 14 December 1967
| event2                 = [[Corrective Move]]
| date_event2            = 22 June 1969
| event3                 = 1st Constitution adopted
| date_event3            = 30 November 1970
| event4                 = 2nd Constitution adopted
| date_event4            = 31 October 1978
| event5                 = [[South Yemeni crisis]]
| date_event5            = 13 January 1986
| event_end              = [[Yemeni unification|Unification]]
| date_end               = 22 May
| year_end               = 1990
| currency               = [[Yemeni dinar]] ({{lang|ar|دينار}})
| currency_code          = YDD
| time_zone              = [[Arabian Standard Time|AST]]
| drives_on              = Right
| calling_code           = [[+969]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Country calling codes |date=19 August 2020 |url=https://support.unitedworldtelecom.com/my-account/country-calling-codes/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527140529/https://support.unitedworldtelecom.com/my-account/country-calling-codes/ |archive-date=27 May 2024 |access-date=26 May 2024}}</ref>
| iso3166code            = YD
| cctld                  = .yd{{efn|Was eligible for a ccTLD, but not allocated}}
| footnotes              = [[ISO 3166-1]] = YD<br/>[[ISO 3166-3]] = YDYE
| demonym                = Yemeni/Yemenite
| area_km2               = 360133
| area_rank              = 
| population_census      = {{increase}} 2,345,266{{sfn|1988 Census|p=22}}
| population_label2      = 1973 census
| population_data2       = {{increaseNeutral}} 1,590,275{{sfn|1988 Census|p=22}}
| population_census_year = 1988
| today                  = [[Yemen]]
}}

'''South Yemen''',{{efn|{{langx|ar|اليمن الجنوبي|al-Yaman al-Janūbī|engvar=gb}}}} officially the '''People's Democratic Republic of Yemen''' ('''PDRY'''),{{efn|{{langx|ar|جمهورية اليمن الديمقراطية الشعبية (ج.ي.د.ش.)|Jumhūriyat al-Yaman ad-Dīmuqrāṭīyah ash-Sha'bīyah (Ja.Ya.Da.Sha.)|engvar=gb}}}} abbreviated to '''Democratic Yemen''',{{Efn|(اليمن الديمقراطي, ''al-Yaman ad-Dīmuqrāṭīyy'')}}{{efn|also as: '''Yemen (Aden)''' (اليمن (عدن), ''al-Yaman ('Adin)'')}} was a country in [[South Arabia]] that existed in what is now southeast [[Yemen]] from 1967 until [[Yemeni unification|its unification]] with the [[Yemen Arab Republic]] in 1990. The sole [[communist state]] in the [[Middle East]] and the [[Arab world]], it comprised the southern and eastern [[Governorates of Yemen|governorates of the present-day Republic of Yemen]], including the islands of [[Perim]], [[Kamaran]], and the [[Socotra Governorate|Socotra Archipelago]]. 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 establishments of the [[Protectorate of South Arabia|Protectorate]] and [[Federation of South Arabia]] amidst rising [[Arab nationalism|Pan-Arab]] and anti-colonial sentiment, [[Aden Emergency|an armed rebellion]] began in 1963 that was led by the [[National Liberation Front (South Yemen)|National Liberation Front]] (NLF) and the [[Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen]] (FLOSY) against British colonial rule. The Federation and 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 Muhammad al-Shaabi|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 state|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, 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 [[South Yemen Civil War|brief civil war in 1986]]. The PDRY [[Yemeni unification|unified]] with the [[Yemen Arab Republic]], on 22 May 1990, to form the present-day [[Republic of Yemen]].

==Background==

=== British arrival in Yemen ===
{{See also|Aden Expedition}}

The first political intercourse between Yemen and the British took place in 1799 during the [[French invasion of Egypt and Syria]], when a naval force was sent from Britain, with a detachment of troops from India, to occupy the island of [[Perim]] and prevent all communication of the French in Egypt with the Indian Ocean, by way of the Red Sea. Due to the lack of water supply, the barren and inhospitable island of Perim was found unsuitable for troops,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Perim Island Colony |url=https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/perim.htm |access-date=13 April 2025 |website=www.britishempire.co.uk |quote=The East India Company had actually briefly occupied the island as far back as 1799 once Napoleon had arrived in Egypt. Lieutenant-Colonel John Murray landed with 300 soldiers to see if it would make a suitable base to block any further French advance towards India. John Murray soon concluded that any British cannons placed on the island would not have had the range to block a French fleet sailing past. The island was also at a disadvantage as a base due to the lack of any water supply. Consequently, within 6 months, the EIC withdrew its forces from the island and abandoned its plans to build a fort there. For the next six decades, the island returned to its status as an obstacle to be avoided by shipping.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ingram |first=Edward |date=1973 |title=A Preview of the Great Game in Asia: I: The British Occupation of Perim and Aden in 1799 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4282450 |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=3–18 |doi=10.1080/00263207308700224 |jstor=4282450 |issn=0026-3206}}</ref> and the Sultan of [[Sultanate of Lahej|Lahej]], Ahmed bin Abdul Karim, received the detachment for some time at [[Aden]]. He proposed to enter into an alliance and to grant Aden as a permanent station, but the offer was declined. A treaty was, however, concluded with the Sultan in 1802 by Admiral [[Home Riggs Popham|Home Popham]], who was instructed to enter into political and commercial alliances with the Chiefs of the Arabian coast of the Red Sea.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Aitchison |first=G |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49919/page/n1/mode/2up |title=A Collection of Treaties, Engagements And Sanads Relating To India And Neighbouring Countries |publisher=Government of India |year=1931 |volume=xi |pages=2–7}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> 

By the early 1800s, the British were looking for a coaling station where they could fuel their [[steamship]]s through their journey from the [[Suez Canal]] to the [[British Raj]].{{sfn|Clark|2010|p=29}} The British tried to negotiate with the [[Mahra Sultanate]] to buy the island of [[Socotra]], located in the [[Arabian Sea]], but the [[Sultan]] of Mahra refused, telling the British naval officer tasked with the mission that the island was "the gift of the Almighty to the Mahris".{{sfn|Clark|2010|p=29}}{{sfn|Bijl|2014|p=4}} In 1835, a year after the British had given up on Socotra, they had attempted to purchase the port city of Aden and its [[inlet]] from the Sultan of Lahej, Muhsin Bin Fadl, but they failed. In 1837, the ''Duria Dawla'', an Indian ship flying the [[Union Jack]],  crashed near the east coast of Aden and was looted by local tribesmen. A year after the incident, in 1838, British officials arrived in Lahej and demanded 12,000 [[Maria Theresa thaler]]s (MTT) as compensation for the losses. The sultan, unable to pay that sum of money, was forced to cede Aden to the British for a sum of 8,700 MTT a year.{{sfn|Clark|2010|p=31}} On 19 January 1839, the [[British East India Company]] landed [[Royal Marines]] at [[Aden]] to retain full control of Aden and stop attacks by [[pirate]]s against [[Merchant Navy (United Kingdom)|British shipping]] to India.

Following the landing in Aden, the British established informal treaties of protection with nine sheikhdoms and sultanates in the surrounding region.<ref name="Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc 2013">"Yemen". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 22 September 2013</ref> This was more a precautionary measure to prevent the [[Imams of Yemen]] from storming Aden, which was something the sheikhdoms did not want to happen.{{Sfn|Day|2012|p=39}} These agreements allowed the British to maintain control, using the existing tribal structures to assert their influence. Since the region was plagued by frequent tribal conflicts and no single ruler held enough sway to unify the tribes, there was little threat to British dominance. This fragmentation not only prevented any strong opposition but also delayed the formation of a broader national identity. The British, in turn, benefited from a system that was both efficient and inexpensive, spending only around $5,435 a year in subsidies to secure the loyalty of twenty-five sultans. By avoiding direct administration and relying on a policy of strategic dependence, the British were able to expand their influence. By 1914, they had treaties with nearly every sultan in the region.{{sfn|Russell|1988|p=8}}

=== Partitioning Yemen ===
[[File:Violet line-EN.png|thumb|left|Map showing the [[Violet Line (1914)|Violet Line]]]]
In 1914, following the [[Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913]], the British and the Ottomans divided [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]] into two parts: the northwest under Ottoman control and influence, and the southeast under British control and influence.{{sfn|Schofield|1999}} Although a further agreement, which came to be later known as the [[Violet Line (1914)|Violet Line]],{{sfn|Schofield|1999}} was negotiated, the Ottomans planned an invasion of the [[Aden Protectorate]] in cooperation with local tribes. They had gathered significant strength at [[Cheikh Saïd]]. On 5 November 1914, during the [[South Arabia during World War I|First World War]], the British declared war on the Ottomans, who responded with their declaration a few days later, on 11 November. Although the Ottomans managed to capture the Sultanate of Lahej and reach the city of Aden, they were later expelled by the British. Around the same time, the British-sponsored [[Arab Revolt]] in the Hejaz broke out, diverting Ottoman attention from Aden and effectively ending their campaign. The [[Armistice of Mudros]], signed in 1918, officially concluded the war and forced the Ottomans out of Arabia, leading to the establishment of the [[Kingdom of Yemen]].

During the period between the two World Wars, Aden grew significantly in strategic value to the British. Positioned near the entrance to the [[Persian Gulf]], it played a crucial role in safeguarding maritime routes through the [[Suez Canal]] and was close to the newly discovered oil reserves in the [[Arabian Peninsula]]. Recognising its increased importance, Britain formally designated Aden as a [[Crown Colony]] in 1937 and implemented a full colonial administrative system. This move further diminished the authority of local rulers, as Britain took full control over governance and policy decisions. The centralisation of power in British hands sparked several small-scale uprisings. In response, Yemeni leaders, often supported by British forces, resorted to harsh and repressive tactics to suppress dissent and maintain order among the tribes.{{sfn|Russell|1988|p=8-9}}

=== Beginning of the end of British rule in Yemen ===
In 1952, [[Arab nationalism]] began to sweep across the [[Arab world]], starting in [[1952 Egyptian revolution|Egypt]], accompanied by anti-colonial sentiments. Nationalist pressures prompted the rulers of the Aden Protectorate states to renew efforts at forming a federation. On 11 February 1959, six of these states signed an accord to form the [[Federation of the Emirates of South Arabia]]. Over the next three years, nine additional sheikhdoms joined, and on 18 January 1963, Aden Colony was merged with the federation, creating the new [[Federation of South Arabia]] (FSA), although all but four sheikhdoms out of twenty-one had joined the union.<ref name="Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc 2013" /> Meanwhile, the  [[Qu'aiti]] and [[Kathiri]] sultanates of [[Hadhramaut]], along with [[Mahra Sultanate|Mahra]], and [[Upper Yafa]] refused to join either of the federations and became the [[Protectorate of South Arabia]], marking the end of the Aden Protectorate. The FSA did not succeed for several reasons, the first of which was the British insistence that the [[State of Aden]] would be part of the entity, which was rejected by the commercial elite of Aden, most of whom were [[Indians in Yemen|Indians]], [[Persians]], and [[Adeni Jews|Jews]], because they feared that Aden's wealth would be taken away by the neighbouring sheikhdoms.<ref name="Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc 2013" />{{Sfn|Day|2012|p=38}}{{sfn|Stookey|1982|p=55}} On the other hand, the leaders of the sheikhdoms had little experience with federal rule and had no desire for cooperation.{{Sfn|Day|2012|p=39}} In addition to all that, there were differences between the sheikhdoms over who should head the federation's new government.{{Sfn|Day|2012|p=39}}

In 26 September 1962, a [[North Yemen civil war|successful coup]] carried out against the [[Kingdom of Yemen]] by the {{ill|Free Officers Movement in Yemen|ar|الضباط الأحرار (اليمن)}}, supported by Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]—who had led the [[1952 Egyptian revolution|Egyptian Revolution of 1952]] against British rule—resulted in the establishment of the [[Yemen Arab Republic]].{{sfn|Clark|2010|pages=62-65}}<ref name=sandler977>Sandler, Stanley. ''Ground Warfare: The International Encyclopedia''. Vol. 1 (2002): p. 977. "Egypt immediately began sending military supplies and troops to assist the Republicans... On the royalist side Jordan and Saudi Arabia were furnishing military aid, and Britain lent diplomatic support. In addition to Egyptian aid, the Soviet Union supplied 24 MiG-19s to the republicans."</ref> This coup inspired organisations, such as the local branch of the [[Arab Nationalist Movement|Movement of Arab Nationalists]] and the [[Aden Trade Union Congress]], to form the [[National Liberation Front (South Yemen)|National Liberation Front]] (NLF){{Efn|led by [[Qahtan al-Shaabi]]}} and the [[Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen]] (FLOSY),{{Efn|led by [[Abdullah al-Asnag]]}} respectively.{{sfn|Barany|2016|p=7}}{{sfn|Clark|2010|p=76}} Supporters of the NLF were from the countryside of [[Radfan]], [[Yafa'a|Yafa']], and [[Dhale|Ad-Dali]], while the supporters of the FLOSY were mainly the citizens of Aden. This is because tribal affiliations played a major role in attracting supporters.{{Sfn|Mumford|2014|p=87}}

==History==
{{main|History of Yemen}}
{{History of Yemen}}

=== Decolonisation and NLF seizure of power ===
{{Main|Aden Emergency|Withdrawal from Aden}}
[[File:Nasserists in Aden.jpg|thumb|[[Nasserism|Nasserist]] demonstration against the British presence during the [[Aden Emergency|Aden emergency]]]]
The first uprising against the British was in [[Radfan]] on 14 October 1963, when 7,000 armed Radfani tribesmen, inspired by the coup in the north, joined the [[National Liberation Front (South Yemen)|National Liberation Front]] (NLF) with the goals of turning the tribes of the [[Federation of South Arabia]] against the British, and achieving independence through [[guerrilla warfare]].{{sfn|Clark|2010|pp=80–81}} The strategy of the NLF was to harass and exhaust the British military using [[hit-and-run tactics]].{{sfn|Clark|2010|pp=80–81}} By 10 December 1963, the uprising had reached [[Aden]]. An NLF [[High Commissioner Attack|grenade attack]] against the [[High Commissioner of Aden]], [[Kennedy Trevaskis]], killed the High Commissioner's adviser and a bystander, and injured fifty other people.{{sfn|Clark|2010|pp=80–81}} On that day, a [[Aden Emergency|state of emergency was declared in Aden]].{{Sfn|Day|2012|p=39}} On January 1964, the British responded by a 3-month [[Radfan Campaign|bombing campaign in Radfan]], which subdued the insurgents.{{sfn|Clark|2010|pp=80–81}} The insurgency in Radfan began raising questions in the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] on what should the fate of Aden and the protectorates be.{{sfn|Clark|2010|pp=82}}

[[File:Aden 1967.webp|left|thumb|A British [[foot patrol]] in [[Mualla]], [[Aden]]]]
By 1965, most western protectorates had fallen to the National Liberation Front. Hadhramaut seemed calm until 1966 because the British presence there was less than its counterpart in the [[Western Aden Protectorate|western protectorates]].{{Sfn|Brehony|2013|p=28}} [[Ali Salem al-Beidh]] and [[Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas|Haidar al-Attas]] joined the NLF faction in the [[Eastern Aden Protectorate|eastern protectorates]] and prevented the sultans of the [[Kathiri|Kathiri Sultanate]] and the [[Qu'aiti|Qu'aiti Sultanate]] from entering their sultanates but allowed the Sultan of the [[Mahra Sultanate|Mahra]] back, in sympathy for his old age.{{Sfn|Brehony|2013|p=28}} Al-Beidh played a major role in gathering supporters in favour of the NLF in Hadhramaut, taking advantage of the near absence of the British in the eastern protectorates.{{Sfn|Brehony|2013|p=29}} In February 1966, the British had announced that they would withdraw from Aden and cancel all protection treaties with the sultanates and sheikhdoms by 1968.{{sfn|Stookey|1982|p=56}}{{sfn|Clark|2010|p=84}} The announcement came as a shock to the protected sultans and sheiks, with one of the sultans expressing his fear of "being murdered in the street".{{sfn|Clark|2010|p=85}} The insurgents did not trust the promise, reasoning that the British wouldn't be abandoning their important base of Aden "without a real fight."{{sfn|Clark|2010|p=85}} By March 1967, the British had set the date for their departure to be on November of that year.{{sfn|Clark|2010|p=85}}

[[File:Aden-30th-nov-67 7.jpg|thumb|Lowering of the [[Union Jack]] in Aden]]
Following Israel's victory in the [[Six-Day War]] of June 1967, which was considered a humiliation for the [[Arab world]], the anti-colonial sentiment was at its all-time high due to Britain's role in the creation of Israel following the [[First World War]].{{sfn|Clark|2010|pages=85-86}} Slogans like "A bullet against Britain is a bullet against Israel" appeared, and attacks against the British had increased. [[Graffiti]] of the acronyms of the NLF and FLOSY had filled the streets in Aden, and the infighting between those two groups for power had increased.{{sfn|Clark|2010|pages=85-86}} In the same month, an NLF-directed [[Arab Police mutiny]] in Crater ambushed a British military patrol and slaughtered three [[Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders]] and [[Battle of Crater|captured the city of Crater]].{{sfn|Clark|2010|pages=86-88}} The capture of Crater was considered a significant victory for the Arab world. [[Colin Mitchell]], also known as "Mad Mitch," led his battalion back into Crater and retook it with minimal casualties. However, his methods were deemed too extreme, and he was ejected from the army.{{sfn|Clark|2010|pages=86-88}} The battle later came to be known as "the last battle of the British Empire." According to the American consul in Aden, the British handling of the insurgents "evolved from attempting to take them unharmed to [[Summary execution|summary justice]] in the streets."{{sfn|Clark|2010|pages=86-88}}

=== Independence ===

[[File:NLF supporters celebrating.jpg|thumb|left|NLF supporters waving their flags as part of the celebrations and mass marches on 29 and 30 November 1967]]

The sultans tried to negotiate terms with the FLOSY, whom they calculated was the "lesser evil," but it came to little success. At that time, the British had advised the sultans to attend the ongoing [[Geneva Agreement (1967)|Geneva negotiations]] between the British and the NLF, hoping that the United Nations would arrange a solution for them.{{sfn|Clark|2010|pages=86-88}} The British demands were an orderly handover to the authorities, and that the new state not interfere in the affairs of any country in the Arabian Peninsula.{{Sfn|Halliday|2002|p=21}} The British were surprised by the presence of people they thought were loyal to them alongside the popular Qahtan.{{sfn|Clark|2010|pages=86-88}} The NLF had used the sultans' absences and toppled the sultanates and made headway in Aden, Hadhramaut,  Mahra, and the island of [[Socotra]].{{sfn|Clark|2010|pages=86-88}} On 7 November, the Federal Army came out in support of the NLF, and the British government was forced to negotiate a hasty handover.{{sfn|Clark|2010|pages=86-88}} On 20 November, the British government eventually recognised the NLF as the de facto new power in the land, and spent their last 10 days trying to pare down their promised aid from £60 million to £12 million. The last British troops departed eleven hours before the birth of the new People’s Republic of Southern Yemen at midnight on 29–30 November, marking an end to 128 years of colonial rule,{{sfn|Mehra|1978|p=895}}{{sfn|Clark|2010|pages=86-88}} and on 14 December 1967, it was admitted into the [[United Nations]] as a member state.{{Sfn|Brehony|2013|p=29}}

[[File:برع يا استعمار.webm|thumb|Scenes from the celebrations of the independence by supporters of the NLF]]
The National Liberation Front had the upper hand at the expense of the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen, whose members were divided between joining the National Front or leaving for North Yemen.<ref>Al-Hawadess, 1977 ''Events, Issues 20-33'' p.187</ref> Abdullah Al-Asnag and [[Mohammed Basindawa]] left for the [[Yemen Arab Republic]]. Qahtan al-Shaabi assumed the presidency of a state that had never existed before, with a collapsed economy.{{Sfn|Ismael|Ismael|p=438|1991}} Civilian workers and businessmen left, British support stopped, and the closure of the Suez Canal in 1967 reduced the number of ships crossing Aden by 75%.{{Sfn|Brehony|2013|p=31}}

On 11 December 1967, the lands of what was called the "[[Feudalism|feudal]] symbols and British agents" were confiscated, and the state was divided into six governorates. The move aimed to end tribal aspects in the state and ignore the tribal borders between the defunct sheikhdoms.{{Sfn|Brehony|2013|p=34}} On 16 June 1969, Qahtan fired Interior Minister [[Muhammad Ali Haitham]], but the latter withdrew his ties to With the tribes and the army, he was able to ally himself with Muhammad Saleh Al-Awlaki, and they reassembled the leftist forces that President Qahtan Al-Shaabi had dispersed. They were able to arrest him and place him under house arrest.{{Sfn|Halliday|2002|p=25}}

=== Reforms and the establishment of a Marxist-Leninist state ===
{{Main|Corrective Move}}
{{See also|South Yemen–Soviet Union relations}}
The National Liberation Front, now rebranded as the National Front, had approximately 26,000 members,{{Sfn|Molyneux|Yafai|Mohsen|Ba'abaad|1979|p=5}} a small number of university-educated leaders, and all of them, without exception, had no experience in government.{{Sfn|van Dijk|Gray|Savranskaya|Suri|2008}}{{Page needed|date=March 2025}} The front was divided into two right-wing and left-wing sections. The right-wingers and their popular leader, Qahtan, did not want to make major changes in the prevailing social and economic structure and took a conservative stance toward "liberating all Arab lands from colonialism, supporting the resistance of the Palestinian people, and supporting socialist regimes around the world to resist imperialism and colonial forces in the Third World."{{Sfn|Halliday|2002|p=23}} The leftist faction of the National Front was also promoting and opposing the establishment of popular forces and proposals to nationalise lands, and they were not preoccupied with the struggle of social classes. Qahtan wanted the continuation of existing institutions and their development.{{Sfn|Halliday|2002|p=24}}{{Sfn|van Dijk|Gray|Savranskaya|Suri|2008|p=973}} The leftist faction "wanted a social and economic transformation that would serve the broad segment of the working people instead of the wealthy minority," as they put it.{{Sfn|Brehony|2013|p=32}} on 20 March 1968, Qahtan's right-wing faction dismissed all leftist leaders from the government and party membership and was able to put down a rebellion led by leftist factions in the army in May of the same year.{{Sfn|Halliday|2002|p=24}}{{Sfn|Safran|1988|p=128}} In July, August, and December 1968, the popular Qahtan faced new rebellions from leftist parties because all Arab countries welcomed the front. The National Liberation Front received a cold reception, as regimes like Egypt wanted to merge the National Front with the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen.{{Sfn|Brehony|2013|p=32-33}} The leftist faction was more numerous than the supporters of the popular Qahtan, and they wanted a regime that would lead the masses and face the great challenges facing the new state, the most important of which was the bankruptcy of the treasury.{{Sfn|Brehony|2013|p=32-33}}

[[File:Ali-nasser-55.jpg|thumb|[[Ali Nasir Muhammad|Ali Nasser]], [[Abdul Fattah Ismail]], and [[Abdullah Badheeb]] at the [[Democratic Popular Union Party]] Festival in the 1970s, with portraits of [[Karl Marx]], [[Friedrich Engels]], and [[Vladimir Lenin]] behind them]]
On 22 June 1969, a radical [[Marxist]] wing of the NLF formed a presidential committee of five people: [[Salim Rubaya Ali]], who became president, Muhammad Saleh Al-Awlaki, Ali Antar, Abdel Fattah Ismail, and Muhammad Ali Haitham, who became prime minister.{{Sfn|Halliday|2002|p=25}} They gained power in an event known as the "[[Corrective Move]]". This radical wing reorganised the country into the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) on 30 November 1970.<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 December 1970 |title=Yearbook of the United Nations 1970 |url=https://unispal.un.org/DPA/DPR/unispal.nsf/0/2C6267E40EB36E2E85256346005A30B5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805214530/https://unispal.un.org/DPA/DPR/unispal.nsf/0/2C6267E40EB36E2E85256346005A30B5 |archive-date=5 August 2021 |access-date=31 October 2020 |publisher=United Nations Office of Public Information}}</ref> Subsequently, all political parties were amalgamated into the National Liberation Front, renamed the [[Yemeni Socialist Party]], which became the only legal party. This group took an extreme leftist line and declared its support for the Palestinians and the [[Dhofar War|Dhofar Revolution]]. West Germany severed its relationship with the state due to its recognition of East Germany. The United States also severed its relationship in October 1969. The new powers issued a new constitution, nationalised foreign banks and insurance companies, and changed the name of the state to The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in line with the Marxist-Leninist approach they followed. A centrally planned economy was established.{{Sfn|Walker|Gray|2009|p=329}} The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen established close ties with the [[Soviet Union]], the [[German Democratic Republic]], [[Cuba]], and the [[Palestine Liberation Organization|Palestinian Liberation Organization]]. [[East Germany]]'s constitution of 1968 even served as a kind of blueprint for the PDRY's first constitution.{{Sfn|Müller|2015a|p=257ff}}

[[File:South Yemeni Armed Forces parade.jpg|thumb|left|People's Defense Forces [[military parade]], 1971]]
The new government embarked on a programme of [[nationalisation]], introduced [[planned economy|central planning]], put limits on housing ownership and [[rent control|rent]], and implemented [[land reforms]]. By 1973, the GDP of South Yemen increased by 25 percent.{{Sfn|Bayat|2017|p=5}} Despite the conservative environment and resistance, women became legally equal to men, [[polygamy]], [[child marriage]] and arranged marriage were all banned by law and equal rights in divorce were sanctioned; all of supported and protected by the state [[General Union of Yemeni Women]].{{sfn|Lackner|1985|p=116-118}} The Republic also [[secular education|secularised education]] and [[sharia law]] was replaced by a [[civil code|state legal code]].{{Sfn|Cigar|1990|p=188}} [[Slavery in Yemen]], which had been abolished in [[North Yemen (1918-1962)|North Yemen]] by the [[North Yemen Civil War|1962 revolution]], was now abolished also in South Yemen.{{Sfn|Miers|2003|p=352}}

The major [[Comintern|communist powers]] assisted in the building of the PDRY's armed forces. Strong support from Moscow resulted in [[Soviet navy|Soviet naval forces]] gaining access to naval facilities in South Yemen.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=32. South Yemen (1967-1990) |url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/middle-eastnorth-africapersian-gulf-region/south-yemen-1967-1990/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231150835/http://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/middle-eastnorth-africapersian-gulf-region/south-yemen-1967-1990/ |archive-date=31 December 2018 |access-date=21 May 2022 |website=uca.edu |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Sfn|Cohen|2003|p=197}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jimmy Carter and the Second Yemenite War: A Smaller Shock of 1979? |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/jimmy-carter-and-second-yemenite-war-smaller-shock-1979 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122053035/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/jimmy-carter-and-second-yemenite-war-smaller-shock-1979 |archive-date=22 November 2021 |access-date=21 May 2022 |website=www.wilsoncenter.org |date=28 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The most significant among them, a Soviet naval and air base on the island of Socotra for operations in the Indian Ocean.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mirovalev |first=Mansur |title=Russia language |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2015/3/11/russian-roots-and-yemens-socotra-language |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208232249/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2015/3/11/russian-roots-and-yemens-socotra-language |archive-date=8 February 2023 |access-date=21 May 2022 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=11 March 1988 |title=Soviets bolster an Arab ally. Military buildup in South Yemen worries US officials |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1988/0311/ayem.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208232311/https://www.csmonitor.com/1988/0311/ayem.html |archive-date=8 February 2023 |access-date=21 May 2022 |work=Christian Science Monitor |issn=0882-7729}}</ref><ref name=":2" />

=== 1986 Civil War ===
{{main|South Yemeni crisis}}
[[File:Smoke in Aden during a fighting in January of 1986.jpg|alt=|thumb|Smoke in Aden during the fighting]]
On 13 January 1986, a violent struggle began in [[Aden]] between Ali Nasir's supporters and supporters of the returned Ismail, who wanted power back. This conflict, known as the [[South Yemen Civil War]], lasted for more than a month and resulted in thousands of casualties, Ali Nasir's [[coup d'état|ouster]], and Ismail's disappearance and presumed death. Some 60,000 people, including the deposed Ali Nasir, fled to the [[YAR]]. [[Ali Salim al-Beidh]], an ally of Ismail who had succeeded in escaping the attack on pro-Ismail members of the [[Politburo]], then became General Secretary of the [[Yemeni Socialist Party]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Katz |first=Mark |date=Fall 1986 |title=Civil Conflict in South Yemen |url=http://digilib.gmu.edu:8080/jspui/bitstream/1920/3127/1/civil%20conflict%20in%20south%20yemen.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Middle East Review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718172214/http://digilib.gmu.edu:8080/jspui/bitstream/1920/3127/1/civil%20conflict%20in%20south%20yemen.pdf |archive-date=18 July 2011}}</ref>

=== Unification ===
{{main|Yemeni unification}}
Against the background of the ''[[perestroika]]'' in the [[USSR]], the main backer of the PDRY, [[reform movement|political reforms]] were started in the late 1980s. [[Political prisoners]] were released, political parties were formed, and the system of justice was reckoned to be more equitable than in the North. In May 1988, the [[YAR]] and PDRY governments came to an understanding that considerably reduced tensions, including agreement to renew discussions concerning unification, to establish a joint oil exploration area along their undefined border, to demilitarise the border, and to allow Yemenis unrestricted border passage based on only a national identification card. In November 1989, after returning from the [[Soviet–Afghan War]], [[Osama bin Laden]] offered to send the newly formed [[al-Qaeda]] to overthrow the South Yemeni government on behalf of [[Saudi Arabia]], but Prince [[Turki bin Faisal Al Saud|Turki bin Faisal]] found the plan reckless and declined.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wright |first=Lawrence |title=The Looming Tower : Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 |publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-375-41486-2 |edition=1 |location=New York |oclc=64592193}}</ref> In 1990, the parties reached a full agreement on [[Condominium (international law)|joint governing]] of Yemen, and the countries were effectively merged as [[Republic of Yemen|Yemen]].<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Reuters |date=23 May 1990 |title=2 Yemens Become One, and Celebrate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/23/world/2-yemens-become-one-and-celebrate.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506023235/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/23/world/2-yemens-become-one-and-celebrate.html |archive-date=6 May 2022 |access-date=26 April 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== Government and politics ==
[[File:Yemeni Socialist Party headquarters in Mukalla.png|thumb|Headquarters of the [[Yemeni Socialist Party]] in [[Mukalla]], 1989]]

South Yemen developed as a [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]], mostly secular society ruled first by the [[National Liberation Front (South Yemen)|National Front]], which later transformed into the ruling [[Yemeni Socialist Party]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Laessing |first=Ulf |date=22 January 2010 |title=Women of southern Yemen port remember better times |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-women-idUSTRE60L2ZD20100122 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924144238/http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/01/22/us-yemen-women-idUSTRE60L2ZD20100122 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=2 July 2017 |work=Reuters}}</ref>

===Government===
The legislative body, the [[Supreme People's Council (South Yemen)|Supreme People's Council]], was elected by the people for five years. The Council was appointed by the General Command of the [[National Liberation Front (South Yemen)|National Liberation Front]] in 1971.{{sfn|Lackner|1985|p=64}} The collective head of state, also known as the [[Presidium of the Supreme People's Council]], was elected by the Supreme People's Council for five years as well.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=United States. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs |date=Dec 1989 |title=[South] Yemen |journal=Department of State Publication. Background Notes Series |pages=1–4 |issn=1049-5517 |pmid=12178022}}</ref> The sole ruling political party was the [[Yemen Socialist Party]].<ref name=":4" />

In 1978, the Election Law No. 18 introduced significant democratic reforms, guaranteeing universal, equal, secret, and direct elections for all citizens aged 18 or over. The law explicitly affirmed [[women's right to vote]]. Candidates could run as either members of the Yemen Socialist Party or as independents, and had to be at least 24 years old.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nohlen |first1=Dieter |last2=Grotz |first2=Florian |last3=Hartmann |first3=Christof |title=Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-924958-X |page=297 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5X_nCwAAQBAJ |access-date=22 May 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Supreme People's Council.jpg|thumb|[[Supreme People's Council (South Yemen)|Supreme People's Council]] led by the [[Secretary-General of the Yemeni Socialist Party]], [[Ali Nasir Muhammad|Ali Nasir]]|left]]
The executive body was known as the [[Council of Ministers of South Yemen|Council of Ministers]], and was formed by the Supreme People's Council. Local representative bodies were the people's councils, and their decisions were taken into account when the members of the Supreme People's Council were governing. Local executive bodies were the executive bureaus of the people's councils.<ref name=":4" />

The highest court was the Supreme Court of South Yemen; other courts in the country included courts of appeal and the provincial courts, and the courts of first instance were known as the district courts or magistrate courts.<ref name=":4" /> In Aden, there was a structured judicial system with a [[supreme court]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

===Foreign relations===
[[File:PDRY-DPRK.jpg|thumb|241x241px|Meeting of representatives of South Yemen and [[North Korea]], 1970s.]]

The only avowedly [[Communist state|Marxist–Leninist nation]] in the Middle East, South Yemen received significant [[foreign aid]] and [[COMECON|other assistance]] from the [[Soviet Union|USSR]]<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Gart |first=Murray |date=9 January 1989 |title=South Yemen New Thinking in a Marxist Land |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,956703,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825010838/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,956703,00.html |archive-date=25 August 2013 |access-date=23 June 2017 |magazine=Time}}</ref> and [[East Germany]], which stationed several hundred officers of the [[Stasi]] in the country to train the nation's [[secret police]] and establish another [[arms trafficking]] route to [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]].{{Sfn|Müller|2015b|p=}} The East Germans did not leave until 1990, when the Yemeni government declined to pay their salaries which had been terminated with the [[Stasi#Fall of the Soviet Union|dissolution of the Stasi]] during [[German reunification]].<ref>{{Cite press release |title=East German Security Quit South Yemen |date=11 May 1990 |publisher=United Press Agency |last1=Stokes |first1=Lee}}</ref> By the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union, under [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], had largely distanced itself from South Yemen.{{Sfn|Tucker-Jones|2010|p=130}}

[[File:Abdulfatah-1979.jpg|left|thumb|[[Abdul Fattah Ismail]] lays a [[wreath]] during his visit to the [[Soviet Union]]]]
South Yemen often had an outward foreign policy approach, guided by its state ideology of [[scientific socialism]]. This ideological commitment led to its support for ideologically consistent movements within its region. South Yemen would supply the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf]] (PFLOAG), supplying the group with bases in its territory, and logistical and military support for the group, alongside facilitating Soviet aid to PFLOAG. When the PFLOAG began to falter against the Omani government, South Yemen ramped up its support for the group, eventually providing them with Artillery support against the Omani government in 1975, almost dragging the two into conflict. South Yemen also supported the [[Derg]] in Ethiopia, once more with the rationale of supporting the growth of a Marxist-Leninist bloc in the [[Horn of Africa]]. However, this faltered after Somalia re-aligned with the West in the [[Ogaden War]], leading South Yemen to solely supply the Derg, in line with the Soviet Union and [[Cuba]]. This put South Yemen at odds with most of the Arab World.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=J.E. |title=Conflict in the Yemens and Superpower Involvement |date=December 1981 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fdltAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University |pages=11–12 |access-date=7 May 2025}}</ref>

Relations between South Yemen and several nearby states were poor. [[Saudi Arabia–Yemen relations|Saudi Arabia]] only established diplomatic relations in 1976, initially hosting pro-British exiles and supporting armed clashes in the border regions of South Yemen. [[Oman–Yemen relations|Relations with Oman]] declined through the 1970s as the South Yemeni government supported the insurgent Marxist [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman]] (PFLO). Relations with [[Ba'athist Iraq]] were also low, as South Yemen offered asylum to several [[Iraqi Communist Party|Iraqi communists]].<ref name="Lackner 2017" />

The United States listed South Yemen as [[state sponsors of terrorism|a “state sponsor of terrorism”]] between 1979 and the Yemeni reunification.<ref>{{Cite report |title=CRS Report for Congress |last=Katzman |first=Kenneth |date=13 February 2002 |page=21 |quote=The former South Yemen (People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, PDRY) was on the U.S. terrorism list during 1979-1990 for supporting left-wing Arab terrorist groups |section=Terrorism: Near Eastern Groups and State Sponsors}}</ref> Diplomatic relations with the United States had been broken on 24 October 1969{{Sfn|Halliday|2002|p=81}} because of disagreements with US policy in the Middle East.<ref>{{Cite report |title=Peace in the Mideast: A Delicate Balance |last=United States Congress |pages=38–39 |author-link=United States Congress |chapter=Report of Congressman Paul Findley on Visit to South Yemen |year=1978}}</ref> They were not restored until shortly before reunification.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of U.S.-Yemen relations |url=https://ye.usembassy.gov/history-of-u-s-yemen-relations/ |website=US Mission to Yemen |date=15 November 2023 |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref>

==== Relations with North Yemen ====
{{see also|First Yemenite War|Second Yemenite War|NDF Rebellion}}
Unlike the early decades of other partitioned states such as [[East Germany]] and [[West Germany]], [[North Korea]] and [[South Korea]], or [[North Vietnam]] and [[South Vietnam]], all of which faced tense relations or sometimes [[total war]]s, the relations between the [[Yemen Arab Republic]] (North Yemen) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) remained relatively friendly throughout most of their existence, although conflicts did arise. [[Yemenite War of 1972|Fighting broke out in 1972]], and the short-lived conflict was resolved with negotiations, where it was declared [[Yemeni unification|unification]] would eventually occur.<ref>{{cite web |title=North and South Yemen: In Search of Unity |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000244584.pdf |website=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=26 March 2025 |date=19 January 1990}}</ref>{{Sfn|Gause|1990|p=98}}

However, these plans were put on hold in 1979, as the PDRY funded Red rebels in the [[Yemen Arab Republic|YAR]], and [[Second Yemenite War|the war]] was only prevented by an [[Arab League]] intervention. The goal of unity was reaffirmed by the northern and southern heads of state during a summit meeting in [[Kuwait]] in March 1979.{{Sfn|Halliday|2002|p=125-126}}

In 1980, PDRY president [[Abdul Fattah Ismail]] resigned and went into exile in Moscow, having lost the confidence of his sponsors in the [[Soviet Union|USSR]].{{Sfn|Halliday|2002|p=35}} His successor, [[Ali Nasir Muhammad]], took a less interventionist stance toward both North Yemen and neighbouring [[Oman]].{{Sfn|Halliday|2002|p=36}}

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Yemen#Governorates of South Yemen}}
Following independence, South Yemen was divided into six [[governorate]]s (Arabic: {{Transliteration|ar|muhafazat}}), with roughly [[natural boundaries]]. From 1967 to 1978, each was given a name by [[Numeral (linguistics)|numeral]].<ref name=":7"/> The state changed this practice in the mid-1980s but gave the governorates geographical or historical names and ensured that their borders did not coincide with tribal allegiances.<ref name=":7" /> Today, this legacy contributes to misunderstanding and confusion when discussing political issues and allegiances in Yemen.<ref name=":7" /> The islands of [[Kamaran]] (until 1972, when North Yemen seized it), [[Perim]], [[Socotra]], [[Abd al Kuri|Abd-el-Kuri]], [[Samhah|Samha]] (inhabited), [[Darsah]] and others uninhabited from the Socotra archipelago were districts ({{Transliteration|ar|mudiriyat}}) of the First/Aden Governorate being under the Prime Minister's supervision.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ismael |first1=Tareq Y. |author-link=Tareq Y. Ismael |title=The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen: Politics, Economics, and Society; The Politics of Socialist Transformation |last2=Jacqueline S. Ismael |date=October 1986 |publisher=Lynne Rienner Pub |isbn=978-0-931477-96-6}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
!Numeral (pre-1978)
!Name (post-1978)
!Approximate area (km.²)
!Capital
|rowspan=7|[[File:Image-South Yemen governorates.svg|right|280px|Map of the governorates]]
|-
|I
|[[Aden Governorate|Aden]]
|6,980
|[[Aden]]
|-
|II
|[[Lahij Governorate|Lahij]]
|12,766
|[[Lahij]]
|-
|III
|[[Abyan Governorate|Abyan]]
|21,489
|[[Zinjibar]]
|-
|IV
|[[Shabwah Governorate|Shabwah]]
|73,908
|[[Ataq]]
|-
|V
|[[Hadhramaut Governorate|Hadhramawt]]
|155,376
|[[Mukalla]]
|-
|VI
|[[Al Mahrah Governorate|Al Mahrah]]
|66,350
|[[Al Ghaydah]]
|}

== Geography ==
Located at the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, South Yemen occupied a [[wedge]]-shaped territory that tapered toward the [[Bab al-Mandab]] strait, the maritime chokepoint between the [[Red Sea]] and the [[Indian Ocean]]. The country's territorial claims included the volcanic island of [[Perim]] within the strait and the larger island of [[Socotra]], a semi-desert landmass situated in the Arabian Sea. The total area of South Yemen was estimated at approximately 208,106 square kilometres (80,345 square miles), although this figure remains approximate due to the lack of fully demarcated borders with [[North Yemen]] and [[Saudi Arabia]], particularly in the southern expanse of the [[Rub' al Khali]].{{sfn|Stookey|1982|pages=1-3}}

===Topography and geology===
The lands of South Yemen are rugged and barren, a fact that played a role in the social, cultural, and economic development of the south, unlike the northern regions of Yemen. Their population in 1967 did not exceed two million people, while northern Yemen exceeded six million.{{Sfn|Jonsson|2022|p=34}} Most of the population of the south was concentrated in the western regions of [[Lahij]] and its environs, and these alone constituted more than 60% of the population; 10% were [[bedouins]]. South Yemen's landscape was shaped by a prominent mountain chain that mirrors the Red Sea coast of the Arabian Peninsula, extending from the [[Gulf of Aqaba]] southward to the [[Bab al-Mandab]] before curving northeast along the [[Gulf of Aden]] and the [[Arabian Sea]] toward [[Ras Musandam]] at the entrance to the [[Persian Gulf]]. This terrain includes a coastal plain of [[Tihamah]], varying in width from a few kilometres to over sixty, which gradually ascends to foothills and then sharply rises to mountain ranges where peaks exceed 2,000 metres.{{sfn|Stookey|1982|pages=1-3}}

These mountains, locally known by the term ''kur'' (meaning "camel saddle"), are of relatively recent volcanic origin. The highlands primarily consisted of [[metamorphic rocks]], with limited presence of [[limestone]] and [[sedimentary]] formations. Exposed granitic surfaces in the region are often scorched black by intense solar radiation.{{sfn|Stookey|1982|pages=1-3}}

=== Territorial changes ===
During the [[First Yemenite War]], North Yemen annexed the [[Red Sea]] island of [[Kamaran]] from South Yemen.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 October 1972 |title=South Yemen Charges Sana Forces Take Island (Published 1972) |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/10/archives/south-yemen-charges-sana-forces-take-island.html |access-date=11 April 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
[[File:The Freedom Statue.jpg|thumb|People celebrating the [[14th October Revolution]] next to the Freedom Statue |left]]

===Living standards===
Despite a poor economy, the government ensured a basic level of living standard for all citizens and established a [[welfare state]].<ref name="Lackner 2017" /> Income equality improved, corruption was reduced, and health and educational services expanded.{{Sfn|Bayat|2017|p=5}}<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Lackner |first=Helen |date=8 April 2022 |title=Yemen's Socialist Experiment Was a Political Landmark for the Arab World |url=https://jacobin.com/2022/08/socialism-arab-world-peoples-democratic-republic-of-yemen-history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003131900/https://jacobin.com/2022/08/socialism-arab-world-peoples-democratic-republic-of-yemen-history |archive-date=3 October 2022 |access-date=3 October 2022 |website=Jacobin}}</ref> Overall, the population was assured of a basic but adequate living standard for all.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lackner |first=Helen |date=4 July 2017 |title=The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen: Unique Socialist Experiment in The Arab World at a Time of World Revolutionary Fervour |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369801X.2017.1336465 |url-status=live |journal=Interventions |language=en |volume=19 |issue=5 |pages=689 |doi=10.1080/1369801X.2017.1336465 |issn=1369-801X |s2cid=159661566 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107015409/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369801X.2017.1336465 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |access-date=11 October 2023}}</ref>

===Religion===
The conversion of the Yemeni people to Islam was a gradual and complex process. Although the [[Badhan (Persian governor)|Persian governor of Yemen]] converted to Islam in 631 AD, widespread conversion among the population did not happen immediately. Yemen's initial commitment to Islam was relatively superficial. During the first few centuries following the Arab conquests and the relocation of the Islamic caliphates far from Yemen, the region became increasingly marginalised. Islamic teaching and practice were largely confined to a few urban centres, while much of the country remained on the periphery of the Islamic world.{{sfn|Russell|1988|p=13}}

Geography played a significant role in shaping South Yemen's social and political development. The region was characterised by rugged, mountainous terrain that is among the most inhospitable in the region. These natural barriers protected the interior from external influence and allowed local societies to evolve relatively undisturbed. As a result, the spread of Islam in these areas did not fundamentally alter longstanding patterns of land ownership, social hierarchy, or tribal governance.{{sfn|Russell|1988|p=14-15}}[[File:The revolution monument in Aden 1985.jpg|thumb|The Freedom Statue in [[Khormaksar District|Khor Maksar]], Aden]]

Even as Islam eventually took root in Yemen, many traditional customs and laws persisted. Tribal loyalty continued to serve as the primary organising principle, often taking precedence over both religious and national affiliations. This deep-rooted tribalism was further reinforced by persistent conflicts between rival Islamic sects, which fragmented the religious landscape and hindered the emergence of a unified Islamic identity. Rather than fostering a cohesive sense of community under Islam, these sectarian divisions contributed to a more pragmatic form of faith—one in which religious knowledge was often limited, and adherence to Islamic law was secondary to the authority of tribal customs.{{sfn|Russell|1988|p=13-14}}

As a result, secular tribal law ([['urf]]), rooted in pre-Islamic tradition, remained more influential than Islamic law ([[shari'ah]]). The region's isolation also meant that it escaped the homogenising administrative reforms imposed by the [[Ottoman Turks]], whose control was limited mostly to the port city of Aden. Consequently, Yemen retained a distinct social structure that had evolved well before the Islamic era and persisted despite centuries of nominal Islamic rule.{{sfn|Russell|1988|p=15}}

South Yemen had a dual-sided approach to religion. State policy officially promoted Islam as the state religion, and government leaders performed public displays of religious observance to deflect accusations of anti-Islamism. However, the state also worked to diminish the role of religion in everyday life, especially that which it considered to be 'popular' Islam out of alignment with the official creed. [[Sharia]] was replaced with [[secular law]] in personal and many other matters. Legal interpretation was often the province of secular officials, and the independence of [[sheikhs]] was limited by government control of religious trusts and mosque funds.{{Sfn|Cigar|1990|p=200}}

=== Education ===
[[File:Classroom in Democratic Yemen.png|thumb|A classroom in Aden]]
Democratic Yemen had a "National Science Day" on 10 September.<ref>{{Cite web |last=الغد |first=عدن |title=مقال : سعيدة الشيبة - يوم العلم والمعلم في 10 سبتمبر .. مناسبة منسية في بلادنا |url=https://www.adengad.net/articles/586582 |access-date=16 September 2024 |website=www.adengad.net |language=ar}}</ref>

According to the [[UNESCO]] in 1985, education in Democratic Yemen was considered the best in the [[Arabian Peninsula]] and 98% of the population were considered [[Literacy|literate]].{{sfn|Muhammad|2020|p=470}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=منبر عدن في ذكرى محو الأمية - أحمد ناصر حميدان |url=https://almahriah.net/opinions/260 |access-date=16 September 2024 |website=المهرية نت}}</ref>

===Sports===
In 1976, the [[South Yemen national football team]] participated in the [[AFC Asian Cup]], where the team lost to [[Iraq national football team|Iraq]] 1–0 and to [[Iran national football team|Iran]] 8–0.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/76asch.html |title=Asian Nations Cup 1976 |work=[[RSSSF]] |date=19 January 2007 |first1=Bojan |last1=Jovanovic |first2=Majeed |last2=Panahi |first3=Asghar |last3=Zarei |first4=Pieter |last4=Veroeveren |access-date=2 January 2022 |archive-date=30 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530141820/http://rsssf.com/tables/76asch.html |url-status=live}}</ref> They entered their only [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]] qualification campaign in [[1986 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|1986]] and were knocked out in the first round by [[Bahrain national football team|Bahrain]].<ref name="WCQ1986">{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/86qual.html |title=World Cup 1986 qualifications |work=[[RSSSF]] |date=3 January 2000 |first1=Karel |last1=Stokkermans |first2=Sergio Henrique |last2=Jarreta |access-date=2 January 2022 |archive-date=18 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218085713/http://rsssf.com/tables/86qual.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On 2 September 1965, South Yemen played their first international match in the [[1965 Arab Games|4th Arab Games]] against the [[Egypt national football team|United Arab Republic]], to whom they lost 14–0.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesa/arabgam65.html |title=4th Pan Arab Games, 1965 (Cairo, Egypt) |work=[[RSSSF]] |date=1 February 2018 |first1=Hassanin |last1=Mubarak |first2=Refel |last2=Hashim |access-date=2 January 2022 |archive-date=30 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830082925/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesa/arabgam65.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On 5 November 1989, South Yemen played its last international match against [[Guinea national football team|Guinea]], to whom they lost 1–0.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jovanovic |first1=Bojan |title=Islamic Friendship and Peace Festival (Kuwait) 1989 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesk/kuwait-tourn89.html |website=RSSSF |access-date=29 March 2025 |date=10 July 2004}}</ref> The team stopped playing when the North and South united in 1990 to form the [[Yemen|modern state of Yemen]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stevenson |first1=Thomas B. |last2=Alaug |first2=Karim Abdul |title=Yemeni Football and Identity Politics |url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/yemeni-football-and-identity-politics |website=[[Middle East Institute]] |access-date=2 April 2025 |date=2 May 2010}}</ref>

In 1988, the [[South Yemen at the 1988 Summer Olympics|South Yemen Olympic team]] made its debut in the [[1988 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] in [[Seoul]]. Sending only five athletes, the country won no medals. This was the only time the country went to the Olympics until [[Yemen unification|unification]] in 1990.<ref>{{cite web |title=South Yemen (YMD) |url=https://www.olympedia.org/countries/YMD |website=Olympedia |access-date=1 April 2025}}</ref>

===Women's rights===
{{Main|Women in Yemen}}
{{See also|General Union of Yemeni Women}}
[[File:Women sewing flags.jpg|thumb|Yemeni women sewing flags]]

Women's rights under the socialist government were widely regarded as the most [[Progressivism|progressive]] in the region.{{Sfn|Bayat|2017|p=5}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 July 2017 |title=Women's rights in Yemen |url=https://www.offiziere.ch/?p=31384 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422135641/https://www.offiziere.ch/?p=31384 |archive-date=22 April 2021 |access-date=17 December 2020 |website=Offiziere.ch |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wadekar |first=Neha |date=20 November 2018 |title='We Are Willing to Die Here': The Fight for Women's Rights in Yemen (Published 2018) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/20/magazine/yemen-war-women.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428035550/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/20/magazine/yemen-war-women.html |archive-date=28 April 2021 |access-date=19 December 2020 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Following the [[National Liberation Front (South Yemen)|National Front]]'s (NF) adoption of Marxist-Leninist principles in 1968, the South Yemeni government actively promoted the emancipation of women as part of its broader ideological goals. In 1978, the NF was renamed the Yemeni Socialist Party and implemented a series of social and legal reforms inspired by [[Eastern Bloc|Eastern European]] models, many of which directly affected the status of women.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Yemen's Dream of Unity Turned Sour |url=https://jacobinmag.com/2020/05/yemen-unity-anniversary-civil-war |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428033127/https://jacobinmag.com/2020/05/yemen-unity-anniversary-civil-war |archive-date=28 April 2021 |access-date=17 December 2020 |website=jacobinmag.com |language=en-US}}</ref>{{sfn|Molyneux|Yafai|Mohsen|Ba'abaad|1979}}

The [[General Union of Yemeni Women]] played a central role in advancing gender equality and was closely integrated into both the party and state apparatus. Women from the union held positions across all levels of the ruling party's structure, including representation within its central and regional committees.{{sfn|Molyneux|Yafai|Mohsen|Ba'abaad|1979}}

Significant legal changes were introduced to dismantle religious and traditional restrictions on women. The [[1974 Family Law]] curtailed polygamy, abolished unilateral male divorce (''[[Divorce in Islam|talaq]]''), upheld a woman's right to child custody after divorce, and prohibited both early and non-consensual marriages. These reforms also banned arranged marriages, and transferred jurisdiction over personal status issues from religious authorities to state institutions. Women were granted full legal equality with men, and equal rights in divorce were codified.{{sfn|Molyneux|Yafai|Mohsen|Ba'abaad|1979}}

Beyond legislation, the state pursued a broader cultural and social transformation. Women were actively encouraged to participate in sectors traditionally reserved for men, including the military, judiciary, and political spheres. Education and workforce integration were seen as key to achieving women's emancipation. From independence onward, girls and women had access to all levels of education, including technical and vocational training. A major literacy campaign between 1972 and 1976 prioritised female participation. These efforts contributed to South Yemen achieving one of the highest [[Female labor force in the Muslim world|female labour force]] participation rates in the Arab world at the time.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Times |first=Marvine Howe; Special to The New York |date=26 May 1979 |title=Marxist Regime in South Yemen Showing Improvement in Quality of Life in Villages (Published 1979) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/26/archives/marxist-regime-in-south-yemen-showing-improvement-in-quality-of.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425040728/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/05/26/archives/marxist-regime-in-south-yemen-showing-improvement-in-quality-of.html |archive-date=25 April 2021 |access-date=17 December 2020 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>{{sfn|Molyneux|Yafai|Mohsen|Ba'abaad|1979}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Murray |first1=Rebecca |title=Yemen women divided over rights fight |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2013/4/20/yemen-women-divided-over-rights-fight |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=10 May 2025 |date=20 April 2013}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:GDR working on infrastructure projects in South Yemen.png|thumb|left|[[East Germany|GDR]] working on infrastructure projects in South Yemen]]

During British rule, economic development in South Yemen was restricted to the city of [[Aden]], focused mainly on the port and on the British military bases. As a result, following the British withdrawal, there here was little to no [[Industrial sector|industrial]] output or [[mining|mineral wealth exploitation]] in the country until the mid-1980s, when significant [[petroleum reserves]] in the central regions near [[Shibam]] and [[Mukalla]] were discovered. Foreign aid was minimal, as the British government did not fulfil promises of aid and the Soviet Union offered only [[US dollar|US$]]152 million from 1969 to 1980.<ref name="Lackner 2017">{{Cite journal |last=Lackner |first=Helen |date=4 July 2017 |title=The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen: Unique Socialist Experiment in the Arab World at a Time of World Revolutionary Fervour |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369801X.2017.1336465 |url-status=live |journal=Interventions |volume=19 |issue=5 |pages=677–691 |doi=10.1080/1369801X.2017.1336465 |s2cid=159661566 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003131901/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369801X.2017.1336465 |archive-date=3 October 2022 |access-date=3 October 2022}}</ref>

South Yemen's nationalisation policies and land reforms helped establish a modern state sector and significantly reduced inequalities in land ownership.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McMurray |first1=David |last2=Ufheil-Somers |first2=Amanda |title=The Arab Revolts: Dispatches on Militant Democracy in the Middle East |date=2013 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=9780253009784 |page=129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kj2ivModzMkC |access-date=15 May 2025}}</ref> The main sources of income were agriculture, mostly fruit, [[cereal crop]]s, cattle and sheep, and fishing. The government guaranteed full employment in agriculture for rural citizens, and established a number of collective farms; however, those set up following the [[Collectivization in the Soviet Union|Soviet model]] produced poorer results than cooperative-run farms.<ref name="Lackner 2017" />

The national [[budget]] was 13.43&nbsp;million dinars in 1976, and the [[gross national product]] was [[US dollar|US$]]650 - 500 &nbsp;million. The total national [[debt]] was $52.4&nbsp;million.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

===Economic policy===
[[File:Port of Aden with the Flag of South Yemen.jpg|thumb|[[Port of Aden]]]]
Limited natural resources posed challenges to the economic development of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY). Despite this constraint, significant, albeit modest, oil reserves were discovered shortly after the country's unification in 1990. However, the YSP government did not benefit from oil exports to fund its development initiatives.<ref name=":7"/>

Over time, economic policies in the PDRY underwent a transformation, shifting from an initial focus on developing the state sector to promoting cooperative and joint private-public enterprises. By the late 1980s, there was a notable presence of industries in Aden and around Al Mukalla in Hadramawt, producing a range of essential goods such as plastics, batteries, cigarettes, matches, tomato paste, dairy products, and fish canning.<ref name=":7"/>

Within the industrial sector, the state implemented welfarist labour laws that were widely enforced. These laws included regulations aimed at safeguarding women in the workforce by prohibiting night shifts and hazardous occupations. Additionally, the legislation ensured that workers received salaries that enabled them to maintain reasonable living standards. Trade unions in the PDRY primarily functioned as state entities rather than as negotiating bodies, playing a significant role in upholding labour regulations and standards.<ref name=":7"/>

=== Oil ===
A few months after the [[South Yemen civil war|civil war of 1986]], the PDRY had discovered oil after more than 6 decades of unsuccessful exploration,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ritchie |first1=Ronald S. |last2=Longrigg |first2=Stephen Hemsley |date=1968 |title=Oil in the Middle East: Its Discovery and Development |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/40199914 |url-status=live |journal=International Journal |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=334 |doi=10.2307/40199914 |issn=0020-7020 |jstor=40199914 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531060834/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40199914?origin=crossref |archive-date=31 May 2024 |access-date=1 March 2024}}</ref> the Soviet Union discovered oil in the [[Shabwah Governorate]] in late 1986, marking a turning point for the resource-scarce nation.{{sfn|Burrowes|1989|pages=437–454}} Decades of unsuccessful exploration efforts, hampered by the harsh desert environment and political instability, had left South Yemen heavily reliant on foreign aid, primarily from the Soviet Union, and remittances from its citizens working abroad, estimated to be around half of government revenue by the mid-1980s. The discovery, made by the Soviet oil company Technoexport, emerged amidst the Cold War, with the Soviet Union playing a crucial role in the exploration and discovery process.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Center |first=Sana'a |date=24 August 2023 |title=Recovering Lost Ground in Shabwa's Oil Sector |url=https://sanaacenter.org/publications/main-publications/20682 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301055758/https://sanaacenter.org/publications/main-publications/20682 |archive-date=1 March 2024 |access-date=1 March 2024 |website=Sana'a Center For Strategic Studies |language=en}}</ref>

In the 1980s, Technoexport contracted with the PDRY to search for oil in a 13,500-square-mile area in Shabwa, and, in 1984, launched a program of exploratory drilling. This Soviet effort yielded only traces of oil over the next two years, a sharp contrast to the discovery and rapid exploitation of oil in the same period by an American company, [[Hunt Oil Company|Hunt Oil]], in the YAR's [[Marib]] basin, an area just to the west of Shabwa. Then, in late 1986, the Soviets struck very high quality oil in western Shabwa, an occurrence confirmed by authorities in Aden in early 1987.{{sfn|Burrowes|1989|pages=437–454}}

By late March, Initial estimates placed the oil reserves at around 1 billion barrels,{{sfn|Burrowes|1989|pages=437–454}}<ref>{{Cite journal |date=November 2019 |title=Issue Information |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dome.v28.2 |url-status=live |journal=Digest of Middle East Studies |volume=28 |issue=2 |doi=10.1111/dome.v28.2 |issn=1060-4367 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531060834/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19493606/28/2 |archive-date=31 May 2024 |access-date=1 March 2024}}</ref> sparking plans for pipeline construction and full-scale production of the oil fields. Events moved swiftly, and industry sources reported in mid-1987 that the three fields—''lyad East'', ''lyad West'', and ''Amal''—already had a productive capacity of 10,000 barrels per day (bpd), that between 5,000-10,000 bpd were being trucked to the Aden refinery, and that there were plans to increase the number of trucks on the oil run to bring deliveries up to 25,000 bpd, considerably more than the PDRY's total domestic need at the time.{{sfn|Burrowes|1989|pages=437–454}} The discovery was viewed as a potential pathway to reduce dependence on external sources of income and improve the lives of South Yemen's roughly 2.4 million citizens. However, the joy of discovery was accompanied by a multitude of challenges.{{sfn|Burrowes|1989|pages=437–454}}

Western Shabwa was not the only exploration area, and the Soviet Union was not the only explorer in the second half of the 1980s.{{sfn|Burrowes|1989|pages=437–454}} Replying to a claim that the PDRY had put all of its eggs in one basket, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Minerals Salih Abu-Bakr ibn Husaynun noted in late 1987 that eight Western and Arab companies were engaged in exploration efforts in several areas in the PDRY.{{sfn|Burrowes|1989|pages=437–454}} Although Italy's Agip stopped work in late 1985, Brazil's Braspetrol, France's Societe Nationale Elf Aquitaine (Elf) and Compagnie Française des Petroles ([[TotalEnergies|Total]]), Kuwait's Independent Petroleum Group, and Canadian Occidental were among the firms actively searching for oil in the years that followed.{{sfn|Burrowes|1989|pages=437–454}}

The Soviet involvement in the discovery, estimated to have cost over half a billion dollars and added to South Yemen's already staggering debt, raised concerns about potential political and economic influence in the region.{{sfn|Burrowes|1989|pages=437–454}} Additionally, the oil find added a layer of complexity to the already intricate relationship between South and North Yemen, both of which desired unification and saw the resource, estimated to hold the potential for substantial economic benefits, as a potential driver of economic prosperity.{{sfn|Burrowes|1989|pages=437–454}}

Furthermore, South Yemen grappled with internal political struggles and social unrest at the time of the discovery. The violent leadership struggle within the ruling communist party, culminating in the January 1986 "blood bath" in Aden, further destabilised the nation. This volatile political landscape cast a shadow over the potential benefits of the newfound oil wealth and raised questions about how the resources would be managed and distributed fairly within the nation.{{sfn|Burrowes|1989|pages=437–454}}

===Airlines===
The following airlines had operated from the PDRY:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Airlines – South Yemen |url=http://www.airlinehistory.co.uk/RestofWorld/South%20Yemen/Airlines.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627114000/http://www.airlinehistory.co.uk/RestofWorld/South%20Yemen/Airlines.asp |archive-date=27 June 2009 |access-date=13 July 2009 |website=The World's Airlines |publisher=David Lyall}}</ref>
*[[Alyemda]] – Democratic Yemen Airlines (1961–1996).<ref name="FI1995-52">{{cite journal |date=5–11 April 1995 |title=World airline directory–Alyemda (Democratic Yemen Airlines) |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1995/1995%20-%200985.html |url-status=live |journal=[[Flight International]] |volume=147 |page=52 |issn=0015-3710 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108132430/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1995/1995%20-%200985.html |archive-date=8 November 2018 |number=4466}}</ref> Joined [[Yemenia]], the airline of the former [[Yemen Arab Republic|YAR]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=Alyemda |url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/database/operators/6521 |access-date=11 April 2025 |website=asn.flightsafety.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Profile for: Alyemen Airlines of Yemen |url=https://www.aerotransport.org/php/go.php?query=operator&qstring=Alyemda&where=39073&luck= |access-date=11 April 2025 |website=www.aerotransport.org}}</ref>
*The [[Brothers Air Services]] was formed by Sayid Zein A. Baharoon who used the "Brothers" nomenclature in his merchant enterprises. Known as BASCO, this fledgling airline lasted only a short time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BASCO (Brothers Air Service) history from Rest of World, South Yemen |work=Airline History |url=https://airlinehistory.co.uk/airline/basco-brothers-air-service/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227110243/https://airlinehistory.co.uk/airline/basco-brothers-air-service/ |archive-date=27 February 2024 |access-date=27 February 2024}}</ref>

== Nostalgia ==
According to journalist Bilal Zenab Ahmed, nostalgia remains strong in parts of southern [[Yemen]] for the PDRY.<ref name="Ahmed">{{cite news |title=Red Nostalgia in South Yemen |last=Ahmed |first=Bilal |url=http://souciant.media/2015/07/red-nostalgia-south-yemen/ |work=Souciant Magazine |location=Tempe |date=16 July 2015 |access-date=17 August 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250613193755/http://souciant.media/2015/07/red-nostalgia-south-yemen |archive-date=13 June 2025}}</ref> Ahmed compared nostalgia for South Yemen to [[nostalgia for the Soviet Union]], noting their shared emphasis on cultural memory and ongoing impact on modern day nationalism.<ref name="Ahmed"/> Ahmed asserted that nostalgia for the perceived stability, social benefits, and low unemployment of South Yemen have played a strong role in support for modern-day South Yemeni separatism.<ref name="Ahmed"/> The [[Southern Movement]] in particular drew much of its initial support from elements of the southern Yemeni population nostalgic for the former Marxist government, and socialist nostalgia features subtly in much of its messaging, propaganda, and symbolism.<ref name="Ahmed"/>

Political scholar Anne-Linda Amira Augustin asserted that nostalgia for the PDRY is primarily driven by nostalgia for state-sponsored social benefits, namely free healthcare, an educational system with relatively high standards, low unemployment, and provision of social security.<ref name="Lackner">{{cite journal |last=Lackner |first=Helen |url=https://journals.openedition.org/arabianhumanities/8383 |date=1 June 2022 |title=South Yemen's Independence Struggle, Generations of Resistance by Anne-Linda Amira Augustin & South Yemen: Gateway to the world? |journal=Arabian Humanities |volume=16 |issue=2 |doi=10.4000/cy.8383 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250818021820/https://journals.openedition.org/arabianhumanities/8383 |archive-date=18 August 2025}}</ref> Augustin found in her research that communist nostalgia has experienced a resurgence among younger Yemenis born since 1990 who cannot remember the South Yemeni government, but are disillusioned with the social and political conditions since the country's unification.<ref name="Lackner"/>

==See also==
{{portal|Yemen|Communism}}

* [[Dhofar Rebellion]]
* [[Derg]]
* [[Democratic Yemeni Union of Peasants]]

== References ==
=== Explanatory notes ===
{{reflist|group=note}}
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|22em}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
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* {{Cite book |last=Tucker-Jones |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Tucker-Jones |title=The Rise of Militant Islam: An Insider's View of the Failure To Curb Global Jihad |publisher=[[Pen & Sword Military]] |year=2010 |isbn=9781844159451}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Walker |first1=David |title=The A to Z of Marxism |last2=Gray |first2=Daniel |date=13 August 2009 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=9780810868526}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lackner |first1=Helen |author1-link=Helen Lackner |title=PDR Yemen: outpost of socialist development in Arabia |date=1985 |publisher=Ithaca Press |isbn=0863720323 |page=64 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SeJtAAAAMAAJ |access-date=31 March 2025}}
* {{Cite book |last=Muhammad |first=Ali Nasir |author-link=Ali Nasir Muhammad |title=ذاكرة وطن:‏ ‏عدن من الإحتلال الى الإستقلال |date=2019 |publisher=Riyad al-Rayyis Publishing |isbn=978-9953-21-704-8 |edition=1st |location=Beirut |trans-title=Memory of the Nation - Aden: From occupation to independence |language=ar |oclc=on1089880767}}
* {{Cite book |last=Muhammad |first=Ali Nasir |url=https://www.alinaser.com/public/source/books/Books/%D8%B0%D8%A7%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D9%88%D8%B7%D9%86%20-%20%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%8A%D8%A9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9.pdf |title=ذاكرة وطن: جمهورية اليمن الديمقراطية الشعبيية |date=2020 |publisher=al-Mada |isbn= |edition=1st |location=Baghdad |language=ar |trans-title=Memory of the Nation - People's Democratic Republic of Yemen}}
*{{citation |title=التعداد العام الثاني للسكان والمساكن والمنشآت |trans-title=Second General Census of Population, Housing and Establishments |url=https://cso-ye.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%83%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%AA-1988%D9%85.pdf |place=People's Democratic Republic of Yemen |publisher=Central Statistical Organization |year=1988 |issue=2 |postscript=. |ref={{sfnRef|1988 Census}}}}
*{{CIA World Factbook}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Mehra |first=R. N. |date=1978 |title=Democratic Yemen (South Yemen) Under Marxist Rule (1968-1978) - A Case Study |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44139436 |journal=[[Proceedings of the Indian History Congress]] |volume=39 |pages=895–901 |jstor=44139436 |issn=2249-1937}}
* {{Citation |last=Ismael |first=Tareq Y. |title=People's Democratic Republic of Yemen |date=1981 |work=Marxist Governments: Volume 3: A World Survey |pages=755–783 |editor-last=Szajkowski |editor-first=Bogdan |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-04332-3_7 |access-date=10 April 2025 |place=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-04332-3_7 |isbn=978-1-349-04332-3 |url-access=subscription}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stookey |first=Robert W. |url=https://ia600801.us.archive.org/18/items/robert-w.-stookey-south-yemen-a-marxist-republic-in-arabia-1982-westview-press/%5B%5D%20Robert%20W.%20Stookey%20-%20South%20Yemen_%20A%20Marxist%20Republic%20in%20Arabia%20%281982%2C%20Westview%20Press%29.pdf |title=South Yemen: A Marxist Republic in Arabia |date=1982 |publisher=[[Westview Press]] |isbn=978-0-7099-2356-5 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Victoria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvzhTAzNWgAC |title=Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of Snakes |date=23 February 2010 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-16734-4 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bijl |first=Nicholas van der |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QwhtBQAAQBAJ |title=British Military Operations in Aden and Radfan: 100 Years of British Colonial Rule |date=30 October 2014 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-4738-4311-0 |language=en}}
* {{citation |last1=Russell |first1=Michael G. |title=Marxism in Islamic South Yemen |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA215991.pdf |website=[[Air Command and Staff College]] |access-date=16 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250202084838/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA215991.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2025 |date=1988 |url-status=dead}}
* {{Cite report |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep23345.6 |title=Yemen's Armies from Ottoman Rule to Unification |last=Barany |first=Zoltan |date=2016 |publisher=[[Center for Strategic and International Studies]]}}
* {{Cite web |last=Schofield |first=Richard |date=31 March 1999 |title=Negotiating the Saudi-Yemeni international boundary {{!}} al-bab |url=https://al-bab.com/negotiating-saudi-yemeni-international-boundary |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250319091826/https://al-bab.com/negotiating-saudi-yemeni-international-boundary |archive-date=19 March 2025 |access-date=13 April 2025 |website=[[Al-Bab.com]] |language=en}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Cigar |first1=Norman |title=Islam and the State in South Yemen: The Uneasy Coexistence |journal=[[Middle Eastern Studies]] |date=April 1990 |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=185–203 |doi=10.1080/00263209008700814 |jstor=4283364 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4283364 |access-date=22 April 2025}}
*{{Cite journal |last=Stork |first=Joe |date=1973 |title=Socialist Revolution in Arabia: A Report from the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3011484 |journal=MERIP Reports |issue=15 |pages=1–25 |doi=10.2307/3011484 |jstor=3011484 |issn=0047-7265 |url-access=subscription}}

{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|South Yemen|commons=Category:South Yemen}}
* {{Wikiatlas|Yemen}}
* [http://www.nationalanthems.info/yes-79.htm South Yemen Anthem (1969–1979)], [[National anthem of Yemen]] (second and last anthem of South Yemen)
* [https://www.worldstatesmen.org/YemenPDR1978.pdf Constitution of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen] (as amended 31 October 1978) 
* The [https://www.alinaser.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A9--%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9 PDRY Archives] (in Arabic) of [[Ali Nasir Muhammad]]

{{PDRY topics}}
{{Former states in South Arabia}}
{{Socialist states}}
{{Authority control}}

{{coord|13|N|45|E|type:country|display=title}}

[[Category:South Yemen| ]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1967|Yemen]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1990|Yemen]]
[[Category:Communism in Yemen]]
[[Category:Former countries in West Asia|Yemen]]
[[Category:Former socialist republics|Yemen]]
[[Category:1990 disestablishments in Asia|Yemen]]