Yemen is located on the Arabian Peninsula and is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman the the east, the Arabian Sea to the south and the Red Sea to the west. In the year 1990, South Yemen and North Yemen were united to form the Republic of Yemen. Tribalism is very dominant in Yemen with over 85% of the population belong to a tribe. Tribalism has been one of the leading causes of clashes and other types of violence between different group. Seventy four (74%) of Yemen's 24,799,880 (2012) population lives in rural areas. The official language of Yemen is Arabic but there are also other unofficial dialects that are spoken in the rural tribal areas of the north. Yemen has a total GDP of $57.966 billion and a per capita GDP of $2,306. Oil exports accounts for over 60% of its GDP while agriculture accounts for 15%.

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After Al Qaeda was driven from their bases in Afghanistan, Yemen became their new bases of operations. The group has a strong presence in the south of the country and the United States is currently launching drone strikes on their bases. In 2011, millions of Yemeni's took to the streets of the capital Sanaa as protests spread across the Middle East. Then President Abdullah Saleh attempted to quell the protests by ordering his security forces to attack protesters. He was eventually forced from office months later under a Saudi brokered power transfer.​