Back to the ranking tool

Asia · Arabia

🇾🇪 Yemen

#200 of 203 overall~$640/mo (single)

Yemen holds staggering heritage — the gingerbread tower-houses of old Sana'a, the mud-brick 'skyscrapers' of Shibam, and Socotra's alien flora — but the mainland has been devastated by civil war since 2014–15, a humanitarian catastrophe under blanket do-not-travel advisories. The striking exception is Socotra Island, largely spared the conflict and now reachable again via charter flights from Abu Dhabi — a bucket-list 'otherworldly' destination of dragon's-blood trees for the intrepid. The mainland remains off-limits, so Yemen is not a nomad destination; Socotra visits avoid the June–September monsoon.

Nomad quick facts

Cost (single)

$640/mo

Cost (couple)

$1020/mo

Internet speed

16.5 Mbps

Safety

3.262 (#186 of 190)

Public transit

Limited

Best months

Oct–Feb

Digital nomad visa

Not available

Nomad score

31.2 / 100

Score breakdown

96Cost
15Internet
10Safety
25Tourism
10Visa

Cost of living

96/ 100 score

Yemen features minimal baseline cost metrics for local goods and regional produce. Digital nomads maintain low monthly expenditures by selecting long-term residential housing and sourcing daily necessities from open-air markets.

Estimated monthly cost

Single

$640/mo

Couple

$1,020/mo

Local spending breakdown

Score is based off objective cost-of-living data with World Bank and C2ER Cost of Living Index. The limitation of this data is that it tracks spending of locals, which will be far less than travelers. We applied a nomad-realistic monthly cost estimate to make the amount more accurate. Prices displayed in USD.

World Bank figures reflect national average consumption, which can run high in countries with large wealth gaps (e.g. the US) — the nomad estimate aims to correct for this. Likewise, lower CoL countries will have very low local spending figures, and will not reflect the spending patterns of travelers or nomads.

Sources: C2ER Cost of Living Index · World Bank ICP 2021 · Independent nomad cost estimates

Internet

15/ 100 score

Yemen has very slow download speeds and extremely high latency, making video calls, large downloads and interactive work challenging; conflict-related outages make reliable remote work particularly difficult.

Download speed

16.5 Mbps

Upload speed

4.6 Mbps

Latency

103.2 ms

Blends download speed (Ookla Speedtest Global Index) with upload speed and latency (Cloudflare Radar). Speeds are scored between 10 Mbps (0) and 200 Mbps (100); latency counts the opposite way — lower is better. A missing metric doesn't penalize a country, it's scored on whatever data is available.

A national average — city and neighbourhood speeds vary, especially outside major hubs.

Sources: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · Cloudflare Radar

Safety

10/ 100 score

Yemen has been in an active civil war since 2014, with widespread conflict, a severe humanitarian crisis and one of the lowest safety rankings in the world; this isn't currently a viable or safe destination for nomads.

Global safety rank

#186 of 190

Peace Index score

3.26 (lower = safer)

Blends three published safety indices: the Global Peace Index, the WJP Rule of Law Index (Order & Security factor), and the Gallup Global Law and Order Index. Each is rescaled 0-100 and combined with weights favoring GPI and Gallup slightly over WJP. Not every country is tracked by all three — the blend adjusts to whichever are available (weights are renormalized) rather than penalizing a country for a missing source, though a country tracked by fewer sources carries lower confidence.

As this is national average data, be aware that safety varies significantly by city and region within a country.

Sources: Global Peace Index (Institute for Economics & Peace) · WJP Rule of Law Index (World Justice Project) · Gallup Global Law and Order Index

Tourism & infrastructure

25/ 100 score

Socotra Island's alien dragon's-blood trees are a genuine bucket-list destination, reachable again via charter flights from Abu Dhabi and largely spared the mainland's devastating civil war. The mainland, including the gingerbread tower-houses of old Sana'a, remains under blanket do-not-travel advisories, so Yemen overall isn't a nomad destination.

Happiness rank

#142 of 147

English Proficiency Index

402.0

Within-city transit

Limited

Between-city transit

Limited

Climate

Desert to semi-arid with cooler highlands; hot coasts and a highland rainy season.

Best months: Oct–Feb

Transit

Yemen has no passenger rail and its transit has been shattered by prolonged war. Sana'a, Aden and other cities rely on shared taxis and 'dabab' minibuses, cheap but informal, amid fuel shortages and checkpoints. Intercity travel is difficult and often dangerous, split across front lines. Movement is dictated by security and fuel availability far more than by any transit network.

A weighted blend of published indices: the World Economic Forum's Tourism Development Index (weighted highest — the strongest predictor of appeal), Numbeo's Quality of Life Index, the World Happiness Report, Gallup's day-to-day enjoyment data, the EF English Proficiency Index, and a public transit assessment covering both within-city and between-city transport. Not every country is scored on all six — the blend adjusts to whichever are available rather than penalizing a country for a missing one.

Sources: WEF Tourism Development Index · Numbeo Quality of Life Index · World Happiness Report · Gallup · EF English Proficiency Index · Public transit assessment

Visa & entry

Tourist entry — USA passport

Visa required — 30 days

Digital nomad visa

Visa and immigration laws are rapidly changing, always double-check official sources. Tax figures are estimated only — actual liability depends on your residency status, income structure, and tax treaties. Consult a tax professional prior to travel.

Top cities for nomads in Yemen

Sana'aCapital & Largest

Capital & largest; one of the world's oldest cities; a UNESCO walled Old City of decorated tower-houses; Houthi-controlled amid war.

AdenPopular

Historic southern port on the Gulf of Aden, the internationally recognised government's wartime seat.

ShibamHidden Gem

The 'Manhattan of the Desert'; a walled town of 16th-century mud-brick 'skyscrapers' in the Hadhramaut; UNESCO-listed.

Socotra IslandHidden Gem

Otherworldly Indian Ocean island of endemic dragon's-blood trees & bizarre flora; largely spared by the war.

Book your stay early to save

Similar countries