Yemen Cities by Population 2026

Yemen Overview

The largest city in Yemen is Sanaa City, with a population of 5,250,784 people.

The second-largest country on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has in recent years been devastated by an ongoing conflict that has seen it become the most impoverished country in the Middle East. The largest city in Yemen is Sanaa, with a population of around 1.5M residents. Although Sanaa is Yemen’s constitutionally recognised capital, the conflict in the country led to the city of Aden becoming the temporary capital in 2015. Sanaa is one of the highest capital cities in the world at an elevation of 2,300 meters. It is also one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, and its Old City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The port city of Aden has a population of around 1.4M residents and is located on the Gulf of Aden. The city is home to the University of Aden, numerous historical sites, a Zoroastrian temple, as well as churches built during the British colonial period. Some people also believe that the Biblical Cain and Abel are buried in the city. Taiz, located in the southwestern Yemeni Highlands, is Yemen’s third-largest city, with more than 4.1M residents. It is regarded as the country’s cultural capital. The city has historically been known for its coffee production, and today is also Yemen’s largest industrial base.