Full Breakdown
Yemen’s Cost-of-Living Crisis Deepens Amid Ongoing Conflict
By Drooid · · How we work
Overview of the Crisis
Across Yemen’s government-controlled south, the Houthi-run north, and the contested east, households face soaring prices for food, rent, healthcare and transport while many public-sector salaries are unpaid or irregular. In Aden, shoppers now buy smaller quantities of staples; in Marib, government employees see their wages disappear within days; and in Sanaa, even a relatively stable exchange rate does not shield families from hardship.
Economic Indicators & Household Impact
- Bushra Abdullah Abdulwarith, a government employee in Aden, earns 78,000 Yemeni riyals (? $50) a month at the black-market rate, while the Yemen Economic Tracking Initiative estimates average household food costs at 130,366 riyal (? $83).
- The World Bank notes that real GDP per capita has fallen about 58 % since 2015.
- The World Food Programme’s latest monitoring in accessible government-controlled areas found 74 % of households unable to meet basic food needs.
Government and Humanitarian Responses
The Yemeni government approved a 20 % cost-of-living allowance in May for public-sector workers, calculated on base salary only, which officials and recipients describe as a modest “temporary painkiller.” The World Food Programme continues to distribute food assistance, though its coverage remains limited relative to the scale of need.
Outlook and Structural Challenges
The division of Yemen’s monetary and banking systems—government-run institutions in the south and Houthi-controlled mechanisms in the north—has created cash shortages and higher costs for moving funds, undermining remittances that many families rely on. Private-sector workers and business owners report declining activity, multiple fees and limited employment, further eroding incomes. Without coordinated fiscal reforms and sustained humanitarian aid, the crisis is likely to persist, deepening food insecurity and health risks across the country.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Many people have come to live day by day, or week by week,” — Ayman — Ayman al-Maqtari, shop employee