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Portraits of Yemen’s Youth Boom

Boys line up for morning exercises outside a secondary school in Sana'a, Yemen's capital. About half the population of Yemen is under the age of 15, according to the UN Development Program. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009/2010.

A packed classroom in a secondary school in Sana'a. Many schools are overcrowded and lack materials, and the educational system is absent some rural parts of the country. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009/2010.

A girl walks through the slums above Aden, Yemen’s southern port city. About 40 percent of Yemenis live on less than two dollars a day. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009/2010.

A young boy sell cigarettes and pens at the entrance to an underground walkway in Sana’a. Only about half the school age population attends school. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009/2010.

A schoolgirl in Sana’a. Only 63 percent of girls attend school at the primary level and only a quarter of those make it to 9th grade. Female adult illiteracy is 60 percent. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009/2010.

A young boy in Sana’a. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009/2010.

A boy runs barefoot below a portrait of President Ali Abdullah Saleh at the Yemeni Special Olympics in February, 2010. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2010.

A boy plays soccer in the alleyways of the capital. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009/2010.

Bahaja Hassan Ghalib al-Hamily, center, a mother of nine, with some of her children in their house in Sana’a. Many families are aware of family planning but feel a cultural pressure to have many children. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009/2010.

Boys overlook the sprawl of the new city of Sana'a. With eight percent growth per year Sana’a is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009/2010.

Teenagers study and chew qat, a mild stimulant, outside their house in the slums of Aden. Many young males blame the government for high unemployment and a lack of of opportunity. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009/2010.

Breakdancers at a government sponsored hip-hop concert in Sana’a last fall. The government touted the concert as an outlet for young people as part of a program to combat extremism. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009/2010.

A young refugee in a classroom for girls run by Save the Children in the Mazraq refugee camp in northern Yemen in October, 2009. About sixty percent of the refugees at the camp, who fled fighting between the government and Houthi rebels, are children. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009.

A boy watches as a government fighter jet flies over the local well in his neighborhood on the outskirts of the capital in September, 2009. The country is facing a looming water crisis, which will only worsen with rapid population growth, but the government’s attention often seems focused elsewhere. Image by Paul Stephens. Yemen, 2009.

One of the first things you notice wandering around anywhere in Yemen is the kids. They are everywhere. Playing soccer in the streets, collecting water, selling vegetables, and shooting marbles in the alleyways. And if you have a camera, you will here the constant refrain of "Sura! Sura!" the Arabic word for picture. I've collected a lot of pictures of Yemeni children over the past few months.

The number of children is even more astonishing when you realize the demographic trend that it represents: almost half of all Yemeni's are under the age of 15. Yemen is growing at a rate of 3 percent a year. That's slower than has grown in the past, but it is still one of the fastest growing countries in the world.

Many countries across the Middle East are experiencing a population boom, but Yemen has the highest birthrate in the region. And Yemen's youth boom is troubling for a number of reasons. With dwindling supplies of water and oil, a mainstay of the economy, Yemen's population boom is putting further pressure on already stretched resources. Equally stretched is an education system that already can't accommodate a large percentage of the population. High unemployment and a stagnant economy make the future look even dimmer.

Some argue that such widespread economic hardship and growing youth population presents a prime recruiting opportunity for al-Qaeda. What is certain is that, without a change of course, young Yemenis will bear the burden of a nation sliding toward collapse. Of course, the brightness of Yemeni kid's smile as he pinches his fingers and asks for a portrait make you forget all that.

All photos by Paul Stephens, taken between September, 2009 and May, 2010.