quality:corruption
Economy

Historically, Sanaʽa had a mining industry. The hills around Sanaʽa were mined for onyx, chalcedony, and cornelian. The city also traded in agricultural products and due to being on the route from Aden towards the greater Arab world, was also a main market for imported western goods. The city was also known for its metalwork, which the British described as "famous" in the early 20th century, but declining in popularity. As of 1920, Sanaʽa was described by the British as being "well supplied with fruit and grapes, and has good water."

As the capital city of Yemen, nearly 40% of jobs in Sanaʽa are in the public sector. The city is also an important centre for commerce and industry in Yemen. Additionally, like many other cities in the developing world, Sanaʽa has a large informal sector that is estimated to constitute 32% of nongovernmental employment as of 2002.

By far the largest area of the economy, both in terms of the number of businesses and jobs, is in commerce and small services. As of 2004, 58.9% of all establishments and 31.3% of all jobs in Sanaa belong to this category. Another major category is general administration, which only makes up 0.8% of employers but has 18.0% of workers, making it the second largest in that regard. Manufacturing is the third-largest category by both measures, with about 12% for both. Sanaa also has a higher concentration of hotels and restaurants than elsewhere in the country.

About 62% of jobs in Sanaa are working for private, locally owned enterprises, followed by state-owned enterprises which employ 31%. Waqfs, private foreign-owned companies, and private joint ventures make up the rest in that order, with none employing more than 2%.

Sanaa's economy is large compared to its population: as of 2004, it was home to only 9% of Yemen's population but 16% of the country's businesses and 22% of its formal-sector jobs. The average size of a business establishment in Sanaa is small, at 3.88 employees on average; however, this is higher than the national average of 2.87 and only Aden has a higher average of 6.88 employees. Between 1992 and 2006, 39% of all new formal-sector jobs in Yemen were created in Sanaa, along with 33% of new business establishments. In terms of jobs created, Sanaa is ahead of all other governorates in Yemen by a factor of three.