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| 1963 |
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| Founding of the National Liberation Front (NLF) in South Yemen. This party originally was an alliance of tribal groups and members of the radicalized urban population. Its ideology was pan-Arab, socialist, and anti-imperialist. From the time of a rural uprising in Radfan in 1963, the NLF was able to establish itself as the dominant political group in the countryside. | 1 |
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| 1964 |
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| British promise of independence to South Yemen by 1968. In Feb. 1966, the British reaffirmed this pledge and promised also to close their military base in Aden. | 2 |
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| 1966 |
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| Formation of the Federation for the Liberation of South Yemen (FLOSY), a brief alliance between the NLF and the Organization for the Liberation of the Occupied South. FLOSY's main goal was the independence of South Yemen. The NLF left the alliance at the end of 1966. | 3 |
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| 1967–86 |
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| Growth of the South Yemeni population from 1.5 million to 2.4 million. Aden was the biggest city and held some 350,000 inhabitants by the mid-1980s. About 38 percent of the total population was urban, and another 10 percent remained nomadic. | 4 |
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| 1967–80 |
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| Expansion of the educational system in South Yemen. The number of schools increased from 65,000 to 270,000. General literacy similarly improved from 20 percent to 40 percent of the population. | 5 |
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| 1967–73 |
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| Severe drought in North and South Yemen. | 6 |
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| 1967 |
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| During the summer and autumn, the NLF essentially seized power in the countryside and militarily defeated its main rival, FLOSY. On Nov. 6, negotiations began between Britain and the NLF over the terms of withdrawal. | 7 |
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| Nov. 5 |
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| A MILITARY COUP in North Yemen ousted Pres. Abdallah al-Sallal. Abd al-Rahman al-Iryani seized power as the new president. | 8 |
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| Nov. 29 |
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| Completion of British withdrawal from South Yemen. On the next day, THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF SOUTH YEMEN was founded. The first president was Qahtan al-Sha`bi, leader of the NLF. | 9 |
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| Dec. 28 |
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| Publication of South Yemen's first newspaper, al-Thawri. | 10 |
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