Society and Economy

he main sources for the local economy are fishing, pearl diving and small-scale agriculture. Exports go principally to the rest of Yemen, and include the butter calledghee, fish and frankincense. Despite its size, Socotra has nomads who live from their cattle and other animals, as well as doing some limited agriculture. 
The only city on Socotra of some size is Hadibu. Important villages include Suq and Qalansiyya. These 3 are on the north coast, while Mahattat Nujad lies on the south coast. Infrastructure is badly developed, and connections to mainland Yemen are very limited. There are weekly flights, but these are victims to unstable weather about 6 months a year.
The ethnic origin of the people of Socotra is not quite established. The Russian scholar Vitaly Naumkin concludes that the people are a mix, and that they became isolated from the rest of Arabia, from where they must have most of their origin, between 1000 and 500 BCE. In addition to this, traders passing through, Indians, Portuguese, British must have given their contributions too. The people living in the extreme east, have blue eyes, and are believed to be descendants of Europeans.