island in the Strait of Mandeb off the southwestern coast of Yemen, to which it belongs. A rocky volcanic island, lying just off the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, Perim is 5 square miles (13 square km) in area and rises as high as 214 feet (65 m). It has a harbour on the southwestern shore, and an airfield is in the north. Perim was visited by the Portuguese in 1513 and occupied by the French in 1738. The British occupied the island in 1799, but scarcity of water forced them to decamp to Aden; they returned in 1857 and established a coaling station. Perim's population expanded greatly thereafter but declined after the coaling station was abandoned in 1936. The island was incorporated into the British colony of Aden in 1937 and became part of independent Yemen (Aden) in 1967.