Conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
Conventional short form: East Timor
Local long form: Republika Demokratika Timor Lorosa'e [Tetum]; Republica Democratica de Timor-Leste [Portuguese]
Local short form: Timor Lorosa'e [Tetum]; Timor-Leste [Portuguese]
Former: Portuguese Timor
Area: 15,007 sq km
Capital: Dili
Administrative divisions:
13 administrative districts; Aileu, Ainaro, Baucau, Bobonaro (Maliana), Cova-Lima (Suai), Dili, Ermera, Lautem (Los Palos), Liquica, Manatuto, Manufahi (Same), Oecussi (Ambeno), Viqueque
Population: 1,062,777
note: other estimates range as low as 800,000 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 36.3% (male 196,293/female 189,956)
15-64 years: 60.6% (male 328,111/female 315,401)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 16,072/female 16,944) (2006 est.)
Median age:
Total: 20.8 years
male: 20.8 years
female: 20.7 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.08% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:
26.99 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate:
6.24 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio:
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Total: 45.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.03 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 39.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Total population: 66.26 years
male: 63.96 years
female: 68.67 years (2006 est.)
Ethnic groups:
Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian), Papuan, small Chinese minority
Religion: 91.4% Roman Catholic, 2.6% Protestant, 1.7% Muslim, 0.3% Hindu, 0.1% Buddhist.
Languages:
Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian, English
note: there are about 16 indigenous languages; Tetum, Galole, Mambae, and Kemak are spoken by significant numbers of people
Literacy:
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58.6%
Economy - overview:
In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of East Timor was laid waste by Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias, and 300,000 people were either forcibly transported or fled westward to West Timor. Over the next three years, however, a massive international program, manned by 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, led to substantial reconstruction in both urban and rural areas. By the end of 2005, most refugees either returned to Timor-Leste or resettled in Indonesia.
Non-petroleum GDP growth was held back in 2003 by extensive drought and the gradual winding down of the international presence but recovered somewhat in 2004. The country faces great challenges in continuing the rebuilding of infrastructure, strengthening the infant civil administration, and generating jobs for young people entering the work force.
The development of oil and gas resources in nearby waters has begun to supplement government revenues ahead of schedule and above expectations - the result of high petroleum prices - but the technology-intensive industry does little to create jobs for the unemployed, because there are no production facilities in Timor and the gas is to be piped to Australia. The parliament in June 2005 unanimously approved the creation of a Petroleum Fund to serve as a repository for all petroleum revenues and preserve the value of East Timor's petroleum wealth for future generations.
Australia and Timor-Leste have agreed to a share of the oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea, after much acrimony. The continental shelf adopted as the sea boundary by Australia with the agreement of the occupying Indonesian administration was never recognised by the colonial power, Portugal, and was disputed by the UN and the East Timorese Government. Under the internationally mid-point boundary the vast bulk of the oil and gas reserves would belong to Timor.
Unemployment rate:
50% estimated; note - unemployment in urban areas reached 20%; data do not include underemployed (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
42% (2003 est.)
Currency: US dollar (USD)
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; distinct rainy and dry seasons
Natural hazards: floods and landslides are common; earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical cyclones
Human Development Index Ranking: 158 (UNDP)
Major Industries: Coffee, rice, maize, oil and natural gas, logging, fisheries, spices, coconuts, cacao.
Sources: CIA Factbook, Oxfam
Updated on 14 February 2007.
