Timor-Leste

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Timor-Leste spends US$34 million on its military, or 1.8 percent of its GDP. This makes Timor-Leste the 155th highest military spender in the world and represents 0.002 percent of total global military expenditure.

Since its independence, Timor-Leste has started to invest in its military. It currently has an air force, ground forces and a navy. Most of its equipment is supplied by China while its training is provided by Australia, Portugal and Brazil.

Military membership

Timor-Leste is also a member of 2 international military organizations. This makes it the 188th most militarily connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Timor-Leste has not partaken in international wars.

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

In total, Timor-Leste is a member of 8 international political organizations. This makes it the 181st most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia
Community of Portuguese Language Countries
Interpol
Alliance of Small Island States
Association of World Election Bodies
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

It is the 55th most democratic state in the world. Despite having regular elections, peaceful transfers of power, and a separation between its branches, it has seen infringements on individual rights in regard to forced labour as well as allegations of abuse of power.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Timor-Leste take place in the form of a semi-presidential republic where the president is head of state and the Prime Minister is head of government. It has a clear separation of power between its judicial and legislative branch of government.

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Known for its scenery, its marine life and its white beaches, Timor-Leste, or East Timor has been independent since 2002. Before its contacts with Europeans, the island was mainly inhabited by the Melanesians which lived a hunter gatherer lifestyle. After coming into contact with European explorers at the start of the 16th century, the island came under full Portuguese control by 1520. In 1653, the Dutch took control over the western part of Timor as a result of a war between the Netherlands and Portugal. The eastern part of the island has seen several rebellions but remained under Portuguese control until the second world war. During the second world war, East Timor was occupied by the Dutch and the Australians which lost the territory to the Japanese until the end of the second World War when Japan surrendered. After the second world war, Portugal regained East Timor as its colony while the western portion of the island gained its independence from the Netherlands and became part of Indonesia. At the end of the 20th century, Portugal saw its own revolution which loosened control over East Timor. After allowing political parties and more self-rule, Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 until the end of the 20th century. After transferring the territory to the United Nations, East Timor gained its independence at the end of 2002. Since then, it has seen political unrest as well as a maritime border dispute with Australia over large oil and gas deposits.

Located in the in the Indonesian archipelago, the geography of East Timor consists of a central mountain range that runs from East to West and a low plane along its coast. Most of its terrain is covered by lightly forested areas with the exception of its mountain range which is densely forested. Aside from the eastern portion of the island, East Timor also has a small part of the western portion of the island as well and has a small island to its north called Atauro. It only borders Indonesia which lies to its west.

It is the 154th largest state with a total surface area of 14.994 square kilometers or 5.789 square miles. This makes Timor-Leste slightly smaller than the Bahamas and slightly larger than Eswatini.

It has a total water surface area of 270 square kilometers or 104 square miles. This makes Timor-Leste the 140th largest state in the world.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

It has numerous rivers throughout its territory. However, these rivers are not permanent and therefore it has no permanent bodies of water.

The climate of East Timor is a tropical climate which has a wet and a dry season. The average temperature is 24.6 degrees Celsius or 76 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes Timor-Leste the 70th warmest state in the world.

The average high temperature is 30.9 degrees Celsius or 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

The average low temperature is 23.9 degrees Celsius or 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

The majority of rainfall in Timor-Leste occurs during its rain season which is between December and April. On average, Timor-Leste receives 124.7 centimetres or 49.1 inches of rainfall per year which ranks it as the 72nd highest in the world.

The capital of Timor-Leste, Dili, is home to roughly 40,000 people. The closest capital is Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, with a distance of 1.895 kilometers or 1.177 miles. The capital that is the furthest removed is Paramaribo, Suriname, with a distance of 19.705 kilometers or 12.244 miles.

Before its independence, the economy of Timor-Leste has been a developing economy which had received low investment in its industry as well as its infrastructure. Since its independence, Timor-Leste has slowly started to transform itself into an average economy which has received a large investment in its infrastructure as well as large profits from its oil and gas reserves. Attempts to diversify its economy have a so far been unsuccessful. Most of the products that are exported are petroleum related products as well as coffee which are mainly exported to Indonesia and the United States which combined represent nearly 50 percent of all exports. Most of its imports comes from China and Indonesia which combined represent more than 55 percent of all imports.

Timor-Leste is a member of 9 international economic organizations. This makes it the 172nd most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
Asian Development Bank
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
Group of 77

It has a GDP of US$2.227 million, which makes it the 171st highest in the world and represents 0.0027 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per surface area is the 136th highest in the world with US$148.557 per square kilometer or US$384.778 per square mile.

Its GDP per capita is the 151st highest in the world with US$1.758.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power parity per capita is the 152nd highest in the world with US$4.247.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

Timor-Leste is the 154th most populous state in the world with a total population of 1.3 million people. The majority of its inhabitants are of Polynesian descent and speak Portuguese as well as Tetum.

It has the 98th highest population density in the world with 84 people per square kilometer or 218 people per square mile.

Nearly 40,000 people, or 3.3 percent of its population have migrated to other states. This makes Timor-Leste the 176th state with the highest number of emigrants and represents 0.016 percent of total global emigration. The main destination has been Indonesia which is solely responsible for 70 percent of all migrants. The main reason for migration has been economic as well as internal unrest.

0.5 percent of the population, or just over 5000 people have migrated to Timor-Leste. This makes Timor-Leste the 144th state with the highest number of immigrants and represents 0.002 percent of total global immigration. The main reason for emigration has been marriage or people that migrated due to investment opportunities.

Since its independence, the literacy rate in Timor-Leste has drastically increased. This is largely due to high investments as well as investments by other states that seek economic cooperation and provide teachers materials to teach other languages such as English and French.

The health care system has also made large strides over the last two decades. Due to large investments, child mortality has declined significantly along with communicable diseases such as malaria. Noncommunicable diseases, however, are still prevalent due to an unequal distribution between urban centers and rural districts which often lack healthcare. Other health risks are related to lifestyle choices with one of the highest smoking rates in the world. The average life expectancy is 70.2 years which is the 128th highest in the world. Women have an average life expectancy of 72.3 years, while men have an average life expectancy of 68.1 years.

The Constitution of East Timor provides freedom of religion towards all religions. In practice it is argued that the government of Timor-Leste has a favourable stance towards the Catholic church and has discriminated against religious minorities.

With 83.2 percent of the population adhering to Christianity, Timor-Leste is the 35th most Christian state in the world. More than 95 percent of Christians adhere to Catholicism with the remaining five percent adhering to Protestantism.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is represented by 0.1 percent of the population which makes Timor-Leste the 173rd most Islamic state in the world. The majority of Muslims in Timor-Leste adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam and are mainly descendants from Arab Muslims that have lived in East Timor for more than 1000 years.

Buddhism is represented by 0.03 percent of the population.

Hinduism is represented by 0.02 percent of the population and are mainly represented by Indonesian migrants from the island of Bali.

There are no official Jewish organizations in East Timor.

Other religions are represented by 0.1 percent of the population and mainly come from Chinese migrants as well as followers of the Baha'i faith. However, a large portion of the Christian population also adheres to indigenous religions such as animism.

Irreligion is represented by 0.02 percent of the population.