The Portuguese began to trade with the island of Timor in the early 16th century and colonized it in mid-century. Skirmishing with the Dutch in the region eventually resulted in an 1859 treaty in which Portugal ceded the western portion of the island. Imperial Japan occupied Timor-Leste from 1942 to 1945, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese defeat in World War II. Timor-Leste declared itself independent from Portugal on 28 November 1975 and was invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces nine days later. It was incorporated into Indonesia in July 1976 as the province of Timor-Leste. An unsuccessful campaign of pacification followed over the next two decades, during which an estimated 100,000 to 250,000 individuals lost their lives. On 30 August 1999, in a UN-supervised popular referendum, an overwhelming majority of the people of Timor-Leste voted for independence from Indonesia. Between the referendum and the arrival of a multinational peacekeeping force in late September 1999, anti-independence Timorese militias - organized and supported by the Indonesian military - commenced a large-scale, scorched-earth campaign of retribution. The militias killed approximately 1,400 Timorese and forcibly pushed 300,000 people into western Timor as refugees. The majority of the country's infrastructure, including homes, irrigation systems, water supply systems, and schools, and nearly 100% of the country's electrical grid were destroyed. On 20 September 1999 the Australian-led peacekeeping troops of the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) deployed to the country and brought the violence to an end. On 20 May 2002, Timor-Leste was internationally recognized as an independent state. A military strike led to violence and a near breakdown of law and order in late April 2006. Over 2,000 Australian, New Zealand, and Portuguese police and peacekeepers deployed to Timor-Leste in late May. Although many of the peacekeepers were replaced by UN police officers, 780 Australian soldiers remained as of November 2007.

Southeastern Asia, northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago; note - Timor-Leste includes the eastern half of the island of Timor, the Oecussi (Ambeno) region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the islands of Pulau Atauro and Pulau Jaco
8 50 S, 125 55 E
Southeast Asia
total: 15,007 sq km ; land: NA sq km ; water: NA sq km
slightly larger than Connecticut
total: 228 km ; border countries: Indonesia 228 km
706 km
territorial sea: 12 nm ; contiguous zone: 24 nm ; exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
tropical; hot, humid; distinct rainy and dry seasons
mountainous
lowest point: Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m ; highest point: Foho Tatamailau 2,963 m
gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble
arable land: 8.2% ; permanent crops: 4.57% ; other: 87.23% (2005)
1,065 sq km (est.)


floods and landslides are common; earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical cyclones
widespread use of slash and burn agriculture has led to deforestation and soil erosion
party to: Climate Change, Desertification
Timor comes from the Malay word for "East"; the island of Timor is part of the Malay Archipelago and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands
1,084,971 ; note: other estimates range as low as 800,000 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 35.7% (male 196,825/female 190,454) ; 15-64 years: 61.1% (male 337,816/female 325,094) ; 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 16,823/female 17,959) (2007 est.)
total: 21.1 years ; male: 21.2 years ; female: 21.1 years (2007 est.)
2.059% (2007 est.)
26.77 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.033 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 1.039 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.937 male(s)/female ; total population: 1.034 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 44.46 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 50.47 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 38.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 66.6 years ; male: 64.28 years ; female: 69.04 years (2007 est.)
3.45 children born/woman (2007 est.)
NA
NA
NA
noun: Timorese ; adjective: Timorese
Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian), Papuan, small Chinese minority
Roman Catholic 98%, Muslim 1%, Protestant 1% (2005)
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
definition: age 15 and over can read and write ; total population: 58.6% ; male: NA% ; female: NA% (2002)


conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste ; conventional short form: Timor-Leste ; 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: East Timor, Portuguese Timor
republic
name: Dili ; geographic coordinates: 8 35 S, 125 36 E ; time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
13 administrative districts; Aileu, Ainaro, Baucau, Bobonaro (Maliana), Cova-Lima (Suai), Dili, Ermera, Lautem (Los Palos), Liquica, Manatuto, Manufahi (Same), Oecussi (Ambeno), Viqueque

28 November 1975 (independence proclaimed from Portugal); note - 20 May 2002 is the official date of international recognition of Timor-Leste's independence from Indonesia
Independence Day, 28 November (1975)
22 March 2002 (based on the Portuguese model)
UN-drafted legal system based on Indonesian law remains in place but are to be replaced by civil and penal codes based on Portuguese law; these have passed but have not been promulgated; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
17 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Jose RAMOS-HORTA (since 20 May 2007); note - the president plays a largely symbolic role but is able to veto legislation, dissolve parliament, and call national elections ; head of government: Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana GUSMAO (since 8 August 2007), note - he formerly used the name Jose Alexandre GUSMAO; Deputy Prime Minister Jose Luis GUTERRES (since 8 August 2007) ; cabinet: Council of Ministers ; elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 9 April 2007 with run-off on 8 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2012); following elections, president appoints leader of majority party or majority coalition as prime minister ; election results: Jose RAMOS-HORTA elected president; percent of vote - Jose RAMOS-HORTA 69.2%, Francisco GUTTERES 30.8%
unicameral National Parliament (number of seats can vary from 52 to 65; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) ; elections: last held on 30 June 2007 (next elections to be held in June 2012) ; election results: percent of vote by party - FRETILIN 29%, CNRT 24.1%, ASDT-PSD 15.8%, PD 11.3%, PUN 4.5%, KOTA-PPT (Democratic Alliance) 3.2%, UNTERDIM 3.2%, others 8.9%; seats by party - FRETILIN 21, CNRT 18, ASDT-PSD 11, PD 8, PUN 3, KOTA-PPT 2, UNDERTIM 2
Supreme Court of Justice - constitution calls for one judge to be appointed by National Parliament and rest appointed by Superior Council for Judiciary; note - until Supreme Court is established, Court of Appeals is highest court
Democratic Party or PD [Fernando de ARAUJO]; National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction or CNRT [Xanana GUSMAO]; National Democratic Union of Timorese Resistance or UNDERTIM [Cornelio DA Conceicao GAMA]; National Unity Party or PUN [Fernanda BORGES]; People's Party of Timor or PPT [Jacob XAVIER]; Revolutionary Front of Independent Timor-Leste or FRETILIN [Mari ALKATIRI]; Social Democratic Association of Timor or ASDT [Francisco Xavier do AMARAL]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Mario CARRASCALAO]; Sons of the Mountain Warriors or KOTA [Manuel TILMAN] (also known as Association of Timorese Heroes)

ACP, ARF, AsDB, CPLP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO
red, with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a slightly longer yellow arrowhead that extends to the center of the flag; there is a white star in the center of the black triangle
chief of mission: Ambassador Nelson SANTOS ; chancery: 4201 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 ; telephone: 202 966-3202 ; FAX: 202 966-3205 ; consulate(s) general: New York
chief of mission: Ambassador Hans G. KLEMM ; embassy: Avenida de Portugal, Praia dos Conqueiros, Dili ; mailing address: US Department of State, 8250 Dili Place, Washington, DC 20521-8250 ; telephone: (670) 332-4684 ; FAX: (670) 331-3206





In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of Timor-Leste was laid waste by Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias. Three hundred thousand people fled westward. Over the next three years 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, refugees had returned or had settled in Indonesia. The country has faced 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. The technology-intensive industry, however, has done little to create jobs for the unemployed because there are no production facilities in Timor. Gas is 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 Timor-Leste's petroleum wealth for future generations. The Fund held assets of US$1.8 billion as of September 2007. The mid-2006 outbreak of violence and civil unrest disrupted both private and public sector economic activity and created 1.5 millon internally displaced persons. Real non-oil GDP growth in 2006 probably was negative. The underlying economic policy challenge the country faces remains how best to use oil-and-gas wealth to lift the non-oil economy onto a higher growth path and reduce poverty. In late 2007, the new government announced plans aimed at increasing spending, reducing poverty, and improving the country's infrastructure, but it continues to face capacity challenges.
$370 million (2004 est.)
$349 million (2005)
1.8% (2005 est.)
$800 (2005 est.)
agriculture: 8.5% ; industry: 23.1% ; services: 68.4% (2004)
NA
agriculture: NA% ; industry: NA% ; services: NA%
50% estimated; note - unemployment in urban areas reached 20%; data do not include underemployed (2001 est.)
42% (2003 est.)
lowest 10%: NA% ; highest 10%: NA%
38 (2002 est.)
1.4% (2005)

revenues: $733 million ; expenditures: $309 million ; note: the government passed a transitional budget to cover the latter half of 2007 and has moved the fiscal cycle to a calendar year, starting with the budget they passed for 2008 (FY06/07 est.)

coffee, rice, corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, soybeans, cabbage, mangoes, bananas, vanilla
printing, soap manufacturing, handicrafts, woven cloth
8.5% (2004 est.)
NA kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 100% ; hydro: 0% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
NA kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
94,420 bbl/day (2005)



0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
200 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

$10 million; note - excludes oil (2005 est.)
coffee, sandalwood, marble; note - potential for oil and vanilla exports
US, Germany, Portugal, Australia, Indonesia (2006)
$202 million (2004 est.)






$NA
US dollar (USD)
USD
the US dollar is used
calendar year
$184.7 million (2005 est.)
2,500 (2006)
49,100 (2006)
general assessment: rudimentary service limited to urban areas ; domestic: system suffered significant damage during the violence associated with independence; extremely limited fixed-line services; mobile-cellular services and coverage limited primarily to urban areas ; international: country code - 670; international service is available in major urban centers
at least 21 (Timor-Leste has one national public broadcaster and 20 community and church radio stations - frequency type NA)
NA
1 (Timor-Leste has one national public broadcaster)
NA
.tl; note - ICANN approved the change from .tp in January 2005
94 (2007)
NA
1,000 (2004)

8 (2007)
total: 3 ; 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 ; under 914 m: 1 (2007)
total: 5 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 3 ; under 914 m: 2 (2007)
9 (2007)


total: 6,040 km ; paved: 2,600 km ; unpaved: 3,440 km (2005)

by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2007)
Dili

Timor-Leste Defense Force (Forcas de Defesa de Timor-L'este, FDTL): Army, Navy (Armada) (2005)
18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)
males age 18-49: 235,198 ; females age 18-49: 223,069 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 179,422 ; females age 18-49: 184,533 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 12,740 ; females age 18-49: 12,438 (2005 est.)
NA

Timor-Leste-Indonesia Boundary Committee has resolved all but a small portion of the land boundary, but discussions on maritime boundaries are stalemated over sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Pulau Batek/Fatu Sinai in the north and alignment with Australian claims in the south; many refugees who left Timor-Leste in 2003 still reside in Indonesia and refuse repatriation; Australia and Timor-Leste agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for 50 years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty
IDPs: 150,000 (2006)
NA

