{{Short description|Country in Southeast Asia}} {{Redirect|East Timor|the former Indonesian province|East Timor (province)}} {{Good article}} {{pp-move|small=yes}} {{Use British English|date=December 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2026}} {{Infobox country | conventional_long_name = Democratic Republic of {{Nowrap|Timor-Leste}} | native_name = {{small|{{Name in various languages | name = {{nobold|''(in official languages)''}} | pt = {{lang|pt|República Democrática de Timor-Leste}} | tet = {{lang|tet|Repúblika Demokrátika Timór Lorosa'e}} }}}} | common_name = Timor-Leste | image_flag = Flag of East Timor.svg | image_coat = Coat of arms of East Timor.svg | symbol_type = [[National emblem of Timor-Leste|Emblem]] | national_motto = {{Native phrase|pt|Unidade, Acção, Progresso|nolink=on}}
"Unity, Action, Progress" | national_anthem = {{Native phrase|pt|[[Pátria]]|nolink=on}}
"Fatherland"{{Parabr}}{{Center|[[File:East Timorese national anthem.wav]]}} | image_map = {{Switcher|[[File:Timor_Leste_(orthographic_projection).svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show globe|[[File:Location Timor-Leste ASEAN.svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show ASEAN|default=1}} | map_width = 230px | map_caption = Location of Timor-Leste (green) toward the eastern end of the [[Malay Archipelago]] | image_map2 = | capital = [[Dili]] | coordinates = {{Coord|8.55|S|125.56|E|display=inline,title}} | largest_city = Dili | official_languages = {{Plainlist| * [[East Timorese Portuguese|Portuguese]] * [[Tetun language|Tetun]]}} | recognised_languages = {{Collapsible list|title='''15 [[national language]]s:'''|titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;| * [[Atauru language|Atauru]] * [[Uab Meto language|Baikeno]] * [[Bekais language|Bekais]] * [[Bunak language|Bunak]] * [[Fataluku language|Fataluku]] * [[Galoli language|Galoli]] * [[Habun language|Habun]] * [[Idalaka language|Idalaka]] * [[Kawaimina languages|Kawaimina]] * [[Kemak language|Kemak]] * [[Makalero dialect|Makalero]] * [[Makasae language|Makasae]] * [[Makuv'a language|Makuva]] * [[Mambai language (Timor)|Mambai]] * [[Tokodede]]}} {{Collapsible list|title='''2 [[working language]]s:'''|titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;| * [[English language|English]] * [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] }} | religion = {{Ublist |item_style=white-space:nowrap; |{{Tree list}} * 99.53% [[Christianity]] ** 97.57% [[Catholic Church in Timor-Leste|Catholicism]] ** 1.96% [[Protestantism]] {{Tree list/end}} |0.24% [[Islam]] |0.23% [[Religion in Timor-Leste|other]] }} | religion_year = 2015 census | religion_ref = {{Cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/3_2015-V2-Nationality-Citizenship-Religion.xls|title=Nationality, Citizenship, and Religion|date=25 October 2015|access-date=29 January 2020|publisher=Government of Timor-Leste|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714155507/http://www.statistics.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/3_2015-V2-Nationality-Citizenship-Religion.xls|archive-date=14 July 2019}} | demonym = {{Plainlist| * East Timorese * [[Demographics of Timor-Leste|Timorese]] * Maubere (informal){{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EEKDBAAAQBAJ&q=east+timor+maubere&pg=PA199|title=Rhetoric and the Decolonization and Recolonization of East Timor|first=David|last=Hicks|date=15 September 2014|publisher=Routledge|via=Google Books|isbn=9781317695356|access-date=12 October 2020|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152310/https://books.google.com/books?id=EEKDBAAAQBAJ&q=east+timor+maubere&pg=PA199|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WRpHAAAAQBAJ&q=east+timor+maubere&pg=PA281|title=No Return, No Refuge: Rites and Rights in Minority Repatriation|first=Howard|last=Adelman|date=28 June 2011|publisher=Columbia University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=9780231526906|access-date=12 October 2020|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152323/https://books.google.com/books?id=WRpHAAAAQBAJ&q=east+timor+maubere&pg=PA281|url-status=live}}}} | government_type = Unitary [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential republic]]{{Cite journal |last=Shoesmith |first=Dennis |date=2003 |title=Timor-Leste: Divided Leadership in a Semi-Presidential System |url=http://espace.cdu.edu.au/view/cdu:1248 |journal=[[Asian Survey]] |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=231–252 |doi=10.1525/as.2003.43.2.231 |quote=The semi-presidential system in the new state of Timor-Leste has institutionalized a political struggle between the president, Xanana Gusmão, and the prime minister, Mari Alkatiri. This has polarized political alliances and threatens the viability of the new state. This paper explains the ideological divisions and the history of rivalry between these two key political actors. The adoption of Marxism by Fretilin in 1977 led to Gusmão's repudiation of the party in the 1980s and his decision to remove Falintil, the guerrilla movement, from Fretilin control. The power struggle between the two leaders is then examined in the transition to independence. This includes an account of the politicization of the defense and police forces and attempts by Minister of Internal Administration Rogério Lobato to use disaffected Falintil veterans as a counterforce to the Gusmão loyalists in the army. The December 4, 2002, Dili riots are explained in the context of this political struggle. |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414231057/http://espace.cdu.edu.au/view/cdu:1248 |url-status=live |issn = 0004-4687 |url-access=subscription }} | leader_title1 = [[President of Timor-Leste|President]] | leader_name1 = [[José Ramos-Horta]] | leader_title2 = [[Prime Minister of Timor-Leste|Prime Minister]] | leader_name2 = [[Xanana Gusmão]] | legislature = [[National Parliament of Timor-Leste|National Parliament]] | sovereignty_type = [[History of Timor-Leste|Independence]] | sovereignty_note = from [[Portuguese Empire|Portugal]] and [[Indonesia]] | established_event1 = [[Democratic Republic of East Timor (1975–1976)|Independence declared]] | established_date1 = [[Proclamation of Independence day|28 November 1975]] | established_event2 = [[United Nations–administered East Timor|Administered]] by [[United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor|UNTAET]] | established_date2 = 25 October 1999 | established_event3 = [[East Timor independence|Independence restored]] | established_date3 = 20 May 2002 | area_km2 = 15,007{{Cite web|url=http://www.easttimorgovernment.com/geography.htm|title=East Timor Geography|website=www.easttimorgovernment.com}} | area_rank = 154th | area_sq_mi = 5,752.922 | percent_water = Negligible | population_estimate = 1,434,991 | population_census = 1,341,737{{Cite web|url=https://inetl-ip.gov.tl/2023/05/18/main-report-timor-leste-population-and-housing-census-2022/|title=Main Report Timor-Leste Population and Housing Census 2022|date=18 May 2023|accessdate=3 October 2025|publisher=[[Instituto Nacional de Estatística de Timor-Leste]]}} | population_census_year = 2022 | population_density_km2 = 94 | population_density_sq_mi = | population_density_rank = 120th | population_estimate_rank = 153rd | population_estimate_year = 2026 | GDP_PPP = {{Increase}} $6.970 billion{{Cite web |title=World Economic Outlook Database |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april |language=en |date=April 2025}} | GDP_PPP_year = 2025 | GDP_PPP_rank = 169th | GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{Increase}} $4,920 | GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 152nd | GDP_nominal = {{Increase}} $2.120 billion | GDP_nominal_rank = 176th | GDP_nominal_year = 2025 | GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{Increase}} $1,490 | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 157th | Gini = 28.7 | Gini_year = 2014 | Gini_change = Steady | Gini_ref = {{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/gini-index-coefficient-distribution-of-family-income/country-comparison/ |title=Gini Index coefficient |publisher=CIA World Factbook |access-date=16 July 2021 |archive-date=17 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717071854/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/gini-index-coefficient-distribution-of-family-income/country-comparison |url-status=dead }} | HDI = 0.634 | HDI_year = 2023 | HDI_change = steady | HDI_ref = {{Cite web |date=13 March 2024 |title=HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2023-24 |url=http://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf |website=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |pages=274–277 |language=en}} | HDI_rank = 142nd | currency = {{ubl| *[[United States dollar]] *[[Timor-Leste centavo coins|Timor-Leste centavo]] }} | currency_code = USD | time_zone = [[Time in Timor-Leste|Timor-Leste Time]] | utc_offset = +9 | utc_offset_DST = | time_zone_DST = | drives_on = Left | calling_code = [[+670]] | iso3166code = TL | cctld = [[.tl]]{{Efn|name=tp|Former use of [[.tp]] has been phased out.{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.com/2015/03/04/east_timor_was_officially_removed_from_the_internet_yesterday/ |title=East Timor was officially removed from the internet yesterday |author=Kieren McCarthy |work=The Register |date=4 March 2015 |access-date=27 December 2025}}}} | country_code = | today = }} '''Timor-Leste''',{{Efn|{{IPAc-en|,|t|iː|m|ɔːr|ˈ|l|ɛ|s|t|eɪ|,_|-|l|E|s|t}}, {{Respell|TEE|mor|LESS|tay}};{{Cite dictionary |title=Timor-Leste |dictionary=[[Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/timor-leste |access-date=12 October 2024}}{{Cite web |title=Timor-Leste |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/timor-leste/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260117025949/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/timor-leste/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 January 2026 |website=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=12 October 2024 |language=en |date=3 October 2024 |quote=TEE-mor LESS-tay}} {{IPA|pt|tiˈmoɾ ˈlɛʃtɨ}}}} also known as '''East Timor''',{{Efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-East Timor.ogg|ˈ|t|iː|m|ɔːr}}, {{Respell|TEE|mor}}}} officially the '''Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste''',{{efn|{{native name|pt|República Democrática de Timor-Leste}}; {{native name|tet|Repúblika Demokrátika Timór Lorosa'e}}}} is a country in [[Southeast Asia]]. It comprises the eastern half of the island of [[Timor]], the coastal [[exclave]] of [[Oecusse]] in the island's northwest, and the islands of [[Atauro Island|Atauro]] and [[Jaco Island|Jaco]], for a total land area of {{Convert|15,007|km2|sqmi}}. Timor-Leste shares a land border with [[Indonesia]] to [[West Timor|the west]]; [[Australia]] is the country's southern neighbour, across the [[Timor Sea]]. [[Dili]], on the north coast of Timor, is its capital and largest city. Timor was settled over time by various [[Indigenous people of New Guinea|Papuan]] and [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] peoples, which created a diverse mix of cultures and languages linked to Southeast Asia and [[Melanesia]]. East Timor came under [[Portugal|Portuguese]] influence in the sixteenth century, remaining a [[Portuguese Timor|Portuguese colony]] until 1975. Internal conflict preceded a unilateral declaration of independence and an [[Indonesian invasion of East Timor|Indonesian invasion]] and [[East Timor (province)|annexation]]. The subsequent Indonesian [[Indonesian occupation of East Timor|occupation]] was characterised by extreme abuses of human rights, including torture and massacres, a series of events named the [[East Timor genocide]]. Resistance continued throughout Indonesian rule and in 1999, a [[United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor|United Nations–sponsored]] act of [[self-determination]] led Indonesia to relinquish control of the territory. On 20 May 2002, Timor-Leste became the first new [[sovereign state]] of the 21st century. That same year, [[Indonesia–Timor-Leste relations|relations with Indonesia]] were established and normalised, with Indonesia also supporting Timor-Leste's [[Accession of Timor-Leste to ASEAN|accession]] into [[ASEAN]]. The national government is a [[presidential republic|semi-presidential system]], with the popularly elected [[President of Timor-Leste|president]] sharing power with a [[Prime Minister of Timor-Leste|prime minister]] appointed by the [[National Parliament (Timor-Leste)|National Parliament]]. Power is centralised under the national government, although many local leaders have informal influence. The country maintains a policy of international cooperation and is a member of the [[Community of Portuguese Language Countries]] and [[ASEAN]], and is an observer of the [[Pacific Islands Forum]]. The country remains relatively poor, with an [[Economy of Timor-Leste|economy]] that relies heavily on natural resources, especially oil, and foreign aid. The [[Demographics of Timor-Leste|total population]] is over 1.34 million at the 2022 census, and is heavily skewed towards young people because of a high fertility rate. Education has led to increasing literacy over the past half-century, especially in the two official languages of [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[Tetum language|Tetum]]. High ethnic and linguistic diversity is reflected by the [[Languages of Timor-Leste|30 indigenous languages]] spoken in the country. Most of the population practices [[Catholic Church in Timor-Leste|Roman Catholicism]], which coexists alongside strong local traditions and beliefs, especially in rural areas. == Name == "Timor" is derived from {{lang|ms|{{linktext|timur}}}}, meaning {{gloss|east}} in [[Malay language|Malay]], thus resulting in a [[tautological place name]] meaning {{gloss|East East}}. In [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], this results in the name {{lang|id|Timor Timur}} (the name of the [[East Timor (province)|former ''de facto'' Indonesian province]]; {{lang|id|Timor Leste}} is used instead to refer to the country). In Portuguese, the country is called {{lang|pt|Timor-Leste}} ({{lang|pt|Leste}} meaning {{gloss|east}}). In [[Tetum language|Tetum]], it is {{lang|tet|Timór Lorosa'e}} ({{wikt-lang|tet|lorosa'e}} means "east", [[Literal translation|literally translated]] as {{gloss|where the sun rises}}).{{cite journal |author1=Amy Ochoa Carson |title=East Timor's Land Tenure Problems: A Consideration of Land Reform Programs in South Africa and Zimbabwe |journal=Indiana International & Comparative Law Review |date=2007 |volume=17 |issue=2 |page=395 |doi=10.18060/17554 |url=https://mckinneylaw.iu.edu/iiclr/pdf/vol17p395.pdf |access-date=24 October 2022 |archive-date=27 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327234251/https://mckinneylaw.iu.edu/iiclr/pdf/vol17p395.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=https://tetun.org/|title=lorosa'e|website=Tetun.org|access-date=28 May 2021|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507181507/https://tetun.org/|url-status=live}} The official names under its constitution are "Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste" in English,{{cite web|title=Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste|url=http://timor-leste.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Constitution_RDTL_ENG.pdf|website=Government of Timor-Leste|access-date=2 September 2016|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221151231/http://timor-leste.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Constitution_RDTL_ENG.pdf|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/26th-gegn-docs/WP/WP54_UNGEGN%20WG%20Country%20Names%20Document%202011.pdf|title=UNGEGN list of country names|date=2–6 May 2011|access-date=14 August 2016|publisher=[[United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names]]|archive-date=11 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811023432/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/26th-gegn-docs/WP/WP54_UNGEGN%20WG%20Country%20Names%20Document%202011.pdf|url-status=live}} "{{lang|pt|República Democrática de Timor-Leste}}" in Portuguese,{{cite web|title=Constituição da República Democrática de Timor|url=http://timor-leste.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Constituicao_RDTL_PT.pdf|website=Government of Timor-Leste|access-date=2 September 2016|archive-date=14 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114050305/http://timor-leste.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Constituicao_RDTL_PT.pdf|url-status=live}} and "{{lang|tet|Repúblika Demokrátika Timór-Leste}}" in Tetum.{{cite web|title= Konstituisaun Repúblika Demokrátika Timór-Leste|url= http://timor-leste.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Constituicao_RDTL_TT.pdf|website= Government of Timor-Leste|access-date= 2 September 2016|archive-date= 17 May 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170517092735/http://timor-leste.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Constituicao_RDTL_TT.pdf|url-status= live}} The official short form of the name is "Timor-Leste", and it uses the [[ISO 3166-1|ISO codes]] TLS and TL.{{cite web |url=https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:code:3166:TL |title=TL |publisher=ISO |access-date=24 October 2022 |archive-date=17 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617031837/https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:code:3166:TL |url-status=live }} == History == {{main|History of Timor-Leste}} ===Prehistory and Classical era=== {{Main|Pre-colonial Timor}} Cultural remains at [[Jerimalai]] on the eastern tip of Timor-Leste have been dated to 42,000 years ago.{{Cite journal |last1=Marwick |first1=Ben |last2=Clarkson |first2=Chris |last3=O'Connor |first3=Sue |last4=Collins |first4=Sophie |date=2016 |title=Early Modern Human Lithic Technology from Jerimalai, East Timor |url=http://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/4268 |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |type=Submitted manuscript |volume=101 |pages=45–64 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.09.004 |pmid=27886810 |bibcode=2016JHumE.101...45M |access-date=16 October 2018 |archive-date=27 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827010511/http://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/4268/ |url-status=live }} The first known inhabitants are those who arrived during the [[Australo-Melanesian]] migration through the region, likely bringing the precursors to today's [[Papuan languages]].{{Cite journal |last1=Gomes |first1=Sibylle M. |last2=Bodner |first2=Martin |last3=Souto |first3=Luis |last4=Zimmermann |first4=Bettina |last5=Huber |first5=Gabriela |last6=Strobl |first6=Christina |last7=Röck |first7=Alexander W. |last8=Achilli |first8=Alessandro |last9=Olivieri |first9=Anna |last10=Torroni |first10=Antonio |last11=Côrte-Real |first11=Francisco |last12=Parson |first12=Walther |date=14 February 2015 |title=Human settlement history between Sunda and Sahul: a focus on East Timor (Timor-Leste) and the Pleistocenic mtDNA diversity |journal=BMC Genomics |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=2, 14 |doi=10.1186/s12864-014-1201-x |issn=1471-2164 |pmc=4342813 |pmid=25757516 |doi-access=free }} A later migration of [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]]-speakers is suspected, although no such languages remain.{{Cite journal |last1=Oliveira |first1=Sandra |last2=Nägele |first2=Kathrin |last3=Carlhoff |first3=Selina |last4=Pugach |first4=Irina |last5=Koesbardiati |first5=Toetik |last6=Hübner |first6=Alexander |last7=Meyer |first7=Matthias |last8=Oktaviana |first8=Adhi Agus |last9=Takenaka |first9=Masami |last10=Katagiri |first10=Chiaki |last11=Murti |first11=Delta Bayu |last12=Putri |first12=Rizky Sugianto |last13=Mahirta |last14=Petchey |first14=Fiona |last15=Higham |first15=Thomas |date=9 June 2022 |title=Ancient genomes from the last three millennia support multiple human dispersals into Wallacea |journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution |language=en |volume=6 |issue=7 |pages=1024–1034 |doi=10.1038/s41559-022-01775-2 |pmid=35681000 |pmc=9262713 |bibcode=2022NatEE...6.1024O |issn=2397-334X}}{{Cite book |author=Truman Simanjuntak |url=http://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/terra-australis/new-perspectives-southeast-asian-and-pacific-prehistory-terra |title=New Perspectives in Southeast Asian and Pacific Prehistory |date=24 March 2017 |publisher=ANU Press |isbn=978-1-76046-094-5 |editor-last=Piper |editor-first=Philip |edition=1st |doi=10.22459/ta45.03.2017 |editor-last2=Matsumura |editor-first2=Hirofumi |editor-last3=Bulbeck |editor-first3=David |chapter=The Western Route Migration: A Second Probable Neolithic Diffusion to Indonesia |chapter-url=https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n2320/pdf/ch11.pdf |access-date=13 January 2023 |archive-date=2 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602120340/https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/terra-australis/new-perspectives-southeast-asian-and-pacific-prehistory-terra |url-status=live |doi-access=free }} The arrival of [[Austronesian peoples]] brought [[Austronesian languages|new languages]], and merged with existing cultures on the island.{{Cite journal |last=O'Connor |first=Sue |date=15 October 2015 |title=Rethinking the Neolithic in Island Southeast Asia, with Particular Reference to the Archaeology of Timor‑Leste and Sulawesi |journal=Archipel |volume=90 |issue=90 |pages=15–47 |doi=10.4000/archipel.362 |s2cid=204467392 |issn=0044-8613 |doi-access=free }} Timorese origin myths recount settlers sailing around the eastern end of the island before landing in the south. These people are sometimes noted as being from the [[Malay Peninsula]] or the [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]] highlands of [[Sumatra]].{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Jean Gelman|title=Indonesia: Peoples and Histories|url=https://archive.org/details/indonesia00jean|url-access=registration|pages=[https://archive.org/details/indonesia00jean/page/378 378]|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2003|location= New Haven and London|isbn=978-0-300-10518-6}} Austronesian migration to Timor may be associated with the development of agriculture on the island.{{cite journal |last1=Donohue |first1=Mark |last2=Denham |first2=Tim |title=Farming and Language in Island Southeast Asia Reframing Austronesian History |journal=Current Anthropology |date=April 2010 |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=223–256 |doi=10.1086/650991 |s2cid=4815693 |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/650991 |access-date=24 October 2022 |archive-date=4 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804043702/http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/650991 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} While information is limited about the political system of Timor during this period, the island had developed an interconnected series of polities governed by customary law. Small communities, centred around a particular sacred house, were part of wider ''sucos'' (or principalities), which were themselves part of larger kingdoms led by a ''liurai''. Authority within these kingdoms was held by [[Dyad (sociology)|two individuals]], with the worldly power of the ''liurai'' balanced by the spiritual power of a ''rai nain'', who was generally associated with the primary sacred house of the kingdom. These polities were numerous and saw shifting alliances and relations, but many were stable enough that they survived from initial European documentation in the 16th century until the end of Portuguese rule.{{rp|11–15}} From perhaps the thirteenth century, the island exported [[sandalwood]],{{rp|267}} which was valued both for its use in crafting and as a source of perfume. Timor was included in Southeast Asian, Chinese, and Indian trading networks by the fourteenth century, exporting sandalwood,{{cite book|last=Schwarz|first=A.|year=1994|title=A Nation in Waiting: Indonesia in the 1990s|page=[https://archive.org/details/nationinwaitingi00schw/page/198 198–199]|publisher=Westview Press|isbn=978-1-86373-635-0|url=https://archive.org/details/nationinwaitingi00schw/page/198}} honey, and wax. The island was recorded by the [[Majapahit]] Empire as a source of tribute.{{cite book |last1=Paulino |first1=Vincente |editor1-last=Jarnagin |editor1-first=Laura |title=Culture and Identity in the Luso-Asian World |date=2011 |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |isbn=9789814345507 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4A_RzBG4DjIC&pg=PA88 |chapter=Remembering the Portuguese Presence in Timor and its Contribution to the Making of Timor's National and Cultural Identity |access-date=9 October 2022 |archive-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009025549/https://books.google.com/books?id=4A_RzBG4DjIC&pg=PA88 |url-status=live }}{{rp|89}} It was sandalwood that attracted European explorers to the island in the early sixteenth century. Early European presence was limited to trade,{{citation|last1=Leibo|first1=Steven|title=East and Southeast Asia 2012|place=Lanham, MD|publisher=Stryker Post|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781610488853/page/161 161–165]|year=2012|edition=45|isbn=978-1-6104-8885-3|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781610488853/page/161}} with the first Portuguese settlement being on the nearby island of [[Solor]].{{rp|90}} === Portuguese era (1769–1975) === {{Main|Portuguese Timor}} [[File:Planta de Cailacao (1727), Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Black, red and white hand-drawn illustration showing a battle between Portuguese forces and their allies against an army of rebelling kingdoms|The [[Battle of Cailaco]] in 1726, part of a rebellion]] Early Portuguese presence on Timor was very limited; trade was directed through Portuguese settlements on nearby islands. Only in the 17th century did they establish a more direct presence on the island, a consequence of being driven out of other islands by the Dutch.{{rp|267}} After Solor was lost in 1613, the Portuguese moved to [[Flores]]. In 1646, the capital moved to [[Kupang]] on Timor's west, before Kupang too was lost to the Dutch in 1652. The Portuguese then moved to [[Lifau]], in what is now Timor-Leste's [[Oecusse]] exclave.{{rp|90}} Effective European occupation in the east of the island only began in 1769, when the city of [[Dili]] was founded, although actual control remained highly limited.{{cite web|url=http://www.lusotopie.sciencespobordeaux.fr/carneiroSousa.rtf|title=The Portuguese Colonization and the Problem of East Timorese Nationalism|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123193421/http://www.lusotopie.sciencespobordeaux.fr/carneiroSousa.rtf|archive-date=23 November 2006}} A definitive [[Indonesia–Timor-Leste border|border]] between the Dutch and Portuguese parts of the island was established by the [[Permanent Court of Arbitration]] in 1914 and remains the international boundary between the successor states Indonesia and Timor-Leste, respectively.{{Cite book |last=Deeley |first=Neil |title=The International Boundaries of East Timor |year=2001 |pages=8}} For the Portuguese, East Timor remained little more than a neglected trading post, with minimal investment in infrastructure and education, until the late nineteenth century. Even when Portugal established actual control over the interior of its colony, investment remained minimal.{{rp|269, 273}} Sandalwood continued to be the main export crop and coffee exports became significant in the mid-nineteenth century.{{cite journal |last1=Villiers |first1=John |title=The Vanishing Sandalwood of Portuguese Timor |journal=Itinerario |date=July 1994 |volume=18 |issue=2 |doi=10.1017/S0165115300022518 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/itinerario/article/abs/vanishing-sandalwood-of-portuguese-timor/29971F19F8EDC85DF7D8F866EA3DEA13 |pages=89–93 |s2cid=162012899 |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023111224/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/itinerario/article/abs/vanishing-sandalwood-of-portuguese-timor/29971F19F8EDC85DF7D8F866EA3DEA13 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} At the beginning of the twentieth century, a faltering domestic economy prompted the Portuguese to extract greater wealth from its colonies, which was met with East Timorese resistance. The colony was seen as an economic burden during the [[Great Depression]] and received little support or management from Portugal.{{rp|269}} During World War II, Dili was occupied by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in 1941, and later by the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] beginning in 1942. The mountainous interior of the colony became the scene of a [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla campaign]], known as the [[Battle of Timor (1942–43)|Battle of Timor]]. Waged by East Timorese volunteers and Allied forces against the Japanese, the struggle killed between 40,000 and 70,000 East Timorese civilians.{{cite web|url=http://www.defence.gov.au/army/asnce/history.htm|title=Department of Defence (Australia), 2002, "A Short History of East Timor"|access-date=3 January 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060103133824/http://www.defence.gov.au/army/asnce/history.htm|archive-date=3 January 2006 }} {{Retrieved|access-date=3 January 2007}} The Japanese eventually drove the last of the Australian and Allied forces out in early 1943.{{cite web |url=https://museum.wa.gov.au/debt-of-honour/operations-and-evacuation-24th |title=Operations and Evacuation of the 2/4th |publisher=Western Australian Museum |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023150750/https://museum.wa.gov.au/debt-of-honour/operations-and-evacuation-24th |url-status=live }} Portuguese control resumed, however, after Japanese surrender at the end of World War II.{{cite journal |last1=Levi |first1=Werner |title=Portuguese Timor and the War |journal=Far Eastern Survey |date=17 July 1946 |volume=15 |issue=14 |pages=221–223 |doi=10.2307/3023062 |jstor=3023062 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3023062 |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023150749/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3023062 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} Portugal began investment in the colony in the 1950s, funding education and promoting coffee exports, but the economy did not improve substantially and infrastructure improvements were limited.{{rp|269}} Yearly growth rates remained low, near 2%.{{Cite web |url=http://www.timor-leste.gov.tl/AboutTimorleste/history.htm |title=About Timor-Leste > Brief History of Timor-Leste: A History |website=Timor-Leste.gov.tl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029065300/http://www.timor-leste.gov.tl/AboutTimorleste/history.htm |archive-date=29 October 2008}} The formation of political parties and debates about independence following the [[Carnation Revolution|1974 Portuguese revolution]] led to [[East Timorese civil war|a civil war]] in 1975. The small Portuguese administration fled, unable to reassert control.{{cite journal |author1=Stephen Hoadley |title=East Timor: Civil War — Causes and Consequences |journal=Southeast Asian Affairs |year=1976 |publisher=ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute |jstor=27908293 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27908293 |pages=413–416}} The [[Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor]] (Fretilin) resisted a [[Timorese Democratic Union]] (UDT) coup attempt in August 1975,{{cite book|last=Ricklefs|first=M. C.|title=A History of Modern Indonesia since c.1300, Second Edition|publisher=MacMillan|year=1991|page=301|isbn=978-0-333-57689-2}} and [[East Timorese declaration of independence|unilaterally declared independence]] on 28 November 1975. Fearing a communist state within the Indonesian Archipelago, the Indonesian military launched an [[Indonesian invasion of East Timor|invasion of East Timor]] on 7 December 1975.Jardine, pp. 50–51. Indonesia declared [[East Timor (province)|East Timor its 27th province]] on 17 July 1976.{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.east-timor.org/AboutTimorleste/distt.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321012746/http://www.gov.east-timor.org/AboutTimorleste/distt.htm|archive-date=21 March 2012|title=Official Web Gateway to the Government of Timor-Leste – Districts|publisher=Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste|access-date=16 July 2011}} The [[United Nations Security Council]] opposed the invasion, and the territory's nominal status in the UN remained as "non-self-governing territory under Portuguese administration".{{cite web |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/timor-leste/chega-report-commission-reception-truth-and-reconciliation-timor-leste |title=Chega! The report of the commission for reception, truth, and reconciliation Timor-Leste |publisher=reliefweb |date=28 November 2005 |access-date=24 October 2022 |archive-date=24 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024121045/https://reliefweb.int/report/timor-leste/chega-report-commission-reception-truth-and-reconciliation-timor-leste |url-status=live }} === Indonesian occupation (1975–1999) === {{main|Indonesian occupation of East Timor|East Timor (province)}} [[File:East Timor Demo.jpg|thumb|alt=Protestors holding a sign saying "Indonesia out of East Timor NOW"|A demonstration for [[Indonesian occupation of East Timor|independence from Indonesia]] held in Australia during September 1999]] [[Fretilin]] resisted the invasion, initially as an army, holding territory until November 1978, and then as a guerrilla resistance.{{cite journal |last1=Niner |first1=Sarah |title=A long journey of resistance: The origins and struggle of the CNRT |journal=Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars |date=2000 |volume=32 |issue=1–2 |pages=11–18 |doi=10.1080/14672715.2000.10415775 |s2cid=147535429 |issn=0007-4810|doi-access=free }} The [[Indonesian occupation of East Timor|Indonesian occupation]] of Timor was marked by violence and brutality. A detailed statistical report prepared for the [[Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor]] cited a minimum of 102,800 conflict-related deaths in the period between 1974 and 1999, including approximately 18,600 killings and 84,200 [[excess death]]s from hunger and illness. The total number of conflict-related deaths during this period is difficult to determine due to a lack of data. One estimate based on Portuguese, Indonesian, and Catholic Church data suggests it may have been as high as 200,000.{{cite web|author=Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group|title=The Profile of Human Rights Violations in Timor-Leste, 1974–1999|work=A Report to the Commission on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation of Timor-Leste|publisher=Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG)|date=9 February 2006|url=https://hrdag.org/content/timorleste/Benetech-Report-to-CAVR.pdf|pages=2–4|archive-date=23 December 2022|access-date=26 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221223050311/https://hrdag.org/content/timorleste/Benetech-Report-to-CAVR.pdf|url-status=live}} Repression and restrictions counteracted improvements in health and education infrastructure and services, meaning there was little overall improvement in living standards; economic growth mostly benefited immigrants from elsewhere in Indonesia.{{rp|271}} A huge expansion of education was intended to increase Indonesian language use and internal security as much as it was for development.{{cite web |last1=Lutz |first1=Nancy Melissa |title=Colonization, Decolonization and Integration: Language Policies in East Timor, Indonesia |url=http://www.ci.uc.pt/timor/language.htm |publisher=Australian National University |date=20 November 1991 |access-date=8 October 2022 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531134124/http://www.ci.uc.pt/timor/language.htm |url-status=live }} The [[Santa Cruz massacre|1991 massacre]] of more than 200 demonstrators by the Indonesian military was a turning point for the independence cause, and brought increased international pressure on Indonesia. Following the [[Fall of Suharto|resignation of Indonesian President Suharto]], the new President [[B. J. Habibie|BJ Habibie]], prompted by a letter from Australian [[Prime Minister John Howard]], decided to hold a referendum on independence.{{Cite news |date=15 November 2008 |title=Howard pushed me on E Timor referendum: Habibie |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-11-16/howard-pushed-me-on-e-timor-referendum-habibie/207044 |access-date=8 June 2022 |archive-date=8 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608022946/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-11-16/howard-pushed-me-on-e-timor-referendum-habibie/207044 |url-status=live }} A UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia and Portugal allowed for a UN-supervised popular [[East Timorese independence referendum, 1999|referendum]] in August 1999. A clear vote for independence was met with [[1999 East Timorese crisis|a punitive campaign of violence]] by East Timorese [[pro-Indonesia militia|pro-integration militias]] supported by elements of the Indonesian military. In response, the Indonesian government allowed a multinational peacekeeping force, [[International Force East Timor|INTERFET]], to restore order and aid East Timorese refugees and internally displaced persons.{{cite book |author1=United States Congress House Committee on International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific |author2=United States Congress Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs |title=East Timor: A New Beginning? : Joint Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, and the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixth Congress, Second Session, February 10, 2000 |date=2000 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=51–53 |isbn=9780160607820 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F17CxTFCY_MC&q=philippines+active+United+Nations+Transitional+Administration+in+East+Timor+peace&pg=PA51 |access-date=26 July 2020 |language=en |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152324/https://books.google.com/books?id=F17CxTFCY_MC&q=philippines+active+United+Nations+Transitional+Administration+in+East+Timor+peace&pg=PA51 |url-status=live }} On 25 October 1999, the administration of East Timor was taken over by the UN through the [[United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor]] (UNTAET).{{Cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2013/08/one-mans-legacy-in-east-timor/|title=One Man's Legacy in East Timor|website=thediplomat.com|access-date=30 May 2020|archive-date=20 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620025609/https://thediplomat.com/2013/08/one-mans-legacy-in-east-timor/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/peace/etimor/etimor.htm|title=United Nations Transitional Administration In East Timor – UNTAET|publisher=United Nations|access-date=17 July 2011|archive-date=13 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213015403/http://www.un.org/peace/etimor/etimor.htm|url-status=live}} INTERFET deployment ended in February 2000 with the transfer of military command to the UN.{{cite web|author=Etan/Us|url=http://www.etan.org/et2000a/february/13-19/14untake.htm|title=UN takes over East Timor command|publisher=Etan.org|date=15 February 2000|access-date=17 July 2011|archive-date=10 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610133207/http://www.etan.org/et2000a/february/13-19/14untake.htm|url-status=live}} === Contemporary era === {{See also|Timor-Leste independence|United Nations–administered East Timor}} [[File:Präsidentschaftswalhkampf JRH 2007.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.6|alt=José Ramos-Horta in traditional formal wear talking to reporters|[[José Ramos-Horta]], 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner, fourth and seventh president of Timor-Leste]] On 30 August 2001, the East Timorese voted in their first election organised by the UN to elect members of the Constituent Assembly.{{Cite press release |title=Council Endorses Proposal to Declare East Timor's Independence 20 May 2002 |date=31 October 2001 |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2001/sc7192.doc.htm |access-date=2 September 2016 |author=Security Council |website=United Nations |archive-date=14 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914205142/https://www.un.org/press/en/2001/sc7192.doc.htm |url-status=live }} On 22 March 2002, the Constituent Assembly approved the Constitution. By May 2002, more than 205,000 refugees had returned.{{cite web|title=East Timor: More than 1,000 refugees return since beginning of month|url=http://reliefweb.int/report/timor-leste/east-timor-more-1000-refugees-return-beginning-month|publisher=ReliefWeb|access-date=13 February 2013|date=10 May 2002|archive-date=22 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022132121/http://reliefweb.int/report/timor-leste/east-timor-more-1000-refugees-return-beginning-month|url-status=live}} On 20 May 2002, the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste came into force and Timor-Leste was [[East Timor independence|recognised as independent]] by the UN.{{cite web|title=Constitution of the Democratic Republic of East Timor|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/3dd8dd484.html|website=refworld|date=20 May 2002|access-date=2 September 2016|archive-date=23 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423170236/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3dd8dd484.html|url-status=live}} The Constituent Assembly was renamed the National Parliament, and [[Xanana Gusmão]] was elected as the country's first president.{{cite book |last1=Aucoin |first1=Louis |last2=Brandt |first2=Michele |title=Framing the State in Times of Transition: Case Studies in Constitution Making |date=1 April 2010 |publisher=United States Institute of Peace |isbn=978-1601270559 |chapter=East Timor’s Constitutional Passage to Independence |chapter-url=https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/Framing%20the%20State/Chapter9_Framing.pdf |pages=254, 270 |access-date=24 October 2022 |archive-date=24 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024131456/https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/Framing%20the%20State/Chapter9_Framing.pdf |url-status=live }} On 27 September 2002 the country became a UN member state.{{cite press release|title=Unanimous Assembly decision makes Timor-Leste 191st United Nations member state|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2002/ga10069.doc.htm|publisher=United Nations|date=27 September 2002|access-date=2 September 2016|archive-date=1 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151101142500/https://www.un.org/press/en/2002/ga10069.doc.htm|url-status=live}} In 2006, [[2006 East Timorese crisis|a crisis of unrest and factional fighting]] forced 155,000 people to flee their homes; the United Nations sent in security forces to restore order.{{cite web|title=UN wraps up East Timor mission|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-31/an-un-wraps-up-east-timor-mission/4448044|work=ABC News (Australia)|date=30 December 2012|access-date=11 February 2013|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115030534/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-31/an-un-wraps-up-east-timor-mission/4448044|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/worldlatest/story/0,,-6759703,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113222417/http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0%2C%2C-6759703%2C00.html|archive-date=13 January 2008|title=East Timor May Be Becoming Failed State|date=13 January 2008|location=London|url-status=dead }} The following year, Gusmão declined to run for another term. While there were minor incidents in the build-up to the [[East Timorese presidential election, 2007|mid-year presidential elections]], the process was peaceful overall and [[José Ramos-Horta]] was elected president.{{cite web |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/212690/Election_report_East_Timor_9_April_2007.pdf |title=Delegation to Observe the Presidential Elections in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste |author=Ana Gomes |publisher=European Parliament |date=11 April 2007 |access-date=24 October 2022 |archive-date=16 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216001405/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/212690/Election_report_East_Timor_9_April_2007.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |author1=Jose Cornelio Guterres |title=Timor-Leste: A Year of Democratic Elections |journal=Southeast Asian Affairs |date=2008 |pages=359–372 |jstor=27913367 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27913367 |access-date=24 October 2022 |archive-date=24 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024131455/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27913367 |url-status=live }} In June 2007, Gusmão ran in the [[East Timorese parliamentary election, 2007|parliamentary elections]] and became prime minister at the head of the [[National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction]] (CNRT) party. In February 2008, Ramos-Horta was critically injured in [[2008 East Timorese assassination attempts|an attempted assassination]]; Prime Minister Gusmão also faced gunfire separately but escaped unharmed. Australian reinforcements were immediately sent to help keep order.{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7238142.stm |title=Shot East Timor leader 'critical' |date=11 February 2008 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=17 July 2011 |archive-date=14 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914203716/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7238142.stm |url-status=live }} In March 2011, the UN handed over operational control of the police force to the Timor-Leste authorities. The United Nations ended its peacekeeping mission on 31 December 2012. [[Francisco Guterres]] of the centre-left Fretilin party became president in May 2017.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-14952883|title=East Timor profile – Timeline|work=BBC News|date=26 February 2018|access-date=30 May 2021|archive-date=31 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531005105/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-14952883|url-status=live}} The leader of Fretilin, [[Mari Alkatiri]], formed a coalition government after the July 2017 parliamentary election. This government soon fell, leading to a second general election in May 2018.{{cite news|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/East-Timor-votes-in-second-general-election-in-10-months|title=East Timor votes in second general election in 10 months|last=Roughneen|first=Simon|date=12 May 2018|work=[[The Nikkei|Nikkei]] Asia|access-date=30 May 2021|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212255/https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/East-Timor-votes-in-second-general-election-in-10-months|url-status=live}} In June 2018, former president and independence fighter, [[Taur Matan Ruak]], became the new prime minister.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-timor-politics-idUSKBN1JI1JO|title=New East Timor PM pledges to bring unity after political deadlock|first=Nelson de la|last=Cruz|newspaper=Reuters|date=22 June 2018 |access-date=30 May 2021|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213114/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-timor-politics-idUSKBN1JI1JO|url-status=live}} [[José Ramos-Horta]] again became president on 20 May 2022 after winning the April 2022 [[2022 East Timorese presidential election|presidential election]] runoff against Francisco Guterres.{{cite news |agency=Agence France-Presse |title=Timor-Leste presidential election: José Ramos-Horta wins in landslide |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/21/timor-leste-presidential-election-jose-ramos-horta-wins-in-landslide |work=the Guardian |date=20 April 2022 |language=en |access-date=19 July 2022 |archive-date=21 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421074707/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/21/timor-leste-presidential-election-jose-ramos-horta-wins-in-landslide |url-status=live }} The 2026 ASEAN summit held in the [[Philippines]], East Timor's Catholic ally, was the first ASEAN summit wherein East Timor participated as a full member of ASEAN.[https://asean2026.gov.ph/ Asean 2026 Philippines] == Geography == {{main|Geography of Timor-Leste}} [[File:TL A0 HShade 101113-001.png|thumb|alt=Relief map of Timor-Leste showing the mountainous interior|Map of Timor-Leste]] Located between Southeast Asia and the South Pacific,{{cite book |last1=Berlie |first1=Jean A. |title=East Timor's Independence, Indonesia and ASEAN |date=1 October 2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319626307 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6EQ4DwAAQBAJ |ref=Berlie2007ch1 |chapter=A Socio-Historical Essay: Traditions, Indonesia, Independence, and Elections |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152317/https://books.google.com/books?id=6EQ4DwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}{{rp|2}} the island of [[Timor]] is the largest of the [[Lesser Sunda Islands]], which lie within the [[Malay Archipelago]].{{cite web |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28126 |title=Timor-Leste : Country Environmental Analysis |publisher=World Bank Group |date=July 2009 |access-date=24 May 2022 |author= |hdl=10986/28126 |archive-date=29 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729160348/http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28126 |url-status=live}}{{rp|1}} The island is surrounded by the [[Ombai Strait|Ombai]] and [[Wetar Strait]]s of the rougher [[Banda Sea]] in the north, and the calmer [[Timor Sea]] in the south.{{rp|2}}{{cite book |last1=Molnar |first1=Andrea Katalin |title=Timor Leste: Politics, History, and Culture |date=17 December 2009 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781135228842 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F7KNAgAAQBAJ}} Timor-Leste shares the island with Indonesia, with Indonesian territory separating the [[Oecusse]] exclave from the rest of the country. The island of [[Atauro]] lies north of the mainland,{{rp|2}} with the fourth area being the small [[Jaco Island|island of Jaco]]. The [[Savu Sea]] lies north of Oecusse.{{cite book |last1=Deeley |first1=Neil |title=The International Boundaries of East Timor |date=2001 |publisher=International Boundaries Research Unit |isbn=9781897643426 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=olluvDFg9JAC |access-date=24 May 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152314/https://books.google.com/books?id=olluvDFg9JAC |url-status=live }}{{rp|1}} The country is about {{convert|265|km|mi}} long and {{convert|97|km|mi}} wide, with a total land area of {{convert|14874|km2|sqmi}}.{{rp|1}} This territory is situated between 8′15S – 10′30S latitude and 125′50E – 127′30E longitude.{{cite web |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/timor-leste/climate-risk-country-profile-timor-leste |title=Climate Risk Country Profile – Timor-Leste |publisher=Asian Development Bank, World Bank Group |date=18 November 2021 |access-date=23 May 2022 |archive-date=23 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523151357/https://reliefweb.int/report/timor-leste/climate-risk-country-profile-timor-leste |url-status=live }}{{rp|2}} The country's coastline covers around {{convert|700|km|mi}},{{rp|27}} while the main land border with Indonesia is {{convert|125|km|mi}} long, and the Oecusse land border is around {{convert|100|km|mi}} long.{{rp|1}} Maritime borders exist with Australia to the south and Indonesia elsewhere.{{cite book |last1=Dixon |first1=David |chapter=Water and Soil, Blood and Oil: Demarcating the Frontiers of Australia, Indonesia and Timor-Leste |title=Frontiers in International Environmental Law: Oceans and Climate Challenges |date=1 March 2021 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004372887 |pages=43–74 |url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004372887/BP000004.xml |doi=10.1163/9789004372887_003 |s2cid=235518614 |access-date=24 May 2022 |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524154028/https://brill.com/view/book/9789004372887/BP000004.xml |url-status=live }}{{cite book |author1=Posma Sariguna Johnson Kennedy |author2=Suzanna Josephine L. Tobing |author3=Adolf Bastian Heatubun |author4=Rutman Lumbantoruan |title=Proceedings of Airlangga Conference on International Relations |chapter=The Maritime Border Management of Indonesia and Timor Leste: By Military Approach or Welfare Approach? |date=2021 |pages=348–354 |doi=10.5220/0010277003480354 |chapter-url=https://www.scitepress.org/Papers/2018/102770/102770.pdf |isbn=978-989-758-493-0 |access-date=24 May 2022 |archive-date=2 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102085644/https://www.scitepress.org/Papers/2018/102770/102770.pdf |url-status=live }} Timor-Leste has an [[exclusive economic zone]] of {{convert|77,051|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/626?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10 |title=Catches by Taxon in the waters of Timor Leste |publisher=Sea Around Us |access-date=15 May 2022 |archive-date=23 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223181456/http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/626?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10 |url-status=live }} The interior of the country is mountainous,{{rp|2}} with ridges of inactive volcanic mountains extending along the island.{{cite book |last1=Lundahl |first1=Mats |last2=Sjöholm |first2=Fredrik |title=The Creation of the East Timorese Economy: Volume 1: History of a Colony |date=17 July 2019 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783030194666 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jkGjDwAAQBAJ |access-date=25 May 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152238/https://books.google.com/books?id=jkGjDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}{{rp|2}} Almost half of the country has a slope of at least 40%. The south is slightly less mountainous, and has some plains near the coastline.{{rp|2}} The highest point is [[Tatamailau]] (also known as Mount Ramelau) at {{convert|2,963|m}}.{{cite web|title=Mount Ramelau|date=10 April 2015|url=http://www.gunungbagging.com/ramelau/|publisher=Gunung Bagging|access-date=18 December 2016|archive-date=26 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426201425/http://www.gunungbagging.com/ramelau/|url-status=live}} Most rivers dry up at least partially during the dry season.{{rp|2}} Outside of some coastal areas and river valleys, the soil is shallow and prone to erosion, and its quality is poor.{{rp|13}}{{rp|2}} The capital and largest city is Dili. The second-largest city is the eastern town of [[Baucau]].{{rp|22}} [[File:TL-Land Cover Map A4 111313-001.png|thumb|left|alt=Map showing the different types of land cover in Timor-Leste|Land cover]] The climate is tropical with relatively stable temperatures throughout the year. A wet season lasts from December to May throughout the country, and lasts slightly longer in the south{{rp|5}} and the interior due to the effect of a monsoon from Australia.{{rp|2}} During this period, rainfall can reach {{convert|222–252|mm|in}} per month. In the dry season, it drops to {{convert|12–18|mm|in}}.{{rp|5}} The country is vulnerable to flooding and landslides that occur as a result of heavy rain, especially when rainfall levels are increased by the [[La Niña]] effect.{{rp|13}} The mountainous interior is cooler than the coasts. Coastal areas are heavily dependent on [[groundwater]], which faces pressure from mismanagement, [[deforestation]], and [[climate change]].{{rp|14}} While the temperature is thought to have experienced a small increase due to climate change, there has been little change in annual rainfall.{{rp|6}} Coastal ecosystems around the country are diverse and varied, with vary spatially between the north and south coastlines, as well as between the eastern tip and areas more to the west. These ecosystems include [[coral reef]]s, as the country's waters are part of the [[Coral Triangle]] biodiversity hotspot.{{rp|28}} The easternmost area of Timor-Leste consists of the [[Paitchau]] Range and the Lake [[Ira Lalaro]] area, which contains the country's first conservation area, the [[Nino Konis Santana National Park]].{{cite news|title=Nino Konis Santana National Park declared as Timor-Leste's (formerly East Timor) first national park|newspaper=Petside|url=http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/safaris/nino-konis.html#cr|publisher=Wildlife Extra|access-date=12 February 2013|archive-date=25 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125042905/http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/safaris/nino-konis.html#cr|url-status=live}} It contains the last remaining [[tropical dry]] forested area within the country. It hosts a number of unique plant and animal species and is sparsely populated.Norwegian energy and Water Resources Directorate (NVE) (2004), Iralalaro Hydropower Project Environmental Assessment The northern coast is characterised by a number of coral reef systems that have been determined to be at risk.{{cite web|url=http://reefgis.reefbase.org/default.aspx?wms=RGWRR&bbox=124.435391706464,-9.57341029858931,127.322447704801,-7.95947401551091|title=ReefGIS – Reefs At Risk – Global 1998|publisher=Reefgis.reefbase.org|access-date=28 March 2010|archive-date=11 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511085439/http://reefgis.reefbase.org/default.aspx?wms=RGWRR&bbox=124.435391706464,-9.57341029858931,127.322447704801,-7.95947401551091|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-08/east-timor-coral-reefs-tourism-climate-change-bleaching/101015018 |title=East Timor's coral reefs are the most biodiverse in the world. Why are they surviving climate change? |last=Norman |first=James |work=ABC News |date=8 May 2022 |access-date=9 February 2023 |archive-date=9 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209115633/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-08/east-timor-coral-reefs-tourism-climate-change-bleaching/101015018 |url-status=live }} There are around 41,000 terrestrial plant species in the country. Forests covered 35% of Timor-Leste's land in the mid-2010s.{{cite web |url=https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/linked-documents/cps-tim-2016-2020-ena.pdf |title=Country Partnership Strategy: Timor-Leste 2016–2020 Environment Assessment (Summary) |publisher=Asian Development Bank |access-date=24 May 2022 |archive-date=19 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619004825/https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/linked-documents/cps-tim-2016-2020-ena.pdf |url-status=live }}{{rp|1}} The forests of the northern coast, central uplands, and southern coast are distinct.{{rp|2}} Timor-Leste is home to the [[Timor and Wetar deciduous forests]] ecoregion.{{Cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |year=2017 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=534–545 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmc=5451287 |pmid=28608869 |doi-access=free |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad}} There is some environmental protection in law, but it has not been a government priority.{{rp|27}}{{rp|10–14}} In addition to climate change, local ecosystems are threatened by deforestation, land degradation, overfishing, and pollution.{{rp|2–3}} == Government and politics == {{main|Politics of Timor-Leste}} [[File:Xanana 2011.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Xanana Gusmão in a western-style suit|[[Xanana Gusmão]], the first East Timorese president after the end of Indonesian occupation]] The political system of Timor-Leste is [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]], based upon the [[Politics of Portugal|Portuguese system]].{{cite journal|last1=Neto|first1=Octávio Amorim|last2=Lobo|first2=Marina Costa|year=2010|title=Between Constitutional Diffusion and Local Politics: Semi-Presidentialism in Portuguese-Speaking Countries|url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1644026|journal=APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Paper|ssrn=1644026|access-date=6 May 2022|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006075857/http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1644026|url-status=live}}{{cite journal |last1=Shoesmith |first1=Dennis |title=Party Systems and Factionalism in Timor-Leste |journal=Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |date=24 January 2020 |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=167–186 |doi=10.1177/1868103419889759 |s2cid=214341149 |doi-access=free }}{{rp|175}} The constitution establishes both this separation of executive powers between the president and the prime minister; and the [[separation of powers]] between the executive, legislature, and judiciary.{{rp|12}} Individuals are not allowed to participate in both the legislature and the executive branch. The legislature is intended to provide a check on the executive; in practice the executive has maintained control of the legislature under all political parties, reflecting the dominance of individual leaders within political parties and coalitions.{{rp|174}} The executive, through the council of ministers, also holds some formal legislative powers.{{rp|175}} The judiciary operates independently, although there are instances of executive interference.{{rp|13, 39}} Some courts shift between locations, to improve access for those in more isolated areas. Despite political rhetoric, the constitution and democratic institutions have been followed by politicians, and changes of government are peaceful.{{rp|15, 42}} Elections are run by an independent body,{{rp|216}} and turnout is high, ranging from around 70% to 85%.{{rp|17}}{{cite web |url=https://www.electionguide.org/countries/id/63/ |title=Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste |publisher=International Foundation for Electoral Systems |access-date=27 December 2022 |archive-date=27 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227042808/https://www.electionguide.org/countries/id/63/ |url-status=live }} The political system has wide public acceptance.{{rp|17}}{{rp|106}} The [[head of state]] of Timor-Leste is the [[President of Timor-Leste|president of the republic]], who is elected by popular vote for a five-year term,{{rp|244}} and can serve a maximum of two terms.{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/timor-leste/freedom-world/2021 |title=Timor-Leste |publisher=Freedom House |date=2021 |access-date=5 May 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422195309/https://freedomhouse.org/country/timor-leste/freedom-world/2021 |url-status=live }} Formally, the directly elected president holds relatively limited powers compared to those in similar systems, with no power over the appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and the council of ministers. However, as they are directly elected, past presidents have wielded great informal power and influence.{{rp|175}} The president does have the power to veto government legislation, initiate referendums, and to dissolve parliament in the event that it is unable to form a government or pass a budget.{{rp|244}} If the president vetoes a legislative action, the parliament can overturn the veto with a two-thirds majority.{{rp|10}} The prime minister is chosen by the parliament, with the president appointing the leader of the majority party or [[coalition]] as [[Prime Minister of Timor-Leste|prime minister of Timor-Leste]] and the cabinet on the proposal of the latter.{{rp|10}}{{cite web |url=https://www.eods.eu/library/EUEOM%20FR%20TIMOR%20LESTE%2028.09.2012_en.pdf |title=Timor-Leste Final Report Parliamentary Election 2012 |publisher=European Union Election Observation Mission |page=9 |date=2012 |access-date=30 May 2022 |archive-date=19 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619004840/https://www.eods.eu/library/EUEOM%20FR%20TIMOR%20LESTE%2028.09.2012_en.pdf |url-status=live }} As [[head of government]], the prime minister presides over the cabinet. [[File:National Parliament building, Dili, 2018 (01).jpg|thumb|left|alt=White building rising just above the palm trees surrounding it|The [[National Parliament (Timor-Leste)|National Parliament]], fronted by flags of the [[Community of Portuguese Language Countries]]]] Representatives in the [[unicameral]] [[National Parliament (Timor-Leste)|National Parliament]] are elected by popular vote to a five-year term. The number of seats can vary from a minimum of fifty-two to a maximum of sixty-five. Parties must achieve 3% of the vote to enter parliament, with seats for qualifying parties allocated using the [[D'Hondt method]]. Elections occur within the framework of a competitive multi-party system. Upon independence, power was held by the [[Fretilin]] political party, which was formed shortly before the Indonesian invasion and led its resistance. Given its history, Fretilin viewed itself as the natural party of government and supported a multi-party system, expecting the development of a [[dominant-party system]]. Support from the United Nations and the international community, both before and after independence, allowed the nascent political system to survive shocks such as [[2006 East Timorese crisis|the 2006 crisis]].{{rp|173}} Candidates in parliamentary elections run in a single national district in a [[party-list system]]. Candidates appear ranked on single party lists. At least one of every three candidates presented by all political parties must be women. As such, women hold more than a third of parliamentary seats, but they are less prominent at other levels and within party leadership. While this party-list system promotes a diversity of political parties, it gives voters little influence over the individual candidates selected by each party.{{rp|175–176}} Political divisions exist along class lines and along geographical lines. There is broadly a divide between eastern and western areas of the country, stemming from differences that arose under Indonesian rule. Fretilin in particular is strongly linked to the Eastern areas.{{rp|176–177}} Political parties are more closely associated with prominent personalities than with ideology.{{rp|16}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cartercenter.org/documents/1691.pdf |title=The East Timor Political and Election Observation Project Final Project Report |publisher=The Carter Center |date=April 2004 |page=11 |access-date=17 December 2022 |archive-date=17 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217180257/https://www.cartercenter.org/documents/1691.pdf |url-status=live }} The [[National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction]] (CNRT) became the main opposition to Fretilin, following its establishment to allow [[Xanana Gusmão]] to run for Prime Minister in [[2007 East Timorese parliamentary election|the 2007 parliamentary elections]].{{rp|168–169}}{{cite journal |last1=Ingram |first1=Sue |title=Parties, personalities and political power: legacies of liberal peace-building in Timor-Leste |journal=Conflict, Security and Development |date=2018 |volume=18 |issue=5 |page=374 |doi=10.1080/14678802.2018.1511163 |s2cid=149690926 |url=https://researchprofiles.anu.edu.au/en/publications/parties-personalities-and-political-power-legacies-of-liberal-pea |access-date=17 December 2022 |archive-date=17 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217180259/https://researchprofiles.anu.edu.au/en/publications/parties-personalities-and-political-power-legacies-of-liberal-pea |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} While both major parties have been relatively stable, they remain led by an "old guard" of individuals who came to prominence during the resistance against Indonesia.{{rp|175}}{{rp|10–11}}{{cite web |url=https://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/news-events/all-stories/timors-old-guard-marching |title=Timor's old guard marching on |last=Hynd |first=Evan |publisher=Australian National University |date=5 July 2012 |access-date=1 May 2022 |archive-date=28 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528114332/https://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/news-events/all-stories/timors-old-guard-marching |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/timor-leste-new-president-needs-tune |title=Timor-Leste: The new president needs to tune in |author=Joao da Cruz Cardoso |work=The Interpreter |date=27 April 2022 |access-date=1 May 2022 |archive-date=1 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501161321/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/timor-leste-new-president-needs-tune |url-status=live }} Politics and administration is centred in the capital [[Dili]], with the national government responsible for most civil services.{{rp|9, 36}} [[Oecusse]], separated from the rest of the country by Indonesian territory, is a special administrative region with some autonomy.{{rp|180}} The [[National Police of Timor-Leste]] and [[Timor-Leste Defence Force]] have held a [[monopoly on violence]] since 2008 and very few guns are present outside of these organisations.{{cite web |url=https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/TLS |title=Timor-Leste Country Report 2022 |publisher=Bertelsmann Stiftung |year=2022 |access-date=2 May 2022 |archive-date=21 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521144437/https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/TLS |url-status=live }}{{rp|8}} While there are allegations of abuse of power, there is some judicial oversight of police and public trust in the institution has grown. An active [[civil society]] functions independently of the government, as do media outlets.{{rp|11–12}} Civil society organisations are concentrated in the capital, including student groups. Due to the structure of the economy, there are no powerful trade unions.{{rp|17}} The Catholic Church has strong influence in the country.{{rp|40}} === Administrative divisions === {{main|Subdivisions of Timor-Leste|Municipalities of Timor-Leste|Administrative posts of Timor-Leste|Sucos of Timor-Leste}} [[File:Municipalities of Timor-Leste.png|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=Labelled map of Timor-Leste divided into its fourteen municipalities|The fourteen municipalities of Timor-Leste]] Timor-Leste is divided into fourteen municipalities, which in turn are subdivided into 64 administrative posts, 442 ''sucos'' (villages), and 2,225 ''aldeias'' (hamlets).{{Citation |url=http://www.jornal.gov.tl/public/docs/2009/serie_1/serie1_no33.pdf |work=Jornal da Républica, Série I, N.° 33, 16 de Setembro de 2009, 3588–3620 |title=Diploma Ministerial No:199/GM/MAEOT/IX/09 de 15 de Setembro de 2009 Que fixa o número de Sucos e Aldeias em Território Nacional Exposição de motivos |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301124211/http://www.jornal.gov.tl/public/docs/2009/serie_1/serie1_no33.pdf|archive-date=1 March 2012 }}{{Citation |title=Population and Housing Census 2015, Preliminary Results |url=http://www.statistics.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/1-Preliminary-Results-4-Printing-Company-19102015.pdf |publisher=Direcção-Geral de Estatística |access-date=15 January 2018 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225112143/http://www.statistics.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/1-Preliminary-Results-4-Printing-Company-19102015.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.tatoli.tl/en/2021/12/28/government-to-officially-declare-atauro-island-as-new-municipality-in-january-2022/ |title=Government to officially declare Atauro Island as new municipality in january 2022 |author=Filomeno Martins |work=Tatoli |date=28 December 2021 |access-date=14 May 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702144611/http://www.tatoli.tl/en/2021/12/28/government-to-officially-declare-atauro-island-as-new-municipality-in-january-2022/ |archive-date=2 July 2022}} The municipalities are the following: {| class="wikitable" |+ !Municipalities !Capital{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Administrative Divisions- Government of Timor-Leste |url=https://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=91&lang=en#:~:text=As%20far%20as%20administrative%20division,Ambeno%2C%20the%20enclave%20in%20Indonesian }} !Population (2022){{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Timor-Leste Population and Housing Census 2022 |url=https://timor-leste.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/censuspreliminaryresults2022_4.pdf }} |- |1. [[Aileu Municipality|Aileu]] |[[Aileu]] |54,631 |- |2. [[Ainaro Municipality|Ainaro]] |[[Ainaro]] |72,989 |- |3. [[Atauro]] |[[Vila Maumeta]] |10,302 |- |4. [[Baucau Municipality|Baucau]] |[[Baucau]] |133,881 |- |5. [[Bobonaro Municipality|Bobonaro]] |[[Maliana]] |106,543 |- |6. [[Cova Lima Municipality|Cova Lima]] |[[Suai, Timor-Leste|Suai]] |73,909 |- |7. [[Dili Municipality|Dili]] |[[Dili]] |324,269 |- |8. [[Ermera Municipality|Ermera]] |[[Gleno]] |138,080 |- |9. [[Lautém Municipality|Lautém]] |[[Lospalos]] |69,836 |- |10. [[Liquiçá Municipality|Liquiçá]] |[[Liquiçá]] |83,689 |- |11. [[Manatuto Municipality|Manatuto]] |[[Manatuto]] |50,989 |- |12. [[Manufahi Municipality|Manufahi]] |[[Same, Timor-Leste|Same]] |60,536 |- |13. [[Oecusse]] |[[Pante Macassar]] |80,726 |- |14. [[Viqueque Municipality|Viqueque]] |[[Viqueque]] |80,054 |- |'''Timor-Leste''' |[[Dili]] |1,340,434 |} The existing system of municipalities and administrative posts was established during Portuguese rule.{{cite journal |last1=Simião |first1=Daniel S. |last2=Silva |first2=Kelly |title=Playing with ambiguity: The making and unmaking of local power in postcolonial Timor-Leste |journal=The Australian Journal of Anthropology |date=21 November 2020 |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=333–346 |doi=10.1111/taja.12377 |s2cid=229471436 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/taja.12377 |access-date=14 May 2022 |archive-date=14 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514055310/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/taja.12377 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}{{rp|3}} While decentralisation is mentioned in the constitution, administrative powers generally remain with the national government operating out of Dili.{{rp|2}} Upon independence there was debate about how to implement decentralisation; various proposed models would create different levels of administration between the ''sucos'' and the central government. In most proposals, there were no specific provisions for ''suco''-level governance, and they were expected to continue to exist as mostly traditional spaces, identifying communities rather than being part of the civil administration. In the end, the existing districts were kept and renamed municipalities in 2009, and received very few powers.{{rp|88–92}} In 2016, changes were made so that each municipality is led by a civil servant appointed by the central government. This civil servant is advised by locally elected leaders.{{rp|4, 7}} The isolated [[Oecusse]] municipality, which has a strong identity and is fully surrounded by Indonesian territory, is specified by Articles 5 and 71 of the 2002 constitution to be governed by a special administrative policy and economic regime. Law 3/2014 of 18 June 2014 implemented this constitutional provision, which went into effect in January 2015, turning Oecusse into a Special Administrative Region. The region began operating its own civil service in June 2015.{{Citation |title=Lei N.º 3/2014 de 18 de Junho Cria a Região Administrativa Especial de Oe-Cusse Ambeno e estabelece a Zona Especial de Economia Social de Mercado |work=Jornal da República, Série I, N.° 21, 18 de Junho de 2014, 7334–7341 |url=http://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2014/serie_1/SERIE1_NO_21.pdf |access-date=12 April 2020 |archive-date=5 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805225603/http://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2014/serie_1/SERIE1_NO_21.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |author1=Laura S. Meitzner Yoder |title=The formation and remarkable persistence of the Oecusse-Ambeno enclave, Timor |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |date=29 April 2016 |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=302–303 |doi=10.1017/S0022463416000084 |s2cid=156975625 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-southeast-asian-studies/article/abs/formation-and-remarkable-persistence-of-the-oecusseambeno-enclave-timor/E57D40FE03C22D0521A141364CB280C8 |access-date=14 May 2022 |archive-date=14 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514071430/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-southeast-asian-studies/article/abs/formation-and-remarkable-persistence-of-the-oecusseambeno-enclave-timor/E57D40FE03C22D0521A141364CB280C8 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} In January 2022 the island of [[Atauro]], formerly an Administrative Post of Dili, became its own municipality. Due to its small population, which the government states is insufficient to elect a Municipal Assembly, there are plans to convert Atauro to a Special Economic Zone similar to Oecusse.{{cite news |url=https://en.tatoli.tl/2023/08/31/govt-to-transform-status-of-atauro-island-from-municipality-into-a-special-economic-zone/17/ |title=Govt to transform status of Atauro island from municipality into a Special Economic Zone |author=Filomeno Martins |work=Tatoli |date=31 August 2023 |access-date=26 July 2024}} Administration in the lowest levels of the administrative system of Timor-Leste, the ''aldeias'' and ''sucos'', generally reflects traditional customs,{{cite web |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47198668.pdf |title=Decentralisation and the Central State in Timor-Leste |last=Shoesmith |first=Dennis |publisher=18th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia in Adelaide |date=July 2010 |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512105020/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47198668.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{rp|1}} reflecting community identity and relationships between local households.{{cite web |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30533 |title=Articulations of Local Governance in Timor-Leste : Lessons for Local Development under Decentralization |last1=Butterworth |first1=David |last2=Dale |first2=Pamela |publisher=World Bank |date=October 2010 |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808034006/https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/30533 |url-status=live }}{{rp|4}} ''Sucos'' generally contain 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants. Their long persistence and links to local governance means the ''sucos'' are the level of government that is linked to community identities, rather than any high level of administration.{{cite journal |author1=Rui Graça Feijó |title=Timor-Leste: The Adventurous Tribulations of Local Governance after Independence |journal=Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |date=1 April 2015 |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=85–114 |doi=10.1177/186810341503400104 |s2cid=59459849 |doi-access=free |hdl=10316/41227 |hdl-access=free }}{{rp|89}} Such relationships, however, are associated specifically with the kinship groups within that land, rather than the land itself.{{rp|52–53}} Relationships between ''sucos'' also reflect customary practices, for example through the reciprocal exchanging of support for local initiatives.{{rp|9}} Laws passed in 2004 provided for the election of some ''suco'' officials, but assigned these positions no formal powers. An updated law in 2009 established the expected mandate of these positions, although it continued to leave them outside of the formal state system, reliant on municipal governments to provide formal administration and services.{{rp|94–97}} Further clarification was given in 2016, which entrenched the treatment of ''sucos'' and ''aldeias'' more as communities than formal levels of administration. Despite this lack of formal association with the state, ''suco'' leaders hold great influence and are often seen by their community as representatives of the state. They have responsibilities usually associated with civic administration.{{rp|7–10}} === Foreign relations === {{main|Foreign relations of Timor-Leste}} [[File:Oil demo Timor 2013.JPG|thumb|alt=Protestors holding a sign saying "Don't steal my oil" below artwork of kangaroos hopping away with buckets|Demonstration against Australia in December 2013]] International cooperation has always been important to Timor-Leste; donor funds made up 80% of the budget before oil revenues began to replace them.{{rp|42–44}} International forces also provided security, with five UN missions sent to the country from 1999. The final one, the [[United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor]], began after the [[2006 East Timorese crisis]] and concluded in 2012.{{rp|4, 14}} Timor-Leste [[Accession of Timor-Leste to ASEAN|formally applied]] to join [[ASEAN]] in 2011,{{rp|42–44}}{{Cite news |last=Tansubhapol |first=Thanida |date=30 January 2011 |title=East Timor Bid to Join ASEAN Wins 'Strong Support' |work=Bangkok Post |url=https://www.pressreader.com/thailand/bangkok-post/20110130/283832914957229 |via=PressReader |access-date=12 February 2022 |archive-date=12 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212181835/https://www.pressreader.com/thailand/bangkok-post/20110130/283832914957229 |url-status=live }} and was granted observer status and accepted "in principle" in November 2022.{{cite web |last1=ASEAN |title=ASEAN Leaders' Statement on the Application of Timor-Leste for ASEAN Membership |url=https://asean.org/asean-leaders-statement-on-the-application-of-timor-leste-for-asean-membership/ |website=ASEAN |date=11 November 2022 |access-date=14 November 2022 |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114083753/https://asean.org/asean-leaders-statement-on-the-application-of-timor-leste-for-asean-membership/ |url-status=live }} Despite the nationalist political leadership promoting closer ties with Melanesian states, the country has targeted ASEAN membership since before its independence, with its leaders stating that joining Pacific bodies would have precluded ASEAN membership. ASEAN membership was sought for economic and security reasons, including to improve the relationship with Indonesia. Nonetheless, the process has been slow due to a lack of support from some ASEAN states and concerns about Timor-Leste's institutional capacity to meet ASEAN's commitments.{{cite journal |last1=Sahin |first1=Selver B. |title=Timor-Leste's Foreign Policy: Securing State Identity in the Post-Independence Period |journal=Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |date=1 August 2014 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=3–25 |doi=10.1177/186810341403300201 |s2cid=54546263 |doi-access=free |hdl=11693/12429 |hdl-access=free }}{{rp|10–11}}{{cite news |author1=Lu Wei Hoong |title=Timor-Leste to be granted full Asean membership in October, says Malaysia PM Anwar |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/timor-leste-to-be-granted-full-asean-membership-in-oct-2025-pm-anwar |access-date=28 May 2025 |work=The Straits Times |date=27 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250528073803/https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/timor-leste-to-be-granted-full-asean-membership-in-oct-2025-pm-anwar |archive-date=28 May 2025 |url-status=live}} As part of its efforts to demonstrate commitment and capacity, Timor-Leste had established [[List of diplomatic missions of Timor-Leste|diplomatic missions]] in each [[Member states of ASEAN|ASEAN member state]] by 2016. On 27 May 2025, Malaysian Prime Minister [[Anwar Ibrahim]], ASEAN chair for the year, announced that Timor-Leste would be admitted as the regional bloc's 11th full member during the [[ASEAN Summit]] scheduled for October 2025 in [[Kuala Lumpur]], subject to the completion of remaining obligations under the economic pillar. Timor-Leste is an observer to the [[Pacific Islands Forum]] and the [[Melanesian Spearhead Group]]. More broadly, the country is a leader within the [[Group of Seven Plus (g7+)]], an organisation of [[fragile state]]s. It is also a member of the [[Community of Portuguese Language Countries]].{{rp|42–44}}{{cite journal |last1=Taylor-Leech |first1=Kerry |title=The language situation in Timor-Leste |journal=Current Issues in Language Planning |date=2009 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=1–68 |doi=10.1080/14664200802339840 |s2cid=146270920 }} [[File:2026-06-18 – President Marcos enumerates key priorities that animate future Russia-ASEAN relations (03).jpg|thumb|Timor-Leste President [[Xanana Gusmão]] and other [[ASEAN]] leaders at the ASEAN–Russia Commemorative Summit in [[Kazan]], Russia, 18 June 2026]] Continuing bilateral donors include Australia, Portugal, Germany, and Japan, and Timor-Leste has a reputation for effectively and transparently using donor funds. Good relations [[Australia–Timor-Leste relations|with Australia]] and [[Indonesia–Timor-Leste relations|with Indonesia]] are a policy goal for the government, despite historical and more-recent tensions. These countries are important economic partners and provide most transport links to the country.{{rp|42–44}} China has also increased its presence by contributing to infrastructure in Dili.{{rp|12}} The relationship with Australia was dominated from before independence by disputes over [[natural resources]] in the [[Timor Gap|ocean between them]], hampering the establishment of a mutually agreed border. The dominance of Australian [[hard power]] led Timor-Leste to utilise [[public diplomacy]] and forums for [[international law]] to push their case.{{cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/investigations/new-timor-treaty-a-failure/2007/04/20/1176697092049.html|title=New Timor treaty 'a failure'|author=Richard Baker|access-date=3 January 2010|date=21 April 2007|work=[[Theage.com.au]]|publisher=The Age Company Ltd|archive-date=4 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104121536/http://www.theage.com.au/news/investigations/new-timor-treaty-a-failure/2007/04/20/1176697092049.html|url-status=live}}{{cite journal |last1=Strating |first1=Rebecca |title=Timor-Leste's foreign policy approach to the Timor Sea disputes: pipeline or pipe dream? |journal=Australian Journal of International Affairs |date=2017 |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=259–283 |doi=10.1080/10357718.2016.1258689 |s2cid=157488844 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10357718.2016.1258689 |access-date=15 May 2022 |archive-date=15 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515073607/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10357718.2016.1258689 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} The dispute was resolved in 2018 following conciliation procedures{{cite web|url=https://pca-cpa.org/en/cases/132/|title= Timor Sea Conciliation (Timor-Leste v. Australia)|publisher=PCA|date=24 February 2024}} before the [[Permanent Court of Arbitration]], when the two states established by treaty a maritime boundary between them along with an agreement on natural resource revenues.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-43296488 |title=Australia and East Timor sign historic maritime border deal |work=BBC News |date=7 March 2018 |access-date=15 May 2022 |archive-date=15 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515073607/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-43296488 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-timor-treaty-idUSKCN1UO0Y8 |title=Australia ratifies maritime boundaries with East Timor |work=Reuters |date=29 July 2019 |access-date=15 May 2022 |archive-date=15 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515073607/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-timor-treaty-idUSKCN1UO0Y8 |url-status=live }} === Military === {{main|Timor-Leste Defence Force}} The [[Timor-Leste Defence Force]] (F-FDTL) was established in 2001, replacing [[Falintil]], and was restructured following the events of 2006. It is responsible not only for safeguarding against external threats, but also for addressing violent crime, a role it shares with the [[National Police of Timor-Leste]]. These forces remain small: 2,200 soldiers in the regular army and 80 in a naval component. A [[Cessna 172|single aircraft]] and seven patrol boats are operated, and there are plans to expand the naval component. There is some military cooperation with Australia, Portugal, and the United States.{{cite journal |title=Chapter Six: Asia |journal=The Military Balance |date=24 February 2001 |volume=121 |issue=1 |pages=307–308 |doi=10.1080/04597222.2021.1868795 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/04597222.2021.1868795 |publisher=International Institute for Strategic Studies |s2cid=232050863 |issn=0459-7222 |access-date=15 May 2022 |archive-date=20 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220042755/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/04597222.2021.1868795 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} == Economy == {{main|Economy of Timor-Leste}} [[File:Economy of East Timor (nominal GDP)(previous and data).png|thumb|alt=Graph showing GDP since 2000 peaking at 2012, and beginning to rise again after a subsequent fall|Nominal GDP of Timor-Leste (previous and data)]] The economy of Timor-Leste is a [[market economy]], although it is dependent upon the export of a few commodities{{citation|last=de Brouwer|first=Gordon|author-link=Gordon de Brouwer|editor-last=Hill|editor-first=Hal|editor2-last=Saldanha|editor2-first=João M.|title=East Timor: Development Challenges For The World's Newest Nation|place=Canberra, Australia|publisher=Asia Pacific Press|pages=39–51|year=2001|isbn=978-0-3339-8716-2}} and has a large public sector. Internally, market operations are limited by widespread poverty.{{rp|20}} The country uses the [[United States dollar]], producing [[Timor-Leste centavo coins|its own coins]] to facilitate smaller transactions.{{cite web |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/36732761.pdf |title=Adopting a Currency in Post-Conflict Environments: The Case of Timor-Leste |last=Amara |first=Jomana |publisher=Calhoun Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School |date=20 May 2013 |access-date=17 February 2023 |archive-date=18 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218012116/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/36732761.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/things-to-know-timor-leste/ |title=FAST FACTS: Timor-Leste, the upcoming 11th member of ASEAN |author=Matthew G. Yuching |work=Rappler |date=11 November 2022 |access-date=17 February 2023 |archive-date=17 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217105410/https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/things-to-know-timor-leste/ |url-status=live }} The economy is generally open to foreign investment, although a prohibition on foreigners owning land means many require a local partner in the country.{{rp|20}} Competition is limited by the small size of the economy, rather than any government barriers. There are far more imports than exports,{{rp|21}} and prices for goods are often higher than in nearby countries.{{rp|27}} Inflation is strongly affected by government spending.{{cite journal |last1=Scheiner |first1=Charles |title=Timor-Leste economic survey: The end of petroleum income |journal=Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies |date=30 September 2021 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=253–279 |doi=10.1002/app5.333 |s2cid=244233899 |doi-access=free }}{{rp|257}} Growth has been slow, averaging just 2.5% per year from 2011 to 2021.{{rp|24}} Most of the country is very poor, with just more than 40% living under the national poverty line. This poverty is especially prevalent in rural areas, where many are subsistence farmers or fishermen. Even in urban areas, the majority are poor. Overall, women are poorer than men, often being employed in lower-paying careers.{{rp|18}} [[Malnutrition]] is common, with over half of children showing [[stunted growth]].{{rp|255}} While 91% of married working age (15–49) men were employed as of 2016, only 43% of married working age women were. There are small disparities in favour of men in terms of home and land ownership and owning a bank account.{{rp|14}} The eastern three municipalities, which contain around a quarter of the population, has less poverty than the western areas, which contain 50% of the population.{{rp|214}} Sixty-six per cent of families are in part supported by subsistence activities; however, the country as a whole does not produce enough food to be self-sustaining, and thus relies on imports.{{rp|16}} Agricultural work carries the implication of poverty, and the sector receives little investment from the government.{{rp|260}} Ninety-four per cent of domestic fish catch comes from the ocean, especially coastal fisheries.{{rp|17}} Those in the capital of Dili are on average better off, although they remain poor by international standards.{{rp|257}} The small size of the private sector means the government is often the customer of public businesses. A quarter of the national population works in the [[informal economy]], with the official public and private sectors employing 9% each.{{rp|18}} Of those of working age, around 23% are in the [[formal sector]], 21% are students, and 27% are subsistence farmers and fishers.{{rp|21}} The economy is mostly cash-based, with little commercial credit available from banks.{{cite web |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/36733 |title=Timor-Leste Economic Report, December 2021 : Steadying the Ship |publisher=World Bank Group |date=1 December 2021 |access-date=26 May 2022 |archive-date=26 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526160715/https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/36733 |url-status=live }}{{rp|11–12}} Remittances from overseas workers add up to around $100 million annually.{{rp|257}} [[File:Timor Lorosa'e centavo coin -2.JPG|thumb|left|upright|alt=Four coins with the official name of Timor-Leste surrounding various motifs|[[Timor-Leste centavo coins|Fractional coins]], "centavos", used locally as part of the [[United States dollar]]]] This poverty belies significant wealth in terms of natural resources, which at the time of independence had per capita value equivalent to the wealth of an upper-middle income country. Over half of this was in oil, and over a quarter in natural gas. The [[Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund]] was established in 2005 to turn these non-renewable resources into a more sustainable form of wealth.{{rp|4–6}} From 2005 to 2021, $23 billion earned from oil sales has entered the fund. $8 billion has been generated from investments, while $12 billion has been spent.{{rp|30}} A decrease in oil and gas reserves led to decreasing [[Human Development Index|HDI]] beginning in 2010.{{rp|18–19}} Eighty per cent of government spending comes from this fund, which as of 2021 had $19 billion, 10 times greater than the size of the national budget. As oil income has decreased, the fund is at risk of being exhausted. Withdrawals have exceeded sustainable levels almost every year since 2009.{{rp|23}} Resources within the [[Bayu-Undan]] field are expected to soon run out, while extracting those within the so far undeveloped [[Greater Sunrise]] field has proven technically and politically challenging. Remaining potential reserves are also losing value as oil and gas become less favoured sources of energy.{{rp|264–272}}{{cite news |url=https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/less-than-20-years-after-independence-timor-leste-is-running-on-fumes-20210429-p57nc7 |title=Less than 20 years after independence, Timor-Leste is running on fumes |author=Angus Grigg |work=Financial Review |date=30 April 2021 |access-date=29 May 2022 |archive-date=29 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529153902/https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/less-than-20-years-after-independence-timor-leste-is-running-on-fumes-20210429-p57nc7 |url-status=live }} The country's economy is dependent on government spending and, to a lesser extent, assistance from foreign donors.{{cite web|title=U.S. Relations With Timor-Leste|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35878.htm|publisher=U.S. Department of State|date=3 July 2012|access-date=22 May 2019|archive-date=4 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604192912/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35878.htm|url-status=live}} Government spending decreased beginning in 2012, which had knock-on effects in the private sector over the following years. The government and its state-owned oil company often invest in large private projects. Decreasing government spending was matched with a decrease in GDP growth.{{rp|18}} After the petroleum fund, the second largest source of government income is taxes. Tax revenue is less than 8% of GDP, lower than many other countries in the region and with similarly sized economies. Other government income comes from 23 "autonomous agencies", which include port authorities, infrastructure companies, and the [[National University of Timor-Leste]].{{rp|13, 28–309}} Overall, government spending remains among the highest in the world,{{rp|12}} although investment into education, health, and water infrastructure is negligible.{{rp|260}} Private sector development has lagged due to human capital shortages, infrastructure weakness, an incomplete legal system, and an inefficient regulatory environment. Property rights remain ill-defined, with conflicting titles from Portuguese and Indonesian rule, as well as needing to accommodate traditional customary rights.{{rp|23}} As of 2010, 87.7% of urban (321,043 people) and 18.9% of rural (821,459 people) households have electricity, for an overall average of 38.2%.{{cite web|title=Highlights of the 2010 Census Main Results in Timor-Leste|url=http://dne.mof.gov.tl/published/2010%20and%202011%20Publications/Census%20Summary%20English/English%20Census%20Summary%202011.pdf|publisher=Direcção Nacional de Estatística|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928190541/http://dne.mof.gov.tl/published/2010%20and%202011%20Publications/Census%20Summary%20English/English%20Census%20Summary%202011.pdf|archive-date=28 September 2013 }} The private sector shrank between 2014 and 2018, despite a growing working age population. Agriculture and manufacturing are less productive per capita than at independence.{{rp|255–256}} Non-oil economic sectors have failed to develop,{{cite news |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/why-is-timor-leste-still-unable-to-diversify-its-economy/ |title=Why is Timor-Leste Still Unable to Diversify its Economy? |author=Joao da Cruz Cardoso |work=The Diplomat |date=1 March 2021 |access-date=28 May 2022 |archive-date=29 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529160541/https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/why-is-timor-leste-still-unable-to-diversify-its-economy/ |url-status=live }} and growth in construction and administration is dependent on oil revenue.{{rp|256}} The dependence on oil shows some aspects of a [[resource curse]].{{cite journal |last1=John |first1=Samuel |last2=Papyrakis |first2=Elissaios |last3=Tasciotti |first3=Luca |title=Is there a resource curse in Timor-Leste? A critical review of recent evidence |journal=Development Studies Research |date=2020 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=141–152 |doi=10.1080/21665095.2020.1816189 |s2cid=224995979 |doi-access=free |hdl=1765/133642 |hdl-access=free }} Coffee made up 90% of all non-fossil fuel exports from 2013 to 2019, with all such exports totalling to around US$20 million annually.{{rp|257}} In 2017, the country was visited by 75,000 tourists.{{Cite news|date=10 September 2018|title=Keine Lust auf Massentourismus? Studie: Die Länder mit den wenigsten Urlaubern der Welt|url=https://www.travelbook.de/ziele/laender/ranking-die-am-wenigsten-besuchten-laender-der-welt|website=TRAVELBOOK|access-date=3 October 2019|archive-date=30 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630131342/https://www.travelbook.de/ziele/laender/ranking-die-am-wenigsten-besuchten-laender-der-welt|url-status=live}} == Demographics == {{main|Demographics of Timor-Leste}} [[File:Timor-Lestepop.svg|thumb|alt=Population graph showing a significant youth bulge|Population pyramid]] Timor-Leste recorded a population of 1,183,643 in its 2015 census, which rose to 1,341,737 at the 2022 census.{{cite web |url=https://inetl-ip.gov.tl/2023/05/18/main-report-timor-leste-population-and-housing-census-2022/ |title=Main Report Timor-Leste Population and Housing Census 2022 |publisher=National Institute Of Statistics Timor-Leste |date=18 May 2023 |access-date=24 July 2024}}{{rp|23}} The population lives mainly along the coastline, where all urban areas are located.{{rp|27}} Those in urban areas generally have more formal education, employment prospects, and healthcare. While a strong gender disparity exists throughout the country, it is less severe in the urban capital. The wealthy minority often go abroad for health, education and other purposes.{{rp|25}} The population is young, with the median age being under 20.{{rp|29}} In particular, a large proportion of the male population over 14 (almost 45% in 2015) are between the ages of 15 and 24, the third largest male 'youth bulge' in the world.{{cite book |author1=Aurel Croissant |author2=Rebecca Abu Sharkh |editor1-last=Croissant |editor1-first=Aurel |editor2-last=Hellmann |editor2-first=Olli |title=Stateness and Democracy in East Asia |date=21 May 2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108495745 |chapter=As Good as It Gets? Stateness and Democracy in East Timor |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YV3bDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA204 |access-date=3 July 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326162324/https://books.google.com/books?id=YV3bDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA204 |url-status=live }}{{rp|212}} The Government of Timor-Leste's website lists the English-language demonym for Timor-Leste as Timorese.{{cite web|title=Government of Timor-Leste|url=http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=547&lang=en|website=Timor-leste.gov.tl|access-date=14 January 2018|archive-date=29 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129000819/http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=547&lang=en|url-status=live}} Other reference sources list it as East Timorese.{{cite book|last1=Dickson|first1=Paul|title=Labels for Locals: What to Call People from Abilene to Zimbabwe|year=2006|publisher=Collins|isbn=978-0-06-088164-1|url=https://archive.org/details/labelsforlocalsw00dick}}{{cite web|title=The International Thesaurus of Refugee Terminology|url=http://www.refugeethesaurus.org/|publisher=UNHCR & FMO|access-date=14 January 2018|archive-date=23 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323091934/http://refugeethesaurus.org/|url-status=live}} The word {{ill|Maubere|de}} formerly used by the Portuguese to refer to native East Timorese and often employed as synonymous with the illiterate and uneducated, was adopted by [[Fretilin]] as a term of pride.{{cite book|last1=Fox|first1=James J.|author1-link=James J. Fox|last2=Soares|first2=Dionisio Babo|author2-link=Dionísio Babo Soares|title=Out of the Ashes: Destruction and Reconstruction of East Timor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wu4yJjUqxUgC&pg=PA60|year=2000|publisher=C. Hurst|isbn=978-1-85065-554-1|page=60}} [[Health in Timor-Leste|Healthcare]] received 6% of the national budget in 2021.{{rp|24}} From 1990 to 2019 [[life expectancy]] rose from 48.5 to 69.5. Expected years of schooling rose from 9.8 to 12.4 between 2000 and 2010, while mean years of schooling rose from 2.8 to 4.4. Progress since 2010 for these has been limited. [[Gross national income]] per capita similarly peaked in 2010, and has decreased since.{{cite web |url=https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/TLS.pdf |title=Human Development Report 2020: Timor-Leste |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |date=2020 |access-date=30 May 2022 |archive-date=9 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709163709/https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/TLS.pdf |url-status=live }}{{rp|3}} As of 2016, 45.8% of East Timorese were [[Multidimensional Poverty Index|impoverished]], 16.3% severely so.{{rp|6}} The [[fertility rate]], which at the time of independence was the highest in the world at 7.8,{{cite web |url=https://iussp2009.princeton.edu/papers/90513 |title=The world's highest fertility in Asia's newest nation: an investigation into reproductive behaviour of women in Timor-Leste |author1=Udoy Sankar Saikia |author2=Gouranga L. Dasvarma |author3=Tanya Wells-Brown |publisher=Princeton University |page=2 |date=2009 |access-date=30 May 2022 |archive-date=11 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811233544/https://iussp2009.princeton.edu/papers/90513 |url-status=live }} dropped to 4.2 by 2016. It is relatively higher in rural areas, and among poorer{{cite web |url=https://www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/SR244/SR244.pdf |title=Timor-Leste 2016 Demographic and Health Survey Key Findings |publisher=General Directorate of Statistics |date=2018 |access-date=30 May 2022 |archive-date=16 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616145951/https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/SR244/SR244.pdf |url-status=live }}{{rp|3}} and less literate households.{{cite web |url=https://timor-leste.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Census%20Booklet-%20Fertility.pdf |title=Fertility Summary of the Thematic Report |publisher=General Directorate of Statistics |page=6 |date=2015 |access-date=30 May 2022 |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810190431/https://timor-leste.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Census%20Booklet-%20Fertility.pdf |url-status=live }} As of 2016, the average household size was 5.3, with 41% of people aged under 15, and 18% of households headed by women.{{rp|2}} [[Infant mortality]] stood at 30 per 1,000, down from 60 per 1,000 in 2003.{{rp|7}} 46% of children under 5 showed [[stunted growth]], down from 58% in 2010. Working age adult obesity increased from 5% to 10% during the same time period. As of 2016, 40% of children, 23% of women, and 13% of men had [[anemia|anaemia]].{{rp|11}} {{Largest cities | country = Timor-Leste | kind = cities and towns | stat_ref = {{URL|https://www.citypopulation.de/en/timor/cities/}} | div_name = Municipalities | city_1 = Dili | div_1 = Dili Municipality{{!}}Dili | pop_1 = 244,584 | img_1 = | city_2 = Baucau | div_2 = Baucau Municipality{{!}}Baucau | pop_2 = 17,357 | img_2 = | city_3 = Maliana | div_3 = Bobonaro Municipality{{!}}Bobonaro | pop_3 = 12,787 | img_3 = | city_4 = Lospalos | div_4 = Lautém Municipality{{!}}Lautém | pop_4 = 12,471 | img_4 = | city_5 = Pante Macassar | div_5 = Oecusse | pop_5 = 12,421 | img_5 = | city_6 = Suai, Timor-Leste{{!}}Suai | div_6 = Cova Lima Municipality{{!}}Cova Lima | pop_6 = 9,130 | img_6 = | city_7 = Ermera | div_7 = Ermera Municipality{{!}}Ermera | pop_7 = 8,045 | img_7 = | city_8 = Same, Timor-Leste{{!}}Same | div_8 = Manufahi Municipality{{!}}Manufahi | pop_8 = 7,332 | img_8 = | city_9 = Viqueque | div_9 = Viqueque Municipality{{!}}Viqueque | pop_9 = 6,530 | img_9 = | city_10 = Ainaro | div_10 = Ainaro Municipality{{!}}Ainaro | pop_10 = 6,250 | img_10 = }} === Ethnicity === Timorese communities are not strictly defined by ethnic background or linguistic group. Separate communities may share ethnicity or language, and many areas show overlaps and hybridisation between ethnic and linguistic groups.{{cite book |last1=Scambary |first1=James |title=Conflict, Identity, and State Formation in East Timor 2000 – 2017 |date=2019 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=9789004396791 |url={{GBurl|CzGbDwAAQBAJ}} |access-date=30 May 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152317/https://books.google.com/books?id=CzGbDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}{{rp|44}} Familial relations and descent, which are interlinked with sacred house affiliation, are a more important indicator of identity.{{rp|47}} Each family group generally identifies with a single language or dialect.{{rp|49}} With this immense local variation in mind, there is a broad cultural and identity distinction between the east (Baucau, Lautém, and Viqueque municipalities) and the west of the country, a product of history more than it is of linguistic and ethnic differences,{{rp|45–47}} although it is very loosely associated with the two language groups.{{rp|142–143}} There is a small [[mestiço]] population of mixed Portuguese and local descent.{{cite book |last1=Boac |first1=Ernesto D. |title=The East Timor and Mindanao Independence Movements: A Comparative Study |date=2001 |publisher=U.S. Army War College |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kvg9ORrWhkcC |access-date=29 May 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152315/https://books.google.com/books?id=kvg9ORrWhkcC |url-status=live }} There is also a small [[overseas Chinese|Chinese]] minority, most of whom are [[Hakka people#Timor-Leste|Hakka]].{{Citation |last=Berlie |first=Jean A. |title=Chinese in East Timor: Identity, Society and Economy |date=2015 |url=https://open.lnu.se/index.php/hn/article/view/355 |journal=HumaNetten |issue=35 |pages=37–49 |doi=10.15626/hn.20153503 |doi-access=free |access-date=13 March 2020 |archive-date=21 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621000412/https://open.lnu.se/index.php/hn/article/view/355 |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Huber |first1=Juliette |title=Sinophone Southeast Asia |date=1 September 2021 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004473263 |pages=52–90 |chapter-url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004473263/BP000015.xml?language=en |chapter=At the Periphery of Nanyang: The Hakka Community of Timor-Leste |doi=10.1163/9789004473263_004 |s2cid=250178726 |access-date=29 May 2022 |archive-date=29 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529174309/https://brill.com/view/book/9789004473263/BP000015.xml?language=en |url-status=live }} Many Chinese left in the mid-1970s as many were disproportionately targeted during the Indonesian occupation, but a significant number have also returned to Timor-Leste following the end of Indonesian occupation.{{cite book|author1=Constâncio Pinto|author2=Matthew Jardine|title=East Timor's Unfinished Struggle: Inside the East Timorese Resistance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CdHlt6CSp54C&pg=PA263|year=1997|publisher=South End Press|isbn=978-0-89608-541-1|page=263|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152319/https://books.google.com/books?id=CdHlt6CSp54C&pg=PA263|url-status=live}} Timor-Leste has a small community of Timorese Indian, specifically of [[Goans|Goan]] descent,{{Cite web|title=Relations with a new nation, How far South East is New Delhi prepared to go?|url=http://www.etan.org/et2007/october/06/02rlatons.htm|access-date=22 June 2021|website=www.etan.org|archive-date=17 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917093658/http://www.etan.org/et2007/october/06/02rlatons.htm|url-status=live}} as well as historical immigration from Africa due to these countries having also been Portuguese colonies. There is also a minority of [[Yemen|Yemeni]] descent due to Hadhrami traders settling in Timor.{{Cite journal |last=Johnston |first=Melissa |date=2012 |title=A 'Muslim'Leader of a 'Catholic'Nation? Mari Alkatiri's Arab-Islamic Identity and its (Inter-) National Contestations |url=https://alumni-ksa.univie.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/text-documents/ASSA/ASSA-SN-2012-01-Art4-Johnston.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Austrian Studies in Anthropology Sondernummer |pages=46, 47 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329012407/https://alumni-ksa.univie.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/text-documents/ASSA/ASSA-SN-2012-01-Art4-Johnston.pdf |archive-date=29 March 2023 |access-date=27 December 2025 |via=Association of Graduates of Cultural and Social Anthropology at the University of Vienna}}{{Cite book |last=Jannisa |first=Gudmund |url=https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1343692/FULLTEXT01.pdf |title=Timor-Leste in the World BC to Independence |publisher=A Malae Production |year=2019 |pages=62, 63, 70 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204145111/https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1343692/FULLTEXT01.pdf |archive-date=4 December 2021 |url-status=live}} Members of these immigrant minority groups have played important roles in Timor-Leste's history: Nobel Peace Prize laureate, former Prime Minister, and current President [[José Ramos-Horta]], and current Prime Minister and former President [[Xanana Gusmão]] are both of Portuguese-Timorese mestiço background, while former Prime Minister and FRETILIN secretary-general [[Mari Alkatiri]] is a [[Hadhrami people|Hadhrami Arab]] whose ancestors were from Yemen. === Language === {{main|Languages of Timor-Leste}} [[File:Sprachen Osttimors-en.png|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=Map showing a mosaic of languages across the country|Major language groups in Timor-Leste by ''[[Sucos of Timor-Leste|suco]]'']] Timor-Leste's two official languages are [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[Tetum language|Tetum]]. East Timor is the only sovereign country in Asia where Portuguese is an official language.{{Cite web|url=https://unilab.edu.br/2012/03/26/conheca-mais-o-timor-leste/|author=Reginaldo|title=Conheça mais o Timor-Leste|access-date=14 July 2025}} "Timor-Leste is located in Southeast Asia, being the only independent country in the continent to use Portuguese as an official language." [[University for International Integration of the Afro-Brazilian Lusophony]] (in Portuguese) In addition, [[English language|English]] and [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] are designated by the constitution as "working languages".{{rp|3}}{{Cite news |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/04/20/timor-leste-tetum-portuguese-bahasa-indonesia-or-english.html |title=Timor Leste, Tetum, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia or English? |last=Ramos-Horta |first=J. |date=20 April 2012 |work=The Jakarta Post |language=en |author-link=José Manuel Ramos-Horta |access-date=23 April 2012 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225013449/https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/04/20/timor-leste-tetum-portuguese-bahasa-indonesia-or-english.html |url-status=live }} This is within the Final and Transitional Provisions, which do not set a final date. In 2012, 35% could speak, read, and write Portuguese, which is up significantly from less than 5% in the 2006 UN Development Report. Portuguese is recovering as it has now been made the main official language of Timor, and is being taught in most schools.{{Cite report |url=http://jsmp.minihub.org/Reports/jsmpreports/Language%20Report/LanguageReport%28english%29.pdf |title=The Impact of the Language Directive on the Courts in East Timor |date=August 2004 |publisher=Judicial System Monitoring Programme |location=Dili, Timor-Leste |access-date=1 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211212631/http://www.jsmp.minihub.org/Reports/jsmpreports/Language%20Report/LanguageReport%28english%29.pdf |archive-date=11 February 2012 |url-status=dead }} The use of Portuguese for government information and in the court system provides some barriers to access for those who do not speak it. Tetum is also not understood by everyone in the country.{{rp|11}} According to the Observatory of the Portuguese Language, the East Timorese literacy rate was 77.8% in Tetum, 55.6% in Indonesian, and 39.3% in Portuguese, and that the primary literacy rate increased from 73% in 2009 to 83% in 2012.{{Cite web |url=https://iilp.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/o-estimulo-ao-uso-da-lingua-portuguesa-em-timor-leste-e-guine-bissau/ |title=O estímulo ao uso da língua portuguesa em Timor Leste e Guiné Bissau |date=29 May 2015 |website=Blog of the International Portuguese Language Institute |language=pt |access-date=10 October 2018 |archive-date=10 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010213636/https://iilp.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/o-estimulo-ao-uso-da-lingua-portuguesa-em-timor-leste-e-guine-bissau/ |url-status=live }} According to the 2015 census, 50% of the population between the ages of 14 and 24 can speak and understand Portuguese.{{Cite web |last=Fernandes |first=Neila |date=6 May 2021 |title=Longuinhos pede a académicos que utilizem a língua portuguesa na transmissão de conhecimento |url=http://tatoli.tl/pt/2021/05/06/longuinhos-pede-a-academicos-que-utilizem-a-lingua-portuguesa-na-transmissao-de-conhecimento/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509190920/http://tatoli.tl/pt/2021/05/06/longuinhos-pede-a-academicos-que-utilizem-a-lingua-portuguesa-na-transmissao-de-conhecimento/ |archive-date=9 May 2021 |access-date=9 May 2021 |website=Tatoli}} The 2015 census found around 15% of those over the age of five were literate in English.{{cite web |url=https://timor-leste.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/2015%20Census%20Gender%20Dimensions%20Analytical%20Report.pdf |title=Timor-Leste Population and Housing Census 2015 Analytical Report on Gender Dimensions |author=Jessica Gardner |publisher=United Nations Population Fund |access-date=24 October 2022 |page=34 |archive-date=24 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024132844/https://timor-leste.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/2015%20Census%20Gender%20Dimensions%20Analytical%20Report.pdf |url-status=live }} Likely reflecting the mixed origins of the different ethnolinguistic groups of the island, the indigenous languages fall into two language families: [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] and [[Papuan languages|Papuan]].{{rp|10}} Depending on how they are classified, there are up to 19 indigenous languages with up to 30 dialects.{{rp|136}} Aside from Tetum, [[Ethnologue]] lists the following indigenous languages: [[Adabe language|Adabe]], Baikeno, Bunak, Fataluku, [[Galoli language|Galoli]], [[Habun language|Habun]], [[Idaté]], [[Kairui-Midiki language|Kairui-Midiki]], Kemak, [[Lakalei language|Lakalei]], Makasae, [[Makuv'a]], Mambae, [[Nauete language|Nauete]], Tukudede, and [[Waima'a language|Waima'a]].{{cite web|title=Languages of East Timor|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=tl|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=12 February 2013|archive-date=20 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020014037/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=TL|url-status=live}} According to the ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]'', there are six endangered languages in Timor-Leste: [[Adabe]], [[Habu language|Habu]], [[Kairui-Midiki]], [[Maku'a language|Maku'a]], [[Naueti language|Naueti]], and Waima'a.{{cite web|title=Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger|url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/index.php|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=12 February 2013|archive-date=27 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627041634/http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/index.php|url-status=live}} The largest [[Malayo-Polynesian peoples|Malayo-Polynesian]] group is the [[Tetum language|Tetum]], mostly around Dili or the western border. Other Malayo-Polynesian languages with native speakers of more than 40,000 are [[Mambai language (Timor)|Mambai]] in the central mountains south of Dili, [[Baikeno]] in Oecusse, [[Kemak language|Kemak]] in the north-west interior, and [[Tokodede language|Tokodede]] on the northwest coast.{{cite web |url=https://www.statistics.gov.tl/category/publications/census-publications/2015-census-publications/volume-2-population-distribution-by-administrative/4-language/ |title=Language |publisher=General Directorate of Statistics |date=2015 |access-date=31 May 2022 |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702112224/https://www.statistics.gov.tl/category/publications/census-publications/2015-census-publications/volume-2-population-distribution-by-administrative/4-language/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320946685 |title=Mapping the mother tongue in Timor-Leste Who spoke what where in 2010? |author1=Catharina Williams-van Klinken |author2=Rob Williams |date=2015 |access-date=31 May 2022}} The main Papuan languages spoken are [[Bunak language|Bunak]] in the centre of Timor, especially within [[Bobonaro Municipality]]; [[Makasae]] in the eastern [[Baucau Municipality|Baucau]] and [[Viqueque Municipality|Viqueque]] municipalities; and [[Fataluku language|Fataluku]] in the eastern [[Lautém Municipality]].{{rp|43}} The 2015 census found that the most commonly spoken [[mother tongue]]s were Tetum Prasa (mother tongue for 30.6% of the population), Mambai (16.6%), [[Makasai]] (10.5%), Tetum Terik (6.05%), [[Baikenu]] (5.87%), Kemak (5.85%), Bunak (5.48%), [[Tokodede]] (3.97%), and Fataluku (3.52%). Other indigenous languages accounted for 10.47%, while 1.09% of the population spoke foreign languages natively.{{citation|title=Language|url=http://www.statistics.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/4_2015-V2-Language.xls|work=Population and Housing Census of Timor-Leste, 2015|publisher=Timor-Leste Ministry of Finance|access-date=30 January 2020|archive-date=13 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113162400/http://www.statistics.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/4_2015-V2-Language.xls|url-status=live}} === Religion === {{main|Religion in Timor-Leste}} [[File:8-Igreja_da_Imaculada_Conceição_Viqueque_2015-08-22.jpg|thumb|alt=A large white church with a mass of people in front of it|''Imaculada Conceição'' church, in [[Viqueque Municipality|Viqueque]]]] While the [[Constitution of Timor-Leste]] enshrines the principles of [[freedom of religion]] and [[separation of church and state]], Section 45 Comma 1 also acknowledges "the participation of the [[Catholic Church]] in the process of national liberation" in its preamble. Upon independence, the country joined the [[Philippines]] to become the only two predominantly Catholic states in Asia, although nearby parts of eastern Indonesia such as [[Flores]] and parts of [[Western New Guinea]] also have Catholic majorities.{{cite news |url=https://thediplomat.com/2022/02/catholicisms-overlooked-importance-in-asia/ |title=Catholicism's Overlooked Importance in Asia |last1=Brown |first1=Bernardo |last2=Chambon |first2=Michel |work=The Diplomat |date=4 February 2022 |access-date=14 July 2022 |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808040925/https://thediplomat.com/2022/02/catholicisms-overlooked-importance-in-asia/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Cavanaugh |first=Ray |url=https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/04/24/timor-leste-a-young-nation-with-strong-faith-and-heavy-burdens/ |title=Timor-Leste: A young nation with strong faith and heavy burdens |date=24 April 2019 |work=The Catholic World Report |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=8 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408004941/https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/04/24/timor-leste-a-young-nation-with-strong-faith-and-heavy-burdens/ |url-status=live }} According to the 2022 census, 97.6% of the population is [[Catholic Church in Timor-Leste|Catholic]], 1.979% [[Protestant Church in East Timor|Protestant]], 0.24% [[Islam in Timor-Leste|Muslim]], 0.08% Traditional, 0.05% Buddhist, 0.02% [[Hinduism in Timor-Leste|Hindu]], and 0.08% other religions. A 2016 survey conducted by the [[Demographic and Health Survey]] programme showed that Catholics made up 98.3% of the population, Protestants 1.2%, and Muslims 0.3%.{{cite web|url=https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR329/FR329.pdf|title=Timor-Leste: Demographic and Health Survey, 2016|publisher=General Directorate of Statistics, Ministry of Planning and Finance & Ministry of Health|page=35|access-date=21 April 2018|archive-date=22 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422133047/https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR329/FR329.pdf|url-status=live}} The number of churches grew from 100 in 1974 to more than 800 in 1994,{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Geoffrey |title=If You Leave Us Here, We Will Die: How Genocide Was Stopped in East Timor |date=2010 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton |page=72}} with Church membership having grown considerably under [[Indonesia]]n rule as ''[[Pancasila Indonesia|Pancasila]]'', Indonesia's state ideology, requires all citizens to believe in [[God]] and historically did not recognise traditional beliefs. East Timorese [[animist]] belief systems did not fit with [[Constitution of Indonesia|Indonesia's constitutional]] [[monotheism]], resulting in mass conversions to [[Christianity]]. Portuguese clergy were replaced with Indonesian priests and [[Latin language|Latin]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] Mass was replaced by [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] Mass.{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Jean Gelman|title=Indonesia: Peoples and Histories|url=https://archive.org/details/indonesia00jean|url-access=registration|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2003|page=[https://archive.org/details/indonesia00jean/page/381 381]|isbn=978-0-300-10518-6}} While just 20% of East Timorese called themselves Catholics at the time of the 1975 invasion, the figure surged to reach 95% by the end of the first decade after the invasion.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4410917.stm|work=[[BBC News]]|first=Jonathan|last=Head|title=East Timor mourns 'catalyst' Pope|date=5 April 2005|access-date=20 November 2016|archive-date=19 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619191639/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4410917.stm|url-status=live}} The Catholic Church divides Timor-Leste into [[List of Catholic dioceses in Timor-Leste|three dioceses]]: the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Díli|Archdiocese of Díli]], the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Baucau|Diocese of Baucau]], and the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Maliana|Diocese of Maliana]].{{cite web|title=Pope Benedict XVI erects new diocese in East Timor|url=https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/asia-pacific/pope-benedict-xvi-erects-new-diocese-in-east-timor|publisher=Catholic News Agency|access-date=12 February 2013|archive-date=17 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217015334/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope_benedict_xvi_erects_new_diocese_in_east_timor/|url-status=live}} In rural areas, Catholicism is often [[Religious syncretism|syncretised]] with local animist beliefs.{{cite book|last1=Hajek|first1=John|last2=Tilman|first2=Alexandre Vital|title=East Timor Phrasebook|url=https://archive.org/details/easttimorphraseb00haje|url-access=registration|date=1 October 2001|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74059-020-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/easttimorphraseb00haje/page/56 56]}} The number of Timorese Protestants and Muslims declined significantly after September 1999, as these groups were disproportionately represented among supporters of integration with Indonesia. Fewer than half of previous Protestant congregations existed after September 1999, and many Protestants were among those who remained in [[West Timor]].[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90135.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Timor-Leste] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620011445/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90135.htm |date=20 June 2020 }}. United States [[Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor]] (14 September 2007). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [[public domain]].'' ===Education=== [[File:Portuguese School of Díli, Timor-Leste.jpg|thumb|alt=A classroom with schoolchildren and teachers|[[Escola Portuguesa Ruy Cinatti]], the Portuguese School of Díli]] Timor-Leste's adult [[literacy]] rate was 68% among adults, and 84% among those aged 15–24, as of 2021. It is slightly higher among women than men.{{rp|27}} More girls than boys attend school, although some drop out upon reaching puberty.{{rp|25}} As of 2016 22% of working age women (15–49) and 19% of working age men had no education, 15% of women and 18% of men had some primary education, 52% of women and 51% of men had some secondary education, and 11% of women and 12% of men had higher education. Overall, 75% of women and 82% of men were literate.{{rp|2}} Primary schools exist throughout the country, although the quality of materials and teaching is often poor. Secondary schools are generally limited to municipal capitals. Education takes up 10% of the national budget.{{rp|27}} The country's main university is the [[National University of Timor-Leste]]. There are also four colleges. Since independence, both [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] and Tetum have lost ground as [[Medium of instruction|media of instruction]], while [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] has increased: in 2001 only 8.4% of primary school and 6.8% of secondary school students attended a Portuguese-medium school; by 2005 this had increased to 81.6% for primary and 46.3% for secondary schools.{{cite web|title=Table 5.7 – Profile Of Students That Attended The 2004/05 Academic Year By Rural And Urban Areas And By District|url=http://dne.mof.gov.tl/TLSLS/StatisticalData/5_Education/Main%20Tables/table5.7.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091114124605/http://dne.mof.gov.tl/TLSLS/StatisticalData/5_Education/Main%20Tables/table5.7.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 November 2009|publisher=Direcção Nacional de Estatística}} Indonesian formerly played a considerable role in education, being used by 73.7% of all secondary school students as a medium of instruction, but by 2005 Portuguese was used by most schools in [[Baucau District|Baucau]], [[Manatuto District|Manatuto]], as well as the capital district. Portugal provides support to about 3% of the public schools in Timor-Leste, focused on those in urban areas, further encouraging the use of the Portuguese language.{{rp|28}} == Culture == {{main|Culture of Timor-Leste}} [[File:Timorese Dancers.jpg|thumb|upright|right|alt=Two women dancing in traditional outfits incorporating feathers and tais cloth|Traditional Timorese dancers]] The culture of Timor-Leste stem from several waves of [[Austronesian people|Austronesian]] and [[Melanesia]]n migration that led to the current population, with unique identities and traditions developing within each [[petty kingdom]]. Portuguese authorities built upon traditional structures, blending Portuguese influence into the existing political and social systems.{{rp|91–92}} The presence of the Catholic Church created a point of commonality across the various ethnic groups, despite full conversion remaining limited. The Portuguese language also provided common linkages, even if direct Portuguese impact was limited.{{rp|97–98}} Under Indonesian rule, resistance strengthened cultural links to Catholicism and the Portuguese language. At the same time, Indonesian cultural influence was spread through schools and administration.{{rp|98–99}} The preservation of traditional beliefs in the face of Indonesian attempts to suppress them became linked to the creation of the country's [[national identity]].{{rp|7–13}} This national identity only began to emerge at the very end of Portuguese rule, and further developed during Indonesian rule.{{cite journal |last1=Kingsbury |first1=Damien |title=National identity in Timor-Leste: challenges and opportunities |journal=South East Asia Research |date=March 2010 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=133–159 |doi=10.5367/000000010790959820 |jstor=23750953 |s2cid=144171942 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23750953 |access-date=31 May 2022 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531144514/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23750953 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}{{rp|134–136}} Following independence, a [[Civic nationalism|civic identity]] began to develop. This was most clearly expressed through enthusiasm for national-level democracy,{{rp|155–156}} and was reflected in politics through a shift from resistance narratives to development ones.{{cite book |last1=Leach |first1=Michael |title=Nation-Building and National Identity in Timor-Leste |date=8 December 2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781315311647 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiglDwAAQBAJ |access-date=2 July 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152316/https://books.google.com/books?id=iiglDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}{{rp|3}} The capital has developed a more cosmopolitan culture, while [[rural area]]s maintain stronger traditional practices.{{rp|30}} [[Internal migration]] into [[urban area]]s, especially Dili, creates cultural links between these areas and rural hinterlands. Those in urban areas often continue to identify with a specific rural area, even those with multiple generations born in Dili.{{rp|53–54}} The presence of so many ethnic and linguistic groups means cultural practices vary across the country.{{rp|11}} These practices reflect historical social structures and practices, where political leaders were regarded as having spiritual powers. Ancestry was an important part of cultural practices, and partly signified leadership. Leaders often had influence over [[land use]], and these leaders continue to play an informal role in land disputes and other aspects of community practice today. An important traditional concept is ''lulik'', or sacredness. Some ''lulik'' ceremonies continue to reflect animist beliefs, for example through divination ceremonies which vary throughout the country. Sacred status can also be associated with objects, such as Portuguese flags which have been passed down within families.{{rp|7–13}} [[File:Lospalos klein.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=A wooden house on stilts with a thatch roof|Sacred house (''lee teinu'') in [[Lospalos]]]] Community life is centred around sacred houses (''[[Uma Lulik]]''), physical structures which serve as a representative symbol and identifier for each community.{{rp|47–49}} The architectural style of these houses varies between different parts of the country, although following widespread destruction by Indonesian forces many were rebuilt with cheap modern materials.{{cite book |editor1=Rosangela Tenorio |editor2=Jairo da Costa Junior |title=Homan Futuru: Timor-Leste Traditional Housing |date=3 March 2022 |publisher=University of Western Australia |url=https://issuu.com/uwaschoolofdesign/docs/timor_catalogue |access-date=15 October 2022 |archive-date=15 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015151433/https://issuu.com/uwaschoolofdesign/docs/timor_catalogue |url-status=live }}{{rp|22–25}} The house as a concept extends beyond the physical object to the surrounding community.{{rp|92–93, 96}} [[Kinship]] systems exist within and between houses. Traditional leaders, who stem from historically important families, retain key roles in administering justice and resolving disputes through methods that vary between communities.{{rp|47–49}} Such leaders are often elected to official leadership positions, merging cultural and historical status with modern political status.{{rp|52}} The concept of being part of a communal house has been extended to the nation, with Parliament serving as the national sacred house.{{rp|96}} Art styles vary throughout the various ethnolinguistic groups of the island. Nonetheless, similar artistic motifs are present throughout, such as large animals and particular geometric patterns. Some art is traditionally associated with particular genders.{{cite web |url=https://collections.dma.org/essay/JAxJqGNn |title=Traditional Arts in Timorese Cultures |author=Nico de Jonge |publisher=Dallas Museum of Art |date=2013 |access-date=15 October 2022 |archive-date=15 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015134919/https://collections.dma.org/essay/JAxJqGNn |url-status=live }} For example, the [[Tais]] textiles that play a widespread role in traditional life throughout the island are traditionally handwoven by women.{{cite web |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/USL/tais-traditional-textile-01688 |title=Tais, traditional textile |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=15 October 2022 |archive-date=14 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214130258/https://ich.unesco.org/en/USL/tais-traditional-textile-01688 |url-status=live }} Different tais patterns are associated with different communities, and more broadly with linguistic groups.{{rp|137}} Many buildings within central Dili maintain historical Portuguese architecture.{{cite web |url=https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/12268603.pdf |title=The Project for Study on Dili Urban Master Plan in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste |publisher=Japan International Cooperation Agency |date=October 2016 |access-date=6 July 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184610/https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/12268603.pdf |url-status=live }}{{rp|I-5}} Traditional rituals remain important, often mixed in with more modern aspects.{{rp|137}} A strong [[oral history]] is highlighted in individuals able to recite long stories or poetry.{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Chris |title=A Traveller's Dictionary in Tetun-English and English-Tetun |date=1992 |publisher=Baba Dook Books |isbn=9780959192223 |url=https://www.gnu.org/software/tetum/contributors/cliffMorris-xhtml/index.html |chapter=The People of East Timor |chapter-url=https://www.gnu.org/software/tetum/contributors/cliffMorris-xhtml/ch02.html |access-date=2 July 2022 |archive-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818161243/http://www.gnu.org/software/tetum/contributors/cliffMorris-xhtml/index.html |url-status=live }} This history, or ''Lia nain'', passes down traditional knowledge.{{rp|16}} There remains a strong tradition of poetry.{{Cite web |url=http://lusofonia.x10.mx/timor.htm |title=Literatura timorense em língua portuguesa |website=lusofonia.x10.mx |trans-title=Timorese literature in the Portuguese language |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929080148/http://lusofonia.x10.mx/timor.htm |archive-date=29 September 2019 |language=pt}} Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, for example, is a distinguished poet, earning the moniker "poet warrior".{{Cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-09/xanana-gusmao-resignation-profile/6081170 |title=East Timor's president accepts Xanana Gusmao's resignation |date=9 February 2015 |work=ABC News |access-date=22 January 2017 |language=en-AU |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202005344/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-09/xanana-gusmao-resignation-profile/6081170 |url-status=live }} In the field of cinema, Timor-Leste released its first feature-length film, a period thriller titled ''[[Beatriz's War]]'', in 2013.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/fresh-start-for-east-timors-film-scene-20131002-2urxt.html|title=Fresh start for East Timor's film scene|access-date=3 October 2013|work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]|archive-date=14 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114121658/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/fresh-start-for-east-timors-film-scene-20131002-2urxt.html|url-status=live}} Shot with a limited budget by a mix of local filmmakers and a volunteer Australian film crew, the film depicted East Timorese life under Indonesian occupation in the 1970s, with producer Lurdes Pires acknowledging their aim to diverge from the government's "friendship and forgiveness" policy for its past conflicts by telling a story of truth-seeking and justice.{{cite news|last=Craig|first=Natalie|title=East Timor's first feature film: a quest for truth on a shoestring budget|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/australia-culture-blog/2014/jul/10/east-timors-first-feature-film-a-quest-for-truth-on-a-shoestring-budget|access-date=1 January 2023|work=[[The Guardian]]|publisher=[[Guardian Media Group|Guardian News & Media Limited]]|date=10 July 2014|archive-date=1 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101083810/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/australia-culture-blog/2014/jul/10/east-timors-first-feature-film-a-quest-for-truth-on-a-shoestring-budget|url-status=live}} === Media === {{See also|List of newspapers in Timor-Leste|Freedom of the press in Timor-Leste}} Newspapers are concentrated in [[Dili]], and they are mostly published in the national [[Tetum language]]. Television stations are also concentrated in Dili, with only one Dili-based station available outside the city. Radio is the most popular form of mass media, due to various reasons, such as a low literacy rate, the cost of newspapers relative to the average income, and it being broadcast in [[Languages of Timor-Leste|regional languages]]. Press freedom is mixed. As of 2022, 37% of the country were Internet users.{{cite web |title=The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society – Timor-Leste |url=https://sk.sagepub.com/ency/edvol/the-sage-encyclopedia-of-mass-media-and-society/chpt/timorleste |website=Sage Reference |access-date=3 January 2025}}{{cite web |title=East Timor media guide |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-14952882 |website=BBC News |date=16 September 2011 |access-date=3 January 2025}} == See also == {{Portal|Timor-Leste|Asia}} * [[Outline of Timor-Leste]] * [[List of Timor-Leste–related topics]] {{clear}} == Notes == {{notelist}} == References == {{Reflist}} == Bibliography == {{refbegin|40em}} * {{Cite book |last=Cashmore |first=Ellis |title=Dictionary of Race and Ethnic Relations |publisher=Routledge |date=1988 |location=New York |asin=B000NPHGX6}} * {{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Genocide |year=1999 |publisher=ABC-Clio |isbn=0-87436-928-2 |editor-last=Charny |editor-first=Israel W. |volume=1 |location=Santa Barbara, California}} * {{cite book|last=Dunn|first=James|date=1996|title=East Timor: A People Betrayed|location=Sydney|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|author-link=James Dunn (diplomat)}} * {{cite book|last1=Durand|first1=Frédéric|title=East Timor: A Country at the Crossroads of Asia and the Pacific, a Geo-Historical Atlas|date=2006|publisher=Silkworm Books|location=Chiang Mai|isbn=9749575989}} * {{cite book|last1=Durand|first1=Frédéric|title=History of Timor Leste|date=2016|publisher=Silkworm Books|location=Chiang Mai|isbn=978-616-215-124-8}} * {{cite book|last1=Groshong|first1=Daniel J|title=Timor-Leste: Land of Discovery|date=2006|publisher=Tayo Photo Group|location=Hong Kong|isbn=988987640X}} * {{cite book|last1=Gunn|first1=Geoffrey C.|year=1999|title= Timor Loro Sae: 500 Years|location=Macau|publisher=Livros do Oriente|isbn=972-9418-69-1}} * {{HD of East Timor}} * {{Cite book |last=Hägerdal |first=Hans |title=Lords of the land, lords of the sea; Conflict and adaptation in early colonial Timor, 1600-1800 |date=2012 |publisher=KITLV Press |isbn=978-90-6718-378-9 |location=Leiden |doi=10.26530/oapen_408241 |hdl=20.500.12657/34566 |via=Oapen |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free}} * {{cite book|last1=Kingsbury|first1=Damien|author1-link=Damien Kingsbury|last2=Leach|first2=Michael|title=East Timor: Beyond Independence|series=Monash Papers on Southeast Asia, no 65|date=2007|publisher=Monash University Press|location=Clayton, Vic|isbn=9781876924492}} * {{cite book|editor1-last=Hill|editor1-first=H|editor2-last=Saldanha|editor2-first=J|title=East Timor: Development Challenges for the World's Newest Nation|date=2002|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|location=London|isbn=978-0-333-98716-2}} * {{cite book|editor1-last=Leach|editor1-first=Michael|editor2-last=Kingsbury|editor2-first=Damien|editor2-link=Damien Kingsbury|title=The Politics of Timor-Leste: Democratic Consolidation After Intervention|series=Studies on Southeast Asia, no 59|date=2013|publisher=Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program Publications|location=Ithaca, NY|isbn=9780877277897}} * {{Cite book |last=Levinson |first=David |title=Ethnic Relations: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia |date=1998 |publisher=ABC-Clio |location=Santa Barbara, California}} * {{cite book|last1=Molnar|first1=Andrea Katalin|title=Timor Leste: Politics, History, and Culture|series=Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia series, 27|date=2010|publisher=Routledge|location=London; New York|isbn=9780415778862}} * {{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Modern Ethnic Conflicts |date=2003 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-313-01574-0 |editor-last=Rudolph |editor-first=Joseph R. |location=Westport, Connecticut |pages=101–106}} * {{Cite book |editor-last=Shelton |editor-first=Dinah L. |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=2226008 |title=Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity |date=2005 |publisher=Thomson Gale |location=Detroit |ssrn=2226008 |access-date=12 February 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326152321/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2226008 |url-status=live }} * {{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=John G. |title=East Timor: The Price of Freedom |date=1999 |publisher=Pluto Press |isbn=978-1-85649-840-1 |location=Annandale}} * {{cite book|editor1-last=Viegas|editor1-first=Susana de Matos|editor2-last=Feijó|editor2-first=Rui Graça|title=Transformations in Independent Timor-Leste: Dynamics of Social and Cultural Cohabitations|date=2017|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=9781315534992}} * {{Cite book |last=Berlie |first=Jean A. |title=East Timor: A Bibliography |date=2001 |publisher=Indes savantes |isbn=2-84654-012-8 |location=Paris |author-link=Jean Berlie}}, a bibliographic reference, launched by PM [[Xanana Gusmão]] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20040321134359/http://kyotoreview.cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/issue/issue2/article_232.doc ''East Timor, politics and elections'' (in Chinese)/ 东帝汶政治与选举 (2001–2006): 国家建设及前景展望], [[Jean Berlie|Jean A. Berlie]], Institute of Southeast Asian Studies of Jinan University editor, Jinan, China, published in 2007. * {{Cite book |last1=Lundahl |first1=Mats |title=The Creation of the East Timorese Economy |last2=Sjöholm |first2=Fredrik |date=2019 |publisher=Springer |volume=1–2 |location=Cham}} {{refend}} == External links == {{Sister project links|East Timor|auto=1|voy=East Timor}} '''Struggle for Independence''' * [https://tasmaniantimes.com/2016/01/the-truth-about-john-howards-east-timor-liberation/ 8 Sep 1999 account of the United Nations ballot on East Timorese independence] ;Government * [https://timor-leste.gov.tl/?lang=en official government website] * [https://www.timorleste.tl/ Timor-Leste official tourism website] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20081210074013/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-t/timor-leste.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members] (archived 10 December 2008) ;General information * [https://web.archive.org/web/20260117025949/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/timor-leste/ Timor-Leste]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]]. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20081029214745/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/etimor.htm East Timor] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' (archived 29 October 2008) * [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/596313/East-Timor East Timor] at ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14919009 East Timor profile] [[BBC News]] * {{Wikiatlas|East Timor}} * [https://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=TL Key Development Forecasts for Timor-Leste] from [[International Futures]] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20190326203827/http://www.tlstudies.org/index.html Timor Leste Studies Association] (archived 26 March 2019) ** The Modern Endangered Archives Program has a collection of [https://meap.library.ucla.edu/projects/justino-valentim-collection Vaihoho Sung-Poems] from Timor-Leste available through the UCLA Library * Australian movie Balibo, by Robert Connolly, 2009. Based on true events, the film follows the story of the Balibo Five, a group of journalists who were captured and killed while reporting on activities a few months prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in December 1975. The film, which takes its name from the town of Balibo, is loosely based on the 2001 book Cover-Up by Jill Jolliffe, an Australian journalist who met the men before they were killed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balibo_(film) {{Timor-Leste topics}} {{Navboxes |title = Related articles |list = {{Municipalities of Timor-Leste}} {{Capitals of Municipalities of Timor-Leste}} {{Administrative posts of Timor-Leste}} {{Sucos of Timor-Leste}} {{Countries of Asia}} {{Countries and territories of Southeast Asia}} {{Countries of the Malay Archipelago}} {{Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)}} {{Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)}} {{East Asia Summit (EAS)}} {{Non-Aligned Movement}} {{World Trade Organization}} {{Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP)|state=collapsed}} {{Portuguese overseas empire}} }} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Timor-Leste| ]] [[Category:Timor|*]] [[Category:1975 establishments in Asia]] [[Category:2002 establishments in Asia]] [[Category:Countries in Asia]] [[Category:Island countries of the Indian Ocean]] [[Category:Island countries]] [[Category:Former Portuguese colonies]] [[Category:Least developed countries]] [[Category:Maritime Southeast Asia]] [[Category:Member states of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries]] [[Category:Member states of the United Nations]] [[Category:Former members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization]] [[Category:Countries and territories where Portuguese is an official language]] [[Category:Republics]] [[Category:Small Island Developing States]] [[Category:Countries in Southeast Asia]] [[Category:States and territories established in 1975]] [[Category:States and territories established in 2002]] [[Category:Member states of ASEAN]]