Yearbook 2011
Timor. According to Countryaah official site, East Timor applied for membership in the ASEAN regional association in March. Several countries, especially the former occupation authority Indonesia, supported the application while others were more skeptical. ASEAN’s foreign ministers were tasked with investigating whether East Timor has the resources to participate in the cooperation. Visit ABBREVIATIONFINDER for the acronym of RTL that stands for the country of East Timor.
UN development program UNDP in January criticized East Timor for insufficient efforts against youth unemployment and for answering war criminals. The Security Council urged the government to decontaminate the police force from suspected police officers before taking over responsibility for enforcing law and order. This happened in March. The UN force UNMIT, consisting mainly of police officers, will remain after the 2012 presidential election, but only to provide training and support to the domestic police.
In May, a court released the Deputy Prime Minister from charges of corruption. Later, however, both the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Finance became subject to judicial inquiry into corruption. Sources within the Fretilin government party said several other ministers were suspected of being involved in questionable affairs, and Secretary-General Mari Alkatiri, the country’s first prime minister, accused Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão of weak leadership.
Corruption is expected to be a major issue ahead of the 2012 elections.
Country data
Area: 14,919 km2 (world ranking: 155)
Residents: 1,296,000
Population density: 87 per km2 (as of 2017, world ranking: 154)
Capital: Dili
Official languages: Tetum, Portuguese
Gross domestic product: 3.0 billion US $; Real growth: -8.0%
Gross national product (GNP, per resident and year): 1790 US $
Currency: 1 US dollar (US $) = 100 cents
Embassy
Kaiserin-Augusta-Allee 112, 10553 Berlin
Telephone 030 20237448
E-Mail : [email protected]
Government
Head of State: Francisco “Lú-Olo” Guterres, Head of Government: José Maria de Vasconcelos “Taur Matan Ruak”, Exterior: Dionísio Babo Soares
National holiday: November 28th. (Declaration of independence 1975)
Administrative structure
13 districts
State and form of government
Constitution of 2002
Republic
Parliament (Parlamenta Nacional) with 65 members, election every 5 years
Direct election of the head of state every 5 years (one re-election)
Right to vote from 17 years
Population: last census 2015 : 1,183,643 pop.
78% Timorians, 20% Indonesians, 2% Chinese
Cities (with population): Pante Macassar As of 2015: 12,421 pop.
Religions: 98% Catholics, 2% Protestants; Minorities of Muslims and followers of indigenous religions (status: 2006)
Languages: Tetum, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia; around 30 other languages Employed
By economic sector: No information
Unemployment (in% of all economically active persons)
No information
Inflation rate (in%): 2017: 0.6%
Foreign trade: Import: 780 million US $ (2017); Export: US $ 35 million (2017)
East Timor is a state of Southeast Asia in the Lesser Sunda Islands archipelago. The country, formerly a colony of Portugal, which became independent on 19 May 2002, occupies the eastern section of the island of Timor, the island of Atauro and the islet of Jaco. It also includes the district of Oecussi, in the northwestern coastal area of Timor, which constitutes an exclave in Indonesian territory.
For the physical characteristics ➔ Timor.
The birth rate is very high (26.2 ‰ in 2009) and is at the origin of the strong demographic increase (annual rate of 2% in 2009). The country’s only urban center is the capital Dili, located on the northern coast of the island. The official languages are the tetum (the most widespread among the indigenous languages, belonging to the family of Maleopolynesian languages) and Portuguese; Indonesian is also widespread. The religion professed by the great majority of the residents (86%) is Catholic; minorities of Protestants (3%) and Muslims (2%).
The new state suffers from a severe economic delay, to which the long period of internal conflict, linked to the Indonesian occupation and the struggle for independence, contributed greatly. The base of the local economy is formed by agriculture, largely made up of subsistence crops (rice, corn, cassava, coconuts, copra). Among the export products, the only ones of some importance are coffee and the precious wood obtained from the exploitation of the forest heritage. The few industrial activities present were destroyed during the war for independence; the contribution of the tertiary sector is quite significant. Good prospects for economic growth they come from the full exploitation of natural gas and offshore oil fields off the coast of Timor. Dili has a small port through which the main import-export flows pass. The country is heavily dependent on international aid.