East Timor

East Timor was settled by waves of Austronesian and Papuan peoples, which are reflected in the country's diverse mix of cultures and languages reflecting its links to Southeast Asia and Melanesia despite its small area. East Timor came under Portuguese influence in the sixteenth century, remaining a Portuguese colony until 1975. Internal conflict preceded a unilateral declaration of independence and an Indonesian invasion and annexation. Resistance continued throughout Indonesian rule, and, in 1999, a United Nations–sponsored act of self-determination led to Indonesia relinquishing control of the territory. On 20 May 2002, as Timor-Leste, it became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century. That same year, relations with Indonesia were established and normalized, with Indonesia also supporting East Timor's accession into ASEAN.


The national government runs on a semi-presidential system, with the popularly elected president sharing power with a prime minister appointed by the 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, an observer of the Pacific Islands Forum, and an applicant for ASEAN membership. The country remains relatively poor, with an economy that relies heavily on natural resources, especially oil, and foreign aid. Aside from oil, coffee is one of East Timor's largest exports, and makes up a substantial percentage of its agricultural output. East Timor also remains one of the most isolated countries in the world, with roughly only 27% of the population having access to the internet in 2017, and having a limited number of direct international flights from nearby areas such as Singapore, Bali, and Darwin. However, despite these challenges, East Timor has built a mostly successful democracy and is regularly considered one of the most free countries in Asia, being ranked as the only fully free and fair democracy in Southeast Asia, and ranking tenth in world press freedom as of 2023, with very high levels of voter participation, independent media, and civil discussion.^[9][10]


The total population is over 1.34 million at the 2022 Census, and is heavily skewed towards young people due to a high fertility rate. Education has led to increasing literacy over the past half-century, especially in the two official languages of Portuguese and Tetum. High ethnic and linguistic diversity is reflected by the 30 indigenous languages spoken in the country. The majority of the population is Catholic, which coexists alongside strong local traditions and beliefs, especially in rural areas.

Name[edit]

"Timor" is derived from timur, meaning 'east' in Indonesian, thus resulting in a tautological place name meaning 'East East'. In Indonesian, this results in the name Timor Timur (the name of the former de facto Indonesian province; Timor Leste is used instead to refer to the country). In Portuguese, the country is called Timor-Leste (Leste meaning 'east'). In Tetum, it is Timór Lorosa'e (Lorosa'e can be literally translated as 'where the sun rises').^[11][12]


The official names under its constitution are "Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste" in English,^[13][14] "República Democrática de Timor-Leste" in Portuguese,^[15] and "Repúblika Demokrátika Timór-Leste" in Tetum.^[16] The official short form of the name is "Timor-Leste",^[14] and it uses the ISO codes TLS & TL.^[9]