Timor-Leste (2008) | Tuvalu (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 13 administrative districts; Aileu, Ainaro, Baucau, Bobonaro (Maliana), Cova-Lima (Suai), Dili, Ermera, Lautem (Los Palos), Liquica, Manatuto, Manufahi (Same), Oecussi (Ambeno), Viqueque | none |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 35.7% (male 196,825/female 190,454)
15-64 years: 61.1% (male 337,816/female 325,094) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 16,823/female 17,959) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.9% (male 1,838; female 1,772)
15-64 years: 63% (male 3,432; female 3,687) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 231; female 345) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, rice, corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, soybeans, cabbage, mangoes, bananas, vanilla | coconuts; fish |
Airports | 8 (2007) | 1 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 15,007 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km |
total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Connecticut | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The Portuguese began to trade with the island of Timor in the early 16th century and colonized it in mid-century. Skirmishing with the Dutch in the region eventually resulted in an 1859 treaty in which Portugal ceded the western portion of the island. Imperial Japan occupied Portugese Timor from 1942 to 1945, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese defeat in World War II. East Timor declared itself independent from Portugal on 28 November 1975 and was invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces nine days later. It was incorporated into Indonesia in July 1976 as the province of Timor Timur (East Timor). An unsuccessful campaign of pacification followed over the next two decades, during which an estimated 100,000 to 250,000 individuals lost their lives. On 30 August 1999, in a UN-supervised popular referendum, an overwhelming majority of the people of Timor-Leste voted for independence from Indonesia. Between the referendum and the arrival of a multinational peacekeeping force in late September 1999, anti-independence Timorese militias - organized and supported by the Indonesian military - commenced a large-scale, scorched-earth campaign of retribution. The militias killed approximately 1,400 Timorese and forcibly pushed 300,000 people into western Timor as refugees. The majority of the country's infrastructure, including homes, irrigation systems, water supply systems, and schools, and nearly 100% of the country's electrical grid were destroyed. On 20 September 1999 the Australian-led peacekeeping troops of the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) deployed to the country and brought the violence to an end. On 20 May 2002, Timor-Leste was internationally recognized as an independent state. In late April 2006, internal tensions threatened the new nation's security when a military strike led to violence and a near breakdown of law and order in Dili. At the request of the Government of Timor-Leste, an Australian-led International Stabilization Force (ISF) deployed to Timor-Leste in late May. In August, the UN Security Council established the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), which included an authorized police presence of over 1,600 personnel. In subsequent months, many of the ISF soldiers were replaced by UN police officers; approximately 80 ISF officers remained as of January 2008. From April to June 2007, the Government of Timor-Leste held presidential and parliamentary elections in a largely peaceful atmosphere with the support and assistance of UNMIT and international donors. | In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years. |
Birth rate | 26.77 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 21.58 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $733 million
expenditures: $309 million note: the government passed a transitional budget to cover the latter half of 2007 and has moved the fiscal cycle to a calendar year, starting with the budget they passed for 2008 (FY06/07 est.) |
revenues: $22.5 million
expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Dili
geographic coordinates: 8 35 S, 125 36 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Funafuti |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; distinct rainy and dry seasons | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) |
Coastline | 706 km | 24 km |
Constitution | 22 March 2002 (based on the Portuguese model) | 1 October 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
conventional short form: Timor-Leste local long form: Republika Demokratika Timor Lorosa'e [Tetum]; Republica Democratica de Timor-Leste [Portuguese] local short form: Timor Lorosa'e [Tetum]; Timor-Leste [Portuguese] former: East Timor, Portuguese Timor |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar |
Death rate | 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.34 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Hans G. KLEMM
embassy: Avenida de Portugal, Praia dos Conqueiros, Dili mailing address: US Department of State, 8250 Dili Place, Washington, DC 20521-8250 telephone: (670) 332-4684 FAX: (670) 331-3206 |
the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Constancio PINTO
chancery: 4201 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: 202 966-3202 FAX: 202 966-3205 consulate(s) general: New York |
Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does, however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, New York 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534 |
Disputes - international | Timor-Leste-Indonesia Boundary Committee has resolved all but a small portion of the land boundary, but discussions on maritime boundaries are stalemated over sovereignty of the uninhabited coral island of Pulau Batek/Fatu Sinai in the north and alignment with Australian claims in the south; many refugees who left Timor-Leste in 2003 still reside in Indonesia and refuse repatriation; Australia and Timor-Leste agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for 50 years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $184.7 million (2005 est.) | $13 million ; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of Timor-Leste was laid waste by Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias. Three hundred thousand people fled westward. Over the next three years a massive international program, manned by 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, led to substantial reconstruction in both urban and rural areas. By the end of 2005, refugees had returned or had settled in Indonesia. The country continues to face great challenges in rebuilding its infrastructure, strengthening the civil administration, and generating jobs for young people entering the work force. The development of oil and gas resources in offshore waters has begun to supplement government revenues ahead of schedule and above expectations - the result of high petroleum prices. The technology-intensive industry, however, has done little to create jobs for the unemployed because there are no production facilities in Timor. Gas is piped to Australia. In June 2005 the National Parliament unanimously approved the creation of a Petroleum Fund to serve as a repository for all petroleum revenues and preserve the value of Timor-Leste's petroleum wealth for future generations. The Fund held assets of US$1.8 billion as of September 2007. The mid-2006 outbreak of violence and civil unrest disrupted both private and public sector economic activity and created 100,000 internally displaced persons - about 10 percent of the population. While real non-oil GDP growth in 2006 was negative, the economy probably rebounded in 2007. The underlying economic policy challenge the country faces remains how best to use oil-and-gas wealth to lift the non-oil economy onto a higher growth path and reduce poverty. In late 2007, the new government announced plans aimed at increasing spending, reducing poverty, and improving the country's infrastructure, but it continues to face capacity constraints. In the short term, the government must also address continuing problems related to the crisis of 2006, especially the displaced Timorese. | Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000 Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources decline. Substantial income is received annually from an international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative withdrawals, this Fund has grown from an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu, because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from use of its area code for "900" lines and in 2000, from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new technology sources could increase substantially over the next decade. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and investment income from overseas assets. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production | NA kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m
highest point: Foho Tatamailau 2,963 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
Environment - current issues | widespread use of slash and burn agriculture has led to deforestation and soil erosion | since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is very concerned about global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Climate Change, Desertification | party to: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian), Papuan, small Chinese minority | Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.8406 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jose RAMOS-HORTA (since 20 May 2007); note - the president plays a largely symbolic role but is able to veto legislation, dissolve parliament, and call national elections
head of government: Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana GUSMAO (since 8 August 2007), note - he formerly used the name Jose Alexandre GUSMAO; Deputy Prime Minister Jose Luis GUTERRES (since 8 August 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 9 April 2007 with run-off on 8 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2012); following elections, president appoints leader of majority party or majority coalition as prime minister election results: Jose RAMOS-HORTA elected president; percent of vote - Jose RAMOS-HORTA 69.2%, Francisco GUTTERES 30.8% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Faimalaga LUKA (since 9 September 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Saufatu SOPOANGA (since 2 August 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members of Parliament; election last held 2 August 2002 (next to be held NA) election results: Saufatu SOPOANGA elected prime minister; Parliamentary vote - Saufatu SOPOANGA 8, Amasone KILEI 7 |
Exports | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | $276,000 f.o.b. (1997) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, sandalwood, marble; note - potential for oil and vanilla exports | copra, fish |
Exports - partners | US, Germany, Portugal, Australia, Indonesia (2006) | UK 58.3%, Italy 16.7%, Denmark 8.3%, Fiji 8.3% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red, with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a slightly longer yellow arrowhead that extends to the center of the flag; there is a white star in the center of the black triangle | light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $12.2 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 32.2%
industry: 12.8% services: 55% (2005) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 24% (2007 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 50 S, 125 55 E | 8 00 S, 178 00 E |
Geography - note | Timor comes from the Malay word for "East"; the island of Timor is part of the Malay Archipelago and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands | one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the coral atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons; Niulakita does not have a lagoon |
Heliports | 9 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 8 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | NA | - |
Imports | 0 cu m (2005) | $7.2 million c.i.f. (1998) |
Imports - commodities | food, gasoline, kerosene, machinery | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | - | Hungary 68.2%, Japan 12.9%, Fiji 11.9% (2002) |
Independence | 28 November 1975 (independence proclaimed from Portugal); note - 20 May 2002 is the official date of international recognition of Timor-Leste's independence from Indonesia | 1 October 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.5% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Industries | printing, soap manufacturing, handicrafts, woven cloth | fishing, tourism, copra |
Infant mortality rate | total: 44.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 50.47 deaths/1,000 live births female: 38.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 21.34 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.4% (2007 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ADB, ARF, CPLP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IFRCS (associate), ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,065 sq km (est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice - constitution calls for one judge to be appointed by National Parliament and rest appointed by Superior Council for Judiciary; note - until Supreme Court is established, Court of Appeals is highest court | High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction) |
Labor force | NA | 7,000 (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors) |
Land boundaries | total: 228 km
border countries: Indonesia 228 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 8.2%
permanent crops: 4.57% other: 87.23% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian, English
note: there are about 16 indigenous languages; Tetum, Galole, Mambae, and Kemak are spoken by significant numbers of people |
Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) |
Legal system | UN-drafted legal system based on Indonesian law remains in place but is to be replaced by civil and penal codes based on Portuguese law; these have passed but have not been promulgated; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Parliament (number of seats can vary from 52 to 65; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 30 June 2007 (next elections due by June 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - FRETILIN 29%, CNRT 24.1%, ASDT-PSD 15.8%, PD 11.3%, PUN 4.5%, KOTA-PPT (Democratic Alliance) 3.2%, UNTERDIM 3.2%, others 8.9%; seats by party - FRETILIN 21, CNRT 18, ASDT-PSD 11, PD 8, PUN 3, KOTA-PPT 2, UNDERTIM 2 |
unicameral Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.6 years
male: 64.28 years female: 69.04 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 67.32 years
male: 65.15 years female: 69.59 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58.6% male: NA% female: NA% (2002) |
definition: NA%
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago; note - Timor-Leste includes the eastern half of the island of Timor, the Oecussi (Ambeno) region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the islands of Pulau Atauro and Pulau Jaco | Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2007) | total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 33,199 GRT/56,187 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Timor-Leste Defense Force (Forcas de Defesa de Timor-L'este, Falintil (FDTL)): Army, Navy (Armada) (2008) | no regular military forces; Police Force (includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day, 28 November (1975) | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Timorese
adjective: Timorese |
noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
Natural hazards | floods and landslides are common; earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical cyclones | severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
Natural resources | gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble | fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party or PD [Fernando de ARAUJO]; National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction or CNRT [Xanana GUSMAO]; National Democratic Union of Timorese Resistance or UNDERTIM [Cornelio DA Conceicao GAMA]; National Unity Party or PUN [Fernanda BORGES]; People's Party of Timor or PPT [Jacob XAVIER]; Revolutionary Front of Independent Timor-Leste or FRETILIN [Mari ALKATIRI]; Social Democratic Association of Timor or ASDT [Francisco Xavier do AMARAL]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Mario CARRASCALAO]; Sons of the Mountain Warriors or KOTA [Manuel TILMAN] (also known as Association of Timorese Heroes) | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | none |
Population | 1,084,971
note: other estimates range as low as 800,000 (July 2007 est.) |
11,305 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 42% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.059% (2007 est.) | 1.42% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Funafuti, Nukufetau |
Radio broadcast stations | at least 21 (Timor-Leste has one national public broadcaster and 20 community and church radio stations - frequency type NA) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 98%, Muslim 1%, Protestant 1% (2005) | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.033 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.039 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.937 male(s)/female total population: 1.034 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: rudimentary service limited to urban areas
domestic: system suffered significant damage during the violence associated with independence; extremely limited fixed-line services; mobile-cellular services and coverage limited primarily to urban areas international: country code - 670; international service is available in major urban centers |
general assessment: serves particular needs for internal communications
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,500 (2006) | 1,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 49,100 (2006) | 0 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (Timor-Leste has one national public broadcaster) | 0 (1997) |
Terrain | mountainous | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 3.45 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.05 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 50% estimated; note - unemployment in urban areas reached 20%; data do not include underemployed (2001 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | - | none |