Country Information

South-East Asia.

14,919 sq km (5,760 sq miles).

1,172,390 (2013).

78.6 per sq km.

Dili.

Republic. Declared full independence on 20 May 2002 after the UN Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET) had run the country for nearly three years during its transition to independence. Prior to UNTAET, the country had been under Indonesian control since 1975.

East Timor makes up the eastern half of the island of Timor (the western half belongs to Indonesia) which is situated off the northern coast of Western Australia. Also included within East Timor is the Oekussi Ambeno enclave on the northwest coast of the island, as well as the islands of Ataúro (Pulo Cambing) and Jaco (Pulo Jako). East Timor is mountainous in the interior.

Tetum is the main dialect and is the official language along with Portuguese; English is often used for administrative purposes (due to the high numbers of English-speaking relief and UN workers still working in East Timor). More than 30 other languages are also used in East Timor.

Christian majority with 86% Catholic. Islam and animist beliefs are also practised.

GMT + 9.

Most social courtesies are fairly formal. Many conventions will be similar to those of Indonesia (despite their political and religious differences) and many old East Timorese conventions will doubtless come to the fore in the coming years.

220 volts AC, 50Hz. Electricity supplies may be erratic with many power cuts.

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao since 2007.

President Taur Matan Ruak since 2012.

Former prime minister Mari Alkatiri resigned in June 2006 following a wave of street violence and protests, widely believed to be caused by his decision to sack hundreds of soldiers.

East Timor’s first presidential election since it won independence from Indonesia in 2002 was held in April/May 2007 and put José Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and the incumbent prime minister, as East Timor’s new president. In August 2007 Ramos-Horta chose his predecessor, independence hero Xanana Gusmao, to be the country’s new prime minister.

His decision came after Gusmao’s new National Congress of East Timor’s Reconstruction (CNRT) party and its main rival Fretilin failed to reach agreement on who should form a new government. Neither party won a majority in the June election. The election had been seen as a fresh start for the young, impoverished nation.