In 2015, the population of East Timor was estimated to be around 1.3 million people. The majority of the population is ethnically Timorese with a small percentage of immigrants from other countries. The economy of East Timor is largely reliant on subsistence agriculture and tourism. It also has a small manufacturing sector that produces goods such as textiles and furniture. In terms of foreign relations, East Timor is a member of several international organizations including the United Nations, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). See ehealthfacts for East Timor in the year of 2005.
In 2015, politics in East Timor were dominated by President Taur Matan Ruak who had been in office since 2012. He was re-elected in 2017 with an administration that focused on improving infrastructure, developing the country’s natural resources and promoting education and health services. Opposition to Ruak’s government came from both civil society groups who wanted more democratic reforms and opposition parties who wanted less government intervention in economic affairs. In addition, there were tensions between East Timor and its neighbors over border disputes which led to disputes over access to regional waters.
Yearbook 2015
Timor. In February, East Timor’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão submitted a farewell application to the President. Gusmão led East Timor’s independence struggle from 1981 and, since independence in 2002, has been in power both as president and as prime minister. According to COUNTRYAAH, Dili is the capital of Timor-Leste which is located in Southeastern Asia. President Taur Matan Ruak accepted the dismissal application. Rui Maria de Ara迆jo was elected new Prime Minister on the recommendation of Gusmão. Ara迆jo represents the opposition party Fretilin and was Minister of Health for the first time after independence in 2002.
- Also see AbbreviationFinder.org for East Timor country abbreviations, including geography, history, economy and politics.
Ara迆jo formed a new and smaller government consisting of 37 ministers instead of the former 55. Analysts said that the government transformation was likely to get rid of ministers accused of corruption. Gusmão remained in the government as minister responsible for planning and strategic investment.
In May, Amnesty International reported on excessive violence and ill-treatment when dozens of people were arrested in the Bacau district, in the eastern part of the country. The arrests were part of a series of security operations by police and military to arrest rebel leader Mauk Moruk and his supporters, who reportedly had carried out attacks on police earlier in the year.
The same month, the Australian Government announced that it will return the sensitive 2006 oil and gas negotiations that East Timor has accused the Australian intelligence service of having stolen from one of the country’s lawyers and which East Timor in 2013 turned to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Relations between the countries have long been strained, partly because of the conflict over how the assets of gas and oil in the Timor Sea should be shared.
In August, the East Timorese government announced that rebel leader Mauk Moruk was killed in an exchange of fire with police and army soldiers. Assessors believed the death of the rebel leader would reduce the risk of new violence caused by rebels.
Mauk Moruk was the leader of the Mauberes Revolutionary Council (KRM) paramilitary group, which was banned in East Timor in 2014.
In November, an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 occurred on the Richter scale, about eight miles from East Timor’s capital Dili. The earthquake occurred at about 14 kilometers deep in Lake Savus, which is part of the Indian Ocean. No reports of anyone being injured or of any material destruction were found.
Demography and economic geography. – State of Southeast Asia, independent since 2002, whose territory corresponds to the eastern section of the island of Timor, the exclave of Ocusse Ambeno, the island of Atauro (Pulau Kambing) and the islet of Jako (Pulau Jako). East Timor shows sustained demographic growth (2.1% per year in the period 2005-10, 1.7% in the period 2010-15), with one of the highest fertility rates in the world (5.9 children per woman) and a extremely high birth rate (35.8.6 ‰, 2013). The population amounted in 2014, according to an UNDESA (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs), with 1,152,439 residents. Total GDP in 2014 was $ 4.5 billion, with a record growth in 200712: + 12% on average. The primary sector contributes 4.4% to the formation of GDP (50.8% of the total workforce), the secondary sector for 82.6% (8.7% of the workforce) and the tertiary sector for 13% (40.5% of the workforce). The offshore oil and gas fields extracted from two sites are noteworthy: one under concession to ENI, the other, the largest, to the American Conoco-Phillips.