Timor-Leste Overview People
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Timor-Leste Demographics

What is the population of Timor-Leste?

Population 1,383,723
Population Growth Rate 2.47%
Urban Population 28.3%
Population in Major Urban Areas DILI (capital) 180,000
Nationality Noun Timorese
Nationality Adjective Timorese
Ethnic Groups Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian), Papuan, small Chinese minority
Languages Spoken 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
Language Note Portuguese and Tetum, the local language, are both official languages. Bahasa-Indonesia and English are also used in commercial and government spheres. English is often used in academic and non-government spheres. In school, it is still debated whether to focus on written Tetum, or Portuguese.

Timor-Leste Health Information

What are the health conditions in Timor-Leste?

Contraceptive Prevalence Rate - female 15-49 22.3%
Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population 6.28
Drinking Water Source - percent of rural population improved 60.5%
Drinking Water Source - percent of total population unimproved 29.5%
Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved 95.2%
Food or Waterborne Disease (s) bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Health Expenditures - percent of GDP 5.1%
Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population 5.9
Infant Mortality Rate - female deaths/1,000 live births 36.73
Infant Mortality Rate - male deaths/1,000 live births 43.23
Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births 40.09
Major Infectious Diseases - degree of risk very high
Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births 300
Mean Age for Mother's First Birth 22.1
Obesity - adult prevalence rate 2.7%
Sanitation Facility Access - percent of total population unimproved 61.1%
Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved 69%
Sanitation Facility Access - percent of rural population improved 26.8%
Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman 5.22
Underweight - percent of children under five years 45.3%
Vectorborne Disease (s) dengue fever and malaria

Timor-Leste Life Expectancy

How long do people live in Timor-Leste?

Life Expectancy at Birth 67 Years
Life Expectancy at Birth - female 68 Years
Life Expectancy at Birth - male 65 Years
Median Age 18 Years
Median Age - female 19 Years
Median Age - male 17 Years

Timor-Leste Infant Mortality - per 1,000 live births

Timor-Leste median age, birth rate and death rates

Birth Rate - births/1,000 population 35
Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population 6.28
Median Age 18 Years
Median Age - female 19 Years
Median Age - male 17 Years
Net Migration Rate - migrant(s)/1,000 population -3.88
Population Growth Rate 2.47%
Sex Ratio 0-14 Years - male/female 1.06
Sex Ratio 15-24 Years - male/female 1.03
Sex Ratio 25-54 Years - male/female .93
Sex Ratio 55-64 Years - male/female 1.01
Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female 1.07
Sex Ratio of Total Population - male/female 1.01
Sex Ratio Over 64 Years - male/female .96

Timor-Leste Medical Information

What are the health conditions in Timor-Leste?

Medical Facilities and Health Information

Although limited emergency medical care is available in Dili, options for routine medical care throughout the rest of country are extremely limited. Serious medical problems require hospitalization and/or medical evacuation to Australia, the nearest point with acceptable medical care, to Singapore, or to the United States, and can cost thousands of dollars.

Timor-Leste Education

What is school like in Timor-Leste?

Education Expenditures - percent of GDP 9.4%
Literacy - total population 58.6%
Literacy Definition age 15 and over can read and write
School Life Expectancy - female 11 Years
School Life Expectancy - male 12 Years
Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary) 12 Years

Timor-Leste Literacy

Can people in Timor-Leste read?

Literacy - total population 58.6%
Literacy Definition age 15 and over can read and write
Predominant Language 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

Timor-Leste Crime

Is Timor-Leste a safe place to visit?

Crime Information

Crimes such as pick pocketing, purse snatchings, residential and automobile break-ins, and theft occur throughout the country but are more frequent in Dili, the capital. These crimes often occur in recreational areas and facilities frequented by foreigners. If you become a victim of these crimes but resist, you may end up facing physical violence by perpetrators. There is occasional gang-related violence, which, at times, has affected foreign nationals. Stone-throwing attacks on vehicles occur during periods of gang conflicts and civil unrest and have resulted in serious injury and death in the past. You should avoid travel at night or alone in unfamiliar areas. Women should avoid traveling alone, especially at night, because sexual assault or banditry is possible. Timor-Leste is socially conservative and you should avoid wearing revealing clothing, particularly in crowded public areas such as markets.

Don’t buy counterfeit or pirated goods, even if they are widely available.

Timor-Leste Penalties for Crime

Criminal Penalties

While you are traveling in Timor-Leste, you are subject to its laws even if you are a U.S. citizen. Foreign laws and legal systems can be vastly different from our own, and criminal penalties vary from country to country. There are also some things that might be legal in the country you visit, but still illegal in the United States. You can be prosecuted under U.S. law if you buy pirated goods. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime prosecutable in the United States. If you break local laws in Timor-Leste, your U.S. passport won’t help you avoid arrest or prosecution. It’s very important to know what’s legal and what’s not where you are.

Based on the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, bilateral agreements with certain countries, and customary international law, if you are arrested in Timor-Leste, you have the option to request that the police, prison officials, or other authorities alert the U.S. embassy of your arrest, and to have communications from you forwarded to the U.S. embassy.

Timor-Leste Population Comparison

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