Database of Southeast Asian Sociocultural Information

Basic information

1. Location and area

Timor-Leste is located on Maritime Southeast Asia with an estimated area of 14,874 square kilometers (Jesudas M.Athyal,Editor, 2015:327).

2. Territory

Timor-Leste is bordered by Indonesia, where the borderline reaches 228 kilometers. Its coastal line expands 706 kilometers. (สถาบันศึกษาความร่วมมือระหว่างประเทศแห่งมหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, 2559)

3. Topography

Located on Indonesia’s easternmost Lesser Sundar Archipelago facing Australia’s Northwest, Timor-Leste consists of the entire eastern half of Timor Island, Oecussi (Ambeno) on the Island’s North West, the islands of Palau Atauro and Pulau Jaco. (สถาบันศึกษาความร่วมมือระหว่างประเทศแห่งมหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, 2559)           

4. Climate

Timor-Leste lies in a tropical zone where its climate is sultry. There is so much difference in temperature between rainy season and summer. The average temperature is 25 degree Celsius.

5. Capital city

The capital city of Timor-Leste is Dili. (Jesudas M.Athyal,Editor, 2015:327)

6. Administration

Timor-Leste is a democratic state. President is the head of state while Prime minister is the leader of the government. (กรมเจรจาการค้าระหว่างประเทศ, 2010)

7. National motto

Unity, action, progress. (สถาบันศึกษาความร่วมมือระหว่างประเทศแห่งมหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, 2559)

8. Population

Timor-Leste houses the population of 1.178 million.

9. Religion

The Timorese government has not yet declared any official religion and allows the people freedom to believe in their preference. However, 98% of the population are Catholic followed by Protestant and Islamic. (Jesudas M.Athyal,Editor, 2015:327)

10. Language

Timor’s official language is Tetum and Portuguese. Indonesian and English are also spoken.  (Jesudas M.Athyal,Editor, 2015:327)

11. Education

Timorese education has followed a structure of 6-3-3 providing a pre-primary level, primary level, secondary level and degree level. The government provides a welfare benefit of basic education in primary level. (EDUCATION POLICY AND DATA CENTER, 2012) 

12. Currency: US Dollar
13. Independence Day: 28^th November serving as a reminder on the day they achieved independence from Portugal.