Timor-Leste flag

The Economy of Timor-Leste

Timorese Economy

Timor-Leste's map

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 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$3.9 billion as of October 2008. The economy is recovering from the mid-2006 outbreak of violence and civil unrest, which disrupted both private and public sector economic activity. The government in 2008 resettled tens of thousands of an estimated 100,000 internally displaced persons. 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 to reduce poverty.

GDP:

GDP - real growth rate: 4.7% (2008 est.) 16.2% (2007 est.) -3.4% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita:

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 32.2% industry: 12.8% services: 55% (2005)

Population below poverty line:

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 38 (2002 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

Labor force: NA

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 90% industry: NA% services: NA% (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate: 20% in rural areas, rising to more than 40% among urban youth (2006 est.)

Budget: revenues: $733 million expenditures: $309 million note: the government in 2008 moved to a fiscal year calendar; it passed a supplementary spending package to cover the latter half of 2008 (FY06/07 est.)

Industries: printing, soap manufacturing, handicrafts, woven cloth

Industrial production growth rate: 8.5% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production: NA kWh

Electricity - production by source:

Electricity - consumption: NA kWh

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Oil - production: 78,480 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption: NA bbl/day

Oil - exports:

Oil - imports:

Oil - proved reserves: 553.8 million bbl (1 January 2008)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 200 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Agriculture - products: coffee, rice, corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, soybeans, cabbage, mangoes, bananas, vanilla

Exports: $10 million; note - excludes oil (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities: coffee, sandalwood, marble; note - potential for oil and vanilla exports

Exports - partners:

Imports: $202 million (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities: food, gasoline, kerosene, machinery

Imports - partners:

Debt - external:

Economic aid - recipient:

Currency:

Currency code:

Exchange rates: the US dollar is used

Fiscal year: