East Timor Overview

East Timor Overview

East Timor is located in Southeast Asia. The country consists of the eastern part of the island of Timor and an exclave on the western part of the island. After being under colonial rule Portugal since the 0’s, East Timor declared independence in 1975. Only nine days later, Indonesia invaded East Timor and proclaimed it the country’s twenty-seventh province.

East Timor flagEast Timor 2

Capital: Dili
Biggest city: Dili
State: republic
Language: tetum, Portuguese
Religion: catholicism
Surface: 15 007 km²
Population: 1.1 million (2013)
Population density: 75 residents per km²
Life expectancy: 67 years
Illiteracy: 41%
Currency: US dollar (USD)
1 US dollar = 8.40 kr
GDP per capita: $ 2,700 (2010)
Time difference: +8 hours
Electricity: 110/220 V AC 50Hz
National Day: 28 November
Country area code: 670
2-Letter country abbreviation: TL (See more abbreviations on Abbreviationfinder)

Between 1975 and 1999, Indonesia held East Timor in an iron grip. More than 200,000 people were killed by government soldiers. Following international pressure, Indonesia was forced to hold a referendum in 1999 on whether or not East Timor would become independent. 98.6 percent of those eligible to vote participated and 78.5 percent of them voted for independence. After pressure from i.a. The UN forced Indonesia to accept the election result and grant East Timor independence in 2002.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

Weather in Dili

Climate Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Christmas Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average temperature °C 27 26 26 26 26 25 24 24 24 26 27 27
Rain (mm) 135 130 134 83 72 53 12 14 18 24 69 136

Dili

According to Countryaah, Dili has been the capital of East Timor since the country’s declaration of independence from Indonesia in 2002. The city has 158,000 residents (2004). The city was populated around 1520 by the Portuguese, who made it the capital of Portuguese Timor in 1596. During World War II, Dili was occupied by Japan, but the area returned after the war to be a Portuguese colony.

East Timor declared independence from Portugal in 1975, but nine days later Indonesian troops invaded Dili. In 1976, Indonesia annexed East Timor, under the name Timor Timur, with Dili as its capital.