East Timor

Southeast Asia

Southeastern Asia, northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago; note - Timor-Leste includes the eastern half of the island of Timor, the Oecussi (Ambeno) region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the islands of Pulau Atauro and Pulau Jaco.

"Unidade, Acção, Progresso" (Portuguese) ("Unity, Action, Progress")		9.0044516S 124.0686035E
President José Ramos-Horta	Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão

Capital
Dili

Government
Parliamentary republic

Religion
Roman Catholic 98%, Muslim 1%, Protestant 1%.

Population
1,066,582

Ethnic group
Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian), Papuan, small Chinese minority.

National Language                     
Tetum
            
National Day
28 November 1975 (from Portugal)

Anthem
Pátria

Currency
U.S. Dollar (USD)

Attractions
National parks of East,  Timor Parks in East Timor 

Website                     

Art &Cultural

The ICON

Government Palace      The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor  , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The small country of 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia. East Timor was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until Portugal's decolonization of the country. In late 1975, East Timor declared its independence, but later that year was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia's 27th province the following year. In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory and East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002. East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia, the other being the Philippines. East Timor is a lower-middle-income economy. It continues to suffer the aftereffects of a decades-long independence struggle against Indonesia, which damaged infrastructure and displaced thousands of civilians. It is placed 120th by Human Development Index (HDI).