EAST TIMOR/Gallery
This recently independent nation, is situated northwest of Australia, on the eastern part of Timor island, which it shares with Indonesia’s province West Timor. Going from being a Portuguese colony for hundreds of years, to being occupied by Indonesia for the period between 1975-1999, the East Timorese overwhelmingly voted for independence in August 1999. In May 2002, the young country was internationally recognized as an independent nation.
East Timor is a mountainous country of 15,000 square km. Climate is tropical; hot and humid, and with distinct dry and rainy seasons. About 7% of the land is irrigated. Traditionally, agriculture has been based on the slash and burn method, leading to deforestation and soil erosion, with land slides and floods as a common re-occurrence.
Large deposits of oil and gas is found, in particular offshore. Other natural resources are manganese and some marble. Agriculture is a constant struggle against the elements, although several tropical fruits and vegetables are grown, albeit in relatively small scale. Some coffee, vanilla and sandalwood is exported, and the potential of a large expansion of the oil and gas export is there. Unemployment runs at 50%, and the country is one of the poorest in Asia. East Timor is lacking most infrastructure of any kind, as almost all of this was destroyed by Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias in late 1999.
East Timor (Timor Leste) is a republic, with Dili being the capital. The country's population is around one million.
Main ethnic groups are Austronesian and Papuan. 90 percent is officially Roman Catholic, with the remainder being predominantly Muslims and Protestants, and small communities of Hindus and Buddhists. Animism is still observed in many areas.