| Economy - overview | Since independence in 1999, Timor-Leste has faced great challenges in rebuilding its infrastructure, strengthening the civil administration, and generating jobs for young people entering the work force. The development of offshore oil and gas resources has greatly supplemented government revenues. This technology-intensive industry, however, has done little to create jobs in part because there are no production facilities in Timor-Leste. Gas is currently piped to Australia for processing, but Timor-Leste has expressed interest in developing a domestic processing capability. In June 2005, the National Parliament unanimously approved the creation of the Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund to serve as a repository for all petroleum revenues and to preserve the value of Timor-Leste's petroleum wealth for future generations. The Fund held assets of $16 billion, as of mid-2016. Oil accounts for over 90% of government revenues, and the drop in the price of oil in 2014-16 has led to concerns about the long-term sustainability of government spending. Timor-Leste compensated for the decline in price by exporting more oil. The Ministry of Finance maintains that the Petroleum Fund is sufficient to sustain government operations for the foreseeable future. Annual government budget expenditures increased markedly between 2009 and 2012 but dropped significantly through 2016. Historically, the government failed to spend as much as its budget allowed. The government has focused significant resources on basic infrastructure, including electricity and roads, but limited experience in procurement and infrastructure building has hampered these projects. 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 (purchasing power parity) | $7.426 billion (2017 est.) $7.784 billion (2016 est.) $7.391 billion (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $2.775 billion (2017 est.) note: non-oil GDP |
| GDP - real growth rate | -4.6% (2017 est.) 5.3% (2016 est.) 4% (2015 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $6,000 (2017 est.) $6,400 (2016 est.) $6,200 (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 33% (2017 est.) government consumption: 30% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 10.6% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: 0% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 78.4% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -52% (2017 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9.1% (2017 est.) industry: 56.7% (2017 est.) services: 34.4% (2017 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 41.8% (2014 est.) |
| Labor force | 286,700 (2016 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 41% industry: 13% services: 45.1% (2013) |
| Unemployment rate | 4.4% (2014 est.) 3.9% (2010 est.) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 13.2% male: 10.9% female: 15.9% (2016 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 31.9 (2007 est.) 38 (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: 300 million (2017 est.) expenditures: 2.4 billion (2017 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 10.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -75.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
| Public debt | 3.8% of GDP (2017 est.) 3.1% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.6% (2017 est.) -1.3% (2016 est.) |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 13.29% (31 December 2017 est.) 14.05% (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of narrow money | $563.3 million (31 December 2017 est.) $464.1 million (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of broad money | $563.3 million (31 December 2017 est.) $464.1 million (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of domestic credit | -$213 million (31 December 2017 est.) -$212 million (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, rice, corn, cassava (manioc, tapioca), sweet potatoes, soybeans, cabbage, mangoes, bananas, vanilla |
| Industries | printing, soap manufacturing, handicrafts, woven cloth |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2017 est.) |
| Current Account Balance | -$284 million (2017 est.) -$544 million (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $16.7 million (2017 est.) $18 million (2015 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | oil, coffee, sandalwood, marble note: potential for vanilla exports |
| Imports | $681.2 million (2017 est.) $558.6 million (2016 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | food, gasoline, kerosene, machinery |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $544.4 million (31 December 2017 est.) $437.8 million (31 December 2015 est.) note: excludes assets of approximately $9.7 billion in the Petroleum Fund (31 December 2010) |
| Debt - external | $311.5 million (31 December 2014 est.) $687 million (31 December 2013 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | (31 December 2009 est.) |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on Friday, November 27, 2020
