| Location | 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 |
| Geographic coordinates | 8 50 S, 125 55 E |
| Map references | Southeast Asia |
| Area | total: 14,874 sq km land: 14,874 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Connecticut; almost half the size of Maryland |
| Land boundaries | total: 253 km border countries (1): Indonesia 253 km |
| Coastline | 706 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid; distinct rainy and dry seasons |
| Terrain | mountainous |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m highest point: Foho Tatamailau 2,963 m |
| Natural resources | gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble |
| Land use | agricultural land: 25.1% (2011 est.) arable land: 10.1% (2011 est.) / permanent crops: 4.9% (2011 est.) / permanent pasture: 10.1% (2011 est.) forest: 49.1% (2011 est.) other: 25.8% (2011 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 350 sq km (2012) |
| Population distribution | most of the population concentrated in the western third of the country, particularly around Dili |
| Natural hazards | floods and landslides are common; earthquakes; tsunamis; tropical cyclones |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution and deterioration of air quality; greenhouse gas emissions; water quality, scarcity, and access; land and soil degradation; forest depletion; widespread use of slash and burn agriculture has led to deforestation and soil erosion; loss of biodiversity |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | Timor comes from the Malay word for "east"; the island of Timor is part of the Malay Archipelago and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands; the district of Oecussi is an exclave separated from Timor-Leste proper by Indonesia; Timor-Leste has the unique distinction of being the only Asian country located completely in the Southern Hemisphere |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on Friday, November 27, 2020
