East Timor (i/ˌiːst ˈtiːmɔr/) or Timor-Leste (/tiˈmɔr ˈlɛʃteɪ/), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country 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 country's size is about 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi).
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 East Asia, the other being the Philippines.
East Timor has 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 147th by Human Development Index (HDI).
It is a member of the United Nations and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.
Read more about East Timor: Etymology, History, Politics, Geography, Economy, Demographics, Culture
Other articles related to "timor, east timor, east":
... solve a dispute over overlapping claims to the continental shelf in the Timor Gap when East Timor was annexed and became part of Indonesian territory in 1975 ... treaties, Indonesia was determined that the seabed boundary that would close the Timor Gap would lie along the median line between the two countries ... however saw that its continental shelf should stretch to the Timor Trough, a deep trench in the Timor Sea which was located 40 nautical miles (74 km) from ...
... bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in East Timor may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents ... Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is legal in East Timor, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for ...
... Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia People's Republic of China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel ...
... The culture of East Timor reflects numerous influences, including Portuguese, Roman Catholic, and Malaysia, on the indigenous Austronesian and Melanesian cultures of Timor ... was transformed into the island of Timor, or Crocodile Island, as it is often called ... East Timorese culture is heavily influenced by Austronesian legends, although the Catholic influence is also strong ...
... See also Languages of East Timor and Tetum Similar to nearby islands, most Timorese are Melanesian and anthropologists identify eleven distinct ethno-linguistic groups in Timor ... The largest are the Atoni of western Timor, and the Tetum of central and eastern Timor ... Most Timor indigenous Timorese languages belong to the Austronesian group of languages spoken through the Indonesian archipelago ...
Famous quotes containing the word east:
“Biography is a very definite region bounded on the north by history, on the south by fiction, on the east by obituary, and on the west by tedium.”
—Philip Guedalla (1889–1944)