View source for Economy of Timor-Leste

{{Short description|None}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox economy
| country = Timor-Leste
| image = DSCI2719_Finanzministerium.JPG
| image_size = 310px
| caption = {{plainlist| 
*[[Ministry of Finance (East Timor)|Ministry of Finance building]], [[Timor-Leste]].}}
| currency = [[US dollar]] (USD) and [[Timor-Leste centavo coins|Timor-Leste centavos]]<ref name="cia.gov"/>
| fixed exchange = 
| year = Calendar year
| organs = {{hlist|[[ASEAN]]|[[Group of 77|G77]]}}
| group = {{plainlist|
*[[Least developed countries|Least Developed]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weoselco.aspx?g=2200&sg=All+countries+%2f+Emerging+market+and+developing+economies |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222001529/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weoselco.aspx?g=2200&sg=All+countries+%2f+Emerging+market+and+developing+economies |url-status=live }}</ref>
*Lower-middle income economy<ref>{{cite web |url=https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups |title=World Bank Country and Lending Groups |publisher=[[World Bank]] |website=datahelpdesk.worldbank.org |access-date=29 September 2019 |archive-date=28 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028223324/https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| gdp = {{plainlist|
* {{increase}} $2.12 billion ([[GDP (nominal)|nominal]]; {{abbr|2025|2025 forecast}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/TLS |title=IMF DataMapper: Timor-leste |website=[[International Monetary Fund]] |date=2025 |access-date=31 May 2025}}</ref>
* {{increase}} $6.97 billion ([[Purchasing power parity|PPP]]; {{abbr|2025|2025}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper"/> 
}}
| gdp rank = {{plainlist|
* [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|176th (nominal; 2025)]]
* [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|169th (PPP; 2025)]]
}}
| growth = {{plainlist|   
* {{Increase}} 2.4%&nbsp;(2023)<ref name="IMF DataMapper" />
* {{Increase}} 4.1%&nbsp;(2024)<ref name="IMF DataMapper" />
* {{Increase}} 3.4%&nbsp;({{abbr|2025|2025 forecast}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper" />
* {{Increase}} 3.2%&nbsp;({{abbr|2026f|2025 forecast}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper" />
}}
| per capita = {{plainlist|
* {{increase}} $1,490 (nominal; {{abbr|2025|2025 forecast}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper"/>
* {{increase}} $4,920 (PPP; {{abbr|2025|2025 forecast}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper"/> 
}}
| per capita rank = {{plainlist|
* [[List of countries by GDP per capita (nominal)|157th (nominal; 2025)]]
* [[List of countries by GDP per capita (PPP)|152th (PPP; 2025)]]
}}
| sectors = {{plainlist|
*agriculture: 9.1%
*industry: 56.7%
*services: 34.4%
*(2017)}}
| components = 
| inflation = 0.96% (2019 est.)
| poverty = 49.9%<ref name="WB1">[http://data.worldbank.org/country/timor-leste?display=graph Timor Leste] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814101834/http://data.worldbank.org/country/timor-leste?display=graph |date=14 August 2015 }}, The World Bank data</ref> (2007 est.)
*{{decreasePositive}} 22.0% on less than $1.90/day (2014)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) – Timor Leste {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY?locations=TL|access-date=2020-10-16|website=data.worldbank.org|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728094645/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY?locations=TL|url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{decreasePositive}} 65.9% on less than $3.20/day (2014)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Poverty headcount ratio at $3.20 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) – Timor Leste {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.LMIC?locations=TL|access-date=2020-10-16|website=data.worldbank.org|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728094648/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.LMIC?locations=TL|url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{decreasePositive}} 91.8% on less than $5.50/day (2014)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) – Timor Leste {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.UMIC?locations=TL|access-date=2020-10-16|website=data.worldbank.org|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728094646/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.UMIC?locations=TL|url-status=live}}</ref>
| gini = 28.7 (2014 est.)
| hdi = {{plainlist|
*{{decrease}} 0.566 {{color|darkorange|medium}} (2022)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2023-24 |title=Human Development Index (HDI) |publisher=[[Human Development Report|HDRO (Human Development Report Office)]] [[United Nations Development Programme]] |website=hdr.undp.org|date=13 March 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/indicators/137506 |title=Human Development Index (HDI) |publisher=[[Human Development Report|HDRO (Human Development Report Office)]] [[United Nations Development Programme]] |website=hdr.undp.org |access-date=9 September 2022 |archive-date=15 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215174637/http://hdr.undp.org/en/indicators/137506 |url-status=live }}</ref> ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|155th]])
*{{decrease}} 0.436 {{color|red|low}} [[List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI|IHDI]] (2019)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-3-inequality-adjusted-human-development-index-ihdi |title=Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) |publisher=[[Human Development Report|HDRO (Human Development Report Office)]] [[United Nations Development Programme]] |website=hdr.undp.org |access-date=11 December 2019 |archive-date=12 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212055527/http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-3-inequality-adjusted-human-development-index-ihdi |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| labour = 581,000 (2022 est.)
| occupations = 
| unemployment = 1.79% (2022 est.)
| average gross salary = 
| average net salary = 
| industries = printing, soap manufacturing, handicrafts, woven cloth
| exports = $60 million (2020 est.)
| export-goods = crude petroleum, natural gas, coffee, various vegetables, scrap iron
| export-partners = {{plainlist|
*{{flag|China}} 25.5%
*{{flag|Indonesia}} 20.4%
*{{flag|Japan}} 14.5%
*{{flag|South Korea}} 13.4%
*{{flag|Thailand}} 6.57% (2022)<ref name="OECExport">{{cite web |title=Export Partners of Timor-Leste |url=https://oec.world/en/visualize/tree_map/hs92/export/tls/show/all/2022 |publisher=The Observatory of Economic Complexity |access-date=15 September 2024}}</ref>}}
| imports = $850 million (2020 est.)
| import-goods = refined petroleum, cars, cement, delivery trucks, motorcycles
| import-partners = {{plainlist|
*{{flag|Indonesia}} 27.1%
*{{flag|China}} 23.2%
*{{flag|Singapore}} 8.97%
*{{flag|Australia}} 6.31% (2022)<ref name="OECImport">{{cite web |title=Import Partners of Timor-Leste |url=https://oec.world/en/visualize/tree_map/hs92/import/tls/show/all/2022 |publisher=The Observatory of Economic Complexity |access-date=15 September 2024}}</ref>}}
| FDI = 
| gross external debt = {{plainlist|
*$232.4 million (2021)<ref name="MOFGOVTL">{{cite web |title=Budget, January 2022 |page=74 |url=https://www.mof.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/PBS-ENGLISH-2022-FINAL.pdf |website=www.mof.gov.tl/ |publisher=[[Timor-Leste]] |access-date=11 April 2023 |archive-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111091917/https://www.mof.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/PBS-ENGLISH-2022-FINAL.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
*15.63% GDP (2021)<ref name="MOFGOVTL"/>}}
| debt = 
| revenue = 
| expenses = 
| aid = 
| credit = 
| reserves = $279,000,000 (December 2013)
| spelling = 
}}
The '''economy of Timor-Leste''' is a lower-middle income economy as ranked by the [[World Bank]].<ref>[http://data.worldbank.org/country/timor-leste Timor Leste – World Bank] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108043348/http://data.worldbank.org/country/timor-leste |date=8 November 2016 }}</ref> It is placed [[List of countries by Human Development Index|142th]] on the [[Human Development Index]], indicating a medium level of human development.<ref name="UNDP">{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf%7ctitle=HDI%7cpublisher=UNDP|title=- Human Development Reports|access-date=4 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402223524/http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> 20% of the population is [[unemployed]],<ref name="cia.gov">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/timor-leste/ Timor-Leste] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110035005/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/timor-leste |date=10 January 2021 }}. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].</ref> and 52.9% live on less than [[US$|$]]1.25 a day.<ref name="UNDP"/> About half of the population is [[List of countries by literacy rate|illiterate]].<ref name="UNDP"/> At 27%, [[Timor-Leste]]'s [[Urbanization by country|urbanisation rate]] is one of the lowest in the world.

In 2007, a bad harvest caused a "major food crisis" in Timor-Leste. By November, eleven sub-districts still needed food supplied by international aid.<ref>[http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-06-24-voa8.cfm Voice of America, 24.06.07, East Timor Facing Food Crisis] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714013920/http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-06-24-voa8.cfm |date=14 July 2007 }} and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Timor-Leste.</ref>

According to data gathered in the 2010 census, 87.7% of urban and 18.9% of rural households have electricity, for an overall average of 36.7%.<ref>{{cite web|title=Highlights of the 2010 Census Main Results in Timor-Leste|url=http://dne.mof.gov.tl/published/2010%20and%202011%20Publications/Census%20Summary%20English/English%20Census%20Summary%202011.pdf|publisher=Direcção Nacional de Estatística|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928190541/http://dne.mof.gov.tl/published/2010%20and%202011%20Publications/Census%20Summary%20English/English%20Census%20Summary%202011.pdf|archive-date=28 September 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==History==
Prior to and during colonisation, the island of Timor was best known for its [[sandalwood]]. The Portuguese colonial administration also granted concessions to Oceanic Exploration Corporation to develop oil and gas deposits. However, this was curtailed by the [[Indonesian invasion of East Timor|Indonesian invasion in 1976]].

Petrochemical resources were divided between Indonesia and Australia with the [[Timor Gap Treaty]] in 1989.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atns.net.au/biogs/A002026b.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050616125127/http://atns.net.au/biogs/A002026b.htm |archive-date=16 June 2005 |title=TIMOR GAP TREATY between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the Zone of cooperation in an area between the Indonesian Province of East Timor and Northern Australia}}</ref> The treaty established guidelines for joint exploitation of seabed resources in the area of the "gap" left by then-Portuguese Timor in the [[maritime boundary]] agreed between the two countries in 1972.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/timelines/s1408008_to.htm |title= Radio Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102054153/http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/timelines/s1408008_to.htm |archive-date=2 January 2007}}</ref> Revenues from the joint area were to be divided 50-50. [[Woodside Energy|Woodside Petroleum]] and [[ConocoPhillips]] began development of some resources in the Timor Gap on behalf of the two governments in 1992.

In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of Timor-Leste was destroyed by [[1999 East Timorese crisis|Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias]],<ref name="cia.gov"/> and 260,000 people fled westward. From 2002 to 2005, an international program led by the [[United Nations]], staffed by civilian advisers, 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, substantially reconstructed the infrastructure. By mid-2002, all but about 50,000 of the refugees had returned.

The economy grew by about 10% in 2011 and at a similar rate in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=Timor-Leste's Economy Remains Strong, Prospects for Private Sector Development Strengthened|url=http://www.adb.org/news/timor-leste/timor-lestes-economy-remains-strong-prospects-private-sector-development-strengthen|publisher=[[Asian Development Bank]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102193133/http://www.adb.org/news/timor-leste/timor-lestes-economy-remains-strong-prospects-private-sector-development-strengthen|archive-date=2 January 2014}}</ref>

While Timor-Leste gained revenue from offshore oil and gas reserves, little of it has been spent on the development of villages, which still rely on subsistence farming.<ref name="Schonhardt">{{cite news|last=Schonhardt|first=Sara|title=Former Army Chief Elected President in East Timor|work=[[New York Times]]|date=19 April 2012|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/world/asia/former-army-chief-elected-president-in-east-timor.html|access-date=26 May 2022|archive-date=28 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528135705/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/world/asia/former-army-chief-elected-president-in-east-timor.html|url-status=live}}</ref> {{as of|2012}}, nearly half the East Timorese population was living in extreme poverty.<ref name="Schonhardt"/>

== Data ==
{{sect-stub|date=July 2025}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|- style="font-weight:bold;"
! style="vertical-align:bottom;" | Year
!GDP
(in bil. US$ PPP)
! GDP<br />(in bil. US$ nominal)
! GDP per capita<br />(in US$ nominal)
! GDP growth<br /> (real)
! GDP per capita<br /> growth (real)
! Inflation rate<br />(in %)
! Government debt<br />(in % of GDP)
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1993
|
| 0.36
| 480
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1994
|
| 0.43
| 561
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1995
|
| 0.50
| 658
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1996
|
| 0.61
| 801
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1997
|
| 0.71
| 926
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1998
|
| 0.25
| 328
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1999
|
| 0.25
| 328
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2000
|1.1
| 0.37
| 415
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2001
|1.3
| 0.48
| 530
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2002
|1.2
| 0.47
| 508
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2003
|1.2
| 0.49
| 517
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2004
|1.3
| 0.44
| 453
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2005
|1.4
| 0.46
| 464
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2006
|1.3
| 0.45
| 446
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2007
|1.5
| 0.54
| 523
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2008
|1.7
| 0.65
| 614
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2009
|1.9
| 0.73
| 676
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2010
|2.1
| 0.88
| 806
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2011
|2.3
| 1.04
| 936
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2012
|2.7
| 1.16
| 1,024
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2013
|2.9
| 1.40
| 1,210
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2014
|3.2
| 1.45
| 1,232
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2015
|3.5
| 1.59
| 1,332
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2016
|3.8
| 1.65
| 1,353
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2017
|3.9
| 1.62
| 1,299
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2018
|4.0
| 1.58
| 1,249
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2019
|5.0
| 2.05
| 1,583
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2020
|6.7
| 1.90
| 1,442
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2021
|7.3
| 1.90
| 1,442
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2022
|9.4
| 2.45
| 1,793
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2023
|5.1
| 1.99
| 1,425
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

==Industries==
In the [[Ease of doing business index|Doing Business]] 2013 report by the World Bank, Timor-Leste was ranked 169th overall and last in the East Asia and Pacific region. The country fared particularly poorly in the "registering property", "enforcing contracts", and "resolving insolvency" categories, ranking last worldwide in all three.<ref name=edb>{{cite web|title=Doing Business in Timor-Leste|url=http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/timor-leste/|publisher=World Bank|access-date=13 February 2013|archive-date=10 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210010120/http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/timor-leste/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2020 it ranked 181st.<ref name="BTI2022"/>{{rp|20}} There are no [[Patent|patent laws]] in Timor-Leste.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billanderson.com.au/Gazetteer-Patents.htm|title=Gazetteer – Patents|publisher=Billanderson.com.au|access-date=28 March 2010|archive-date=26 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926141115/http://www.billanderson.com.au/Gazetteer-Patents.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Regarding telecommunications infrastructure, Timor-Leste is the second to last ranked Asian country in the World Economic Forum's Network Readiness Index (NRI), with only [[Myanmar]] falling behind it in Southeast Asia. In the 2014 NRI ranking, Timor-Leste ranked number 141 overall, down from 134 in 2013.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GITR/2014/GITR_OverallRanking_2014.pdf| title=NRI Overall Ranking 2014| publisher=World Economic Forum| access-date=28 June 2014| archive-date=25 October 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025102647/http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GITR/2014/GITR_OverallRanking_2014.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref>

Timor-Leste is part of the [[Timor-Leste–Indonesia–Australia Growth Triangle]] (TIA-GT).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=14966&lang=en|title=Boosting Growth through the Growth Triangle « Government of Timor-Leste|website=timor-leste.gov.tl|access-date=27 May 2022|archive-date=7 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307225636/http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=14966&lang=en|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Agriculture===
The agriculture sector employs 80% of Timor-Leste's active population.<ref name="wb-expanding">{{cite web|title=Expanding Timor – Leste's Near – Term Non – Oil Exports|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTIMORLESTE/Resources/Volume1TimorLesteDTIS.pdf|publisher=World Bank|pages=iii|date=August 2010|access-date=27 May 2022|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192828/http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTIMORLESTE/Resources/Volume1TimorLesteDTIS.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009, about 67,000 households grew coffee in Timor-Leste, with a large proportion of those households being poor.<ref name="wb-expanding"/> Currently, the [[gross margin]]s are about $120 per hectare, with returns per labour-day of about $3.70.<ref name="wb-expanding"/> There were 11,000 households growing [[mung beans]] as of 2009, most of them by subsistence farming.<ref name="wb-expanding"/> 94% of domestic fish catch comes from the ocean, especially coastal fisheries.<ref name="ADBWBG2021">{{cite web |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/timor-leste/climate-risk-country-profile-timor-leste |title=Climate Risk Country Profile – Timor-Leste |publisher=Asian Development Bank, World Bank Group |date=18 November 2021 |access-date=23 May 2022 |archive-date=23 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523151357/https://reliefweb.int/report/timor-leste/climate-risk-country-profile-timor-leste |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|17}} 66% of families are in part supported by these subsistence activities, however the country as a whole does not produce enough food to be self-sustaining, and thus relies on imports.<ref name="ADBWBG2021"/>{{rp|16}} [[Coffee]], [[rice]], [[maize]], [[coconut]]s, [[cassava]], [[soybean]]s, [[banana]]s, [[mango]], and [[sweet potato]]es are cultivated here.  With 5,014 Metric Tons in 2019, the country was ranked number 42 among other countries in Avocados Production.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationmaster.com/nmx/timeseries/east-timor-avocados-production | title=Avocados Production in East Timor }}</ref>

After [[petroleum]], the second largest export is [[coffee]], which generates about $10&nbsp;million a year.<ref name="us-dos">{{cite web|title=U.S. Relations With Timor-Leste|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35878.htm|publisher=U.S. Department of State|date=3 July 2012|access-date=31 May 2022|archive-date=4 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604192912/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35878.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> 9,000 tonnes of coffee, 108 tonnes of [[cinnamon]], and 161 tonnes of cocoa were harvested in 2012 making the country the 40th ranked producer of coffee, the 6th ranked producer of cinnamon and the 50th ranked producer of cocoa worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faostat3.fao.org/browse/rankings/countries_by_commodity/E|title=FAOSTAT|website=faostat3.fao.org|access-date=31 May 2022|archive-date=28 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728060615/http://faostat3.fao.org/browse/rankings/countries_by_commodity/E|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, 186 Metric Tons of cocoa beans were produced and the country was number 48.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationmaster.com/nmx/timeseries/east-timor-cocoa-beans-production | title=Cocoa Beans Production in East Timor }}</ref>

===Energy===
{{Main|Energy in Timor-Leste}}

====Oil and gas====
The Portuguese colonial administration granted concessions to the Australia-bound Oceanic Exploration Corporation to develop petroleum and natural gas deposits in the waters southeast of Timor. However, this was curtailed by the Indonesian invasion in 1976.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} The resources were divided between Indonesia and Australia with the [[Timor Gap Treaty]] in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://atns.net.au/biogs/A002026b.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050616125127/http://atns.net.au/biogs/A002026b.htm|archive-date=16 June 2005|title=TIMOR GAP TREATY between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia ...|publisher=Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements Project|access-date=11 February 2013}}</ref> Timor-Leste inherited no permanent maritime boundaries when it attained independence.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} A provisional agreement (the [[Timor Sea Treaty]], signed when Timor-Leste became independent on 20 May 2002) defined a Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) and awarded 90% of revenues from existing projects in that area to Timor-Leste and 10% to Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/RN/2001-02/02rn45.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604224608/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/RN/2001-02/02rn45.htm|archive-date=4 June 2011|title=The Timor Sea Treaty: Are the Issues Resolved?|publisher=Aph.gov.au|access-date=17 July 2011}}</ref> An agreement in 2005 between the governments of Timor-Leste and Australia mandated that both countries put aside their dispute over maritime boundaries and that Timor-Leste would receive 50% of the revenues from the resource exploitation in the area (estimated at [[Australian Dollar|A$]]26 billion, or about US$20 billion over the lifetime of the project)<ref>{{cite web|author=Geoff A. McKee|url=http://www.canb.auug.org.au/~wildwood/05mar26mckee.html|title=McKee: How much is Sunrise really worth?: True Value of a Timor Sea Gas Resource (26 Mar 05)|publisher=Canb.auug.org.au|access-date=17 July 2011|archive-date=23 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823032214/http://www.canb.auug.org.au/%7Ewildwood/05mar26mckee.html|url-status=live}}</ref> from the Greater Sunrise development.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pm.gov.tp/bill.htm|title=Prime Minister and Cabinet, Timor-Leste Government – Media Releases|publisher=Pm.gov.tp|access-date=17 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615034259/http://www.pm.gov.tp/bill.htm|archive-date=15 June 2011 }}</ref> In 2013, Timor-Leste launched a case at the [[Permanent Court of Arbitration]] in The Hague to pull out of a gas treaty that it had signed with Australia, accusing the [[Australian Secret Intelligence Service]] (ASIS) of [[Covert listening device|bugging]] the East Timorese cabinet room in Dili in 2004.<ref name=ABC>{{cite news|author=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|title=East Timor spying case: PM Xanana Gusmao calls for Australia to explain itself over ASIO raids|newspaper=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=5 December 2013|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-04/east-timor-pm-shocked-by-asio-raids-over-spying-case/5135146|access-date=26 May 2022|archive-date=12 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412181121/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-04/east-timor-pm-shocked-by-asio-raids-over-spying-case/5135146|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the time of independence Timor-Leste had per capita natural wealth equivalent to the wealth of an upper-middle income country. Over half of this was in oil, and over a quarter natural gas. The [[Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund]] was established in 2005 to turn these non-renewable resources into a more sustainable form of wealth. By 2009 it had a value of US$4.8 billion,<ref name="WBG2009">{{cite web |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28126 |title=Timor-Leste : Country Environmental Analysis |publisher=World Bank Group |date=July 2009 |access-date=24 May 2022 |archive-date=29 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729160348/http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28126 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|4–6}} and by 2011 it had reached a worth of US$8.7 billion.<ref name="irin-asia">{{cite web|title=Observers divided over oil fund investment|work=IRINnews |url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report/94001/TIMOR-LESTE-Observers-divided-over-oil-fund-investment|publisher=IRIN Asia|date=18 October 2011|access-date=26 May 2022|archive-date=25 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125042905/http://www.irinnews.org/report/94001/timor-leste-observers-divided-over-oil-fund-investment|url-status=live}}</ref> Timor-Leste is labelled by the International Monetary Fund as the "most oil-dependent economy in the world".<ref name="art4">{{cite web|title=Article IV Consultation with the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste|url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2011/pn1131.htm|publisher=IMF|access-date=26 May 2022|archive-date=31 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031203415/http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2011/pn1131.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The Petroleum Fund pays for nearly all of the government's annual budget, which increased from $70 million in 2004 to $1.3 billion in 2011, with a $1.8 billion proposal for 2012.<ref name="irin-asia" /> East-Timor's income from oil and gas stands to increase significantly after its cancellation of a controversial agreement with Australia, which gave Australia half of the income from oil and gas from 2006.<ref>{{Cite news|title=East Timor axes Australia border treaty over oil reserves|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38551628|publisher=BBC UK|newspaper=BBC News|date=10 January 2017|access-date=26 May 2022|archive-date=26 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526233338/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38551628|url-status=live}}</ref> From 2005 to 2021, $23&nbsp;billion earned from oil sales has entered the fund. $8&nbsp;billion has been generated from investments, while $12 billion has been spent.<ref name="BTI2022">{{cite web |url=https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/TLS |title=Timor-Leste Country Report 2022 |publisher=Bertelsmann Stiftung |year=2022 |access-date=2 May 2022 |archive-date=21 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521144437/https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/TLS |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|30}} A decrease in oil and gas reserves led to decreasing HDI beginning in 2010.<ref name="BTI2022"/>{{rp|18–19}} 80% of government spending comes from this fund, which as of 2021 had $19&nbsp;billion, 10 times greater than the size of the national budget. As oil income has decreased, the fund is at risk of being exhausted. Withdrawals have exceeded sustainable levels almost every year since 2009.<ref name="BTI2022"/>{{rp|23}}

====Electricity====
Electricidade De Timor-Leste (EDTL) is the vertically integrated monopoly generator and distributor of electric power within the on-grid areas.

===Tourism===
In 2017, the country was visited by 75,000 tourists.<ref>{{Cite web|date=10 September 2018|title=Keine Lust auf Massentourismus? Studie: Die Länder mit den wenigsten Urlaubern der Welt|url=https://www.travelbook.de/ziele/laender/ranking-die-am-wenigsten-besuchten-laender-der-welt|website=TRAVELBOOK|access-date=29 January 2022|archive-date=30 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630131342/https://www.travelbook.de/ziele/laender/ranking-die-am-wenigsten-besuchten-laender-der-welt|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the later 2010s, tourism has been increasing and the number of hotels and resorts has increased. The government decided to invest in the expansion of the [[Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport|international airport in Dili]].

===Transport===
{{Main|Transport in Timor-Leste}}

==Development projects==

===Electricity===
{{See also|List of power stations in Timor-Leste}}
* [[Betano Power Station]]
* [[Hera Diesel Power Plant]]

===Oil and gas===
[[File:Hands off Timorese Oil - Brisbane May Day 2017 parade.jpg|thumb|Protesters in Brisbane protesting [[Australia–Timor-Leste relations|Australia's claim on East Timorese oil]], May 2017]]
One promising long-term project is the joint development with Australia of [[petroleum]] and [[natural gas]] resources in the waters southeast of Timor-Leste.

Timor-Leste inherited no permanent maritime boundaries when it gained independence, repudiating the Timor Gap Treaty as illegal. A provisional agreement (the [[Timor Sea Treaty]], signed when Timor-Leste became independent in 2002) defined a Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA), and awarded 90% of revenues from existing projects in that area to Timor-Leste and 10% to Australia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/RN/2001-02/02rn45.htm |title=aph.gov.au |publisher=aph.gov.au |access-date=28 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604224608/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/RN/2001-02/02rn45.htm |archive-date=4 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The first significant new development in the JPDA since East Timorese independence is the largest petroleum resource in the Timor Sea, the [[Greater Sunrise gas field]]. Its exploitation was the subject of separate agreements in 2003 and 2005. Only 20% of the field lies within the JPDA and the rest in waters not subject to the treaty (though claimed by both countries). The initial, temporary agreement gave 82% of revenues to Australia and only 18% to Timor-Leste.<ref>[http://www.transparency.gov.tl/g-sunrise.htm transparency.gov.tl] {{dead link|date=March 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The government of Timor-Leste has sought to negotiate a definite boundary with Australia at the halfway line between the countries, in accordance with the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]]. The government of Australia preferred to establish the boundary at the end of the wide Australian [[continental shelf]], as agreed with Indonesia in 1972 and 1991. Normally a dispute such as this would be referred to the [[International Court of Justice]] or the [[International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea]] for an impartial decision,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etan.org/issues/tsea/plainfact.htm|title=Plain facts about|access-date=4 March 2015|archive-date=13 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613095654/http://www.etan.org/issues/tsea/plainfact.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> but the Australian government had withdrawn from these international jurisdictions (solely on matters relating to maritime boundaries) shortly before East Timorese independence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/2002/5.html|title=Declaration under the Statute of the International Court of Justice concerning Australia's acceptance of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (Canberra, 21 March 2002) [2002] ATS 5|access-date=4 March 2015|archive-date=20 July 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120720005125/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/2002/5.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Nevertheless, under public and diplomatic pressure, the Australian government offered instead a last-minute concession solely on royalties from the Greater Sunrise gas field.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://crikey.com.au/articles/2005/05/09-1204-7954.html |title= Downer's spin and the East Timor talks |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051201131559/http://www.crikey.com.au/articles/2005/05/09-1204-7954.html |archive-date=1 December 2005}}</ref> An agreement was signed in 2005 under which both countries would set aside the dispute over the maritime boundary, and Timor-Leste would receive 50% of the revenues (estimated at [[Australian Dollar|A$]]26 billion or about [[United States Dollar|US$]]20 billion over the lifetime of the project)<ref>{{cite web |author=Geoff A. McKee, oil and gas expert engineer, Lecturer, University of NSW, Sydney, Australia |url=http://www.canb.auug.org.au/~wildwood/05mar26mckee.html |title=canb.auug.org.au |publisher=canb.auug.org.au |access-date=28 March 2010 |archive-date=23 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823032214/http://www.canb.auug.org.au/%7Ewildwood/05mar26mckee.html |url-status=live }}</ref> from the Greater Sunrise development. Other developments within waters claimed by Timor-Leste but outside the JPDA ([[Laminaria oil field|Laminaria-Corallina]] and Buffalo) continue to be exploited unilaterally by Australia, however.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pm.gov.tp/bill.htm |title=pm.gov.tp |publisher=pm.gov.tp |access-date=28 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615034259/http://www.pm.gov.tp/bill.htm |archive-date=15 June 2011 |df=dmy }}</ref>

Some proceeds from Timor-Leste's petroleum royalties are directed to the country's [[sovereign wealth fund]], the [[Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund]].

===Telecoms===
{{main|Telecommunications in Timor-Leste}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

==Further reading==
{{commons}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite conference |last1=Cardinoza |first1=Marlon |editor1-last=Murdiyarso |editor1-first=Daniel |editor2-last=Herawati |editor2-first=Hety |chapter=Reviving Traditional NRM Regulations (Tara Bandu) as a Community-based Approach of Protecting Carbon Stocks and Securing Livelihoods |title=Carbon Forestry: Who will benefit? |date=2005 |publisher=[[Center for International Forestry Research]] |conference=Proceedings of Workshop on Carbon Sequestration and Sustainable Livelihoods |location=Bogor Barat, Indonesia |isbn=9793361735 |pages=197–210 |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep02042.18 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep02042 |jstor=resrep02042.18 |jstor-access=free |access-date=5 November 2025}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Carroll-Bell |first1=Sam |title=Development Alternatives in Timor-Leste: Recasting Modes of Local Engagement |journal=[[Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde]] |date=2015 |volume=171 |issue=2/3 |pages=312–345 |doi=10.1163/22134379-17102006 |jstor=43817994 |jstor-access=free |issn=0006-2294|doi-access=free }}
* [https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-19466-6 Mats Lundahl and Fredrik Sjöholm. 2019. ''The Creation of the East Timorese Economy''. Springer.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730231108/https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-19466-6 |date=30 July 2020 }}
* {{cite news |last1=McDonald |first1=Hamish |author1-link=Hamish McDonald |title=Sun is setting on Timor-Leste's pipe dream |url=https://asiatimes.com/2020/10/sun-is-setting-on-timor-lestes-pipe-dream/ |access-date=22 February 2022 |work=[[Asia Times]] |date=5 October 2020 |archive-date=22 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222081955/https://asiatimes.com/2020/10/sun-is-setting-on-timor-lestes-pipe-dream/ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |last1=Neves |first1=Guteriano |title=Timor-Leste's Petroleum Revenues: The Challenges of Managing 'Easy Money' |url=https://th.boell.org/en/2022/03/21/timor-leste-petroleum-fund |website=Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung |access-date=26 February 2023 |language=en |date=21 March 2022 |archive-date=26 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226085522/https://th.boell.org/en/2022/03/21/timor-leste-petroleum-fund |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |last1=Novak |first1=Parker |title=Timor-Leste's uncertain future |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/timor-leste-s-uncertain-future |website=[[Lowy Institute]] |access-date=2023-12-29 |language=en |date=2023-11-29}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Shepherd |first1=Christopher J. |last2=McWilliam |first2=Andrew |title=Cultivating Plantations and Subjects in East Timor: A Genealogy |journal=[[Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde]] |date=2013 |volume=169 |issue=2/3 |pages=326–361 |doi=10.1163/22134379-12340047 |jstor=43817882 |jstor-access=free |issn=0006-2294|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Shepherd |first1=Christopher |last2=Palmer |first2=Lisa |title=The Modern Origins of Traditional Agriculture: Colonial Policy, Swidden Development, and Environmental Degradation in Eastern Timor |journal=Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde |date=2015 |volume=171 |issue=2/3 |pages=281–311 |doi=10.1163/22134379-17102005 |jstor=43817993 |jstor-access=free |issn=0006-2294 |author-mask1=11|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Silva |editor1-first=Kelly |editor2-last=Palmer |editor2-first=Lisa |editor3-last=Cunha |editor3-first=Teresa |title=Economic Diversity in Contemporary Timor-Leste |date=2023 |publisher=Leiden University Press |location=Leiden |doi=<!-- 10.24415/9789087283957 (inactive) |doi-broken-date=12 July 2025 -->|isbn=9789400604407 |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/61960 |language=en <!--|hdl=20.500.12657/61960 (inactive) -->}}
* {{cite report |date=June 2015 |title=Project for Agriculture Master Plan and Irrigation Development Plan: Final Report |url=https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/12253894_01.pdf |publisher=[[Japan International Cooperation Agency]] (JICA) / Sanyu Consultants |docket=RD JR 15-038 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250210162507/https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/12253894_01.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=10 February 2025 |access-date=10 February 2025}} {{Cite report |title=Final Report (Appendix) |url=https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/12253902_01.pdf |docket=RD JR 15-038 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714142254/https://openjicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/12253902_01.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=14 July 2022 |access-date=10 February 2025}}
* {{cite report |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=2017 |title=Timor-Leste Investment Guide |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/tls_e/wtacctls15_leg_14.pdf |location=Lisbon |publisher=[[Ernst & Young|EY (Ernst & Young)]] |docket=EYG no. 03064-172Gbl |access-date=3 November 2025}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-jakarta/documents/publication/wcms_419652.pdf |title=Timor-Leste Tourism Research and Development |publisher=International Labour Organization |date=June 2014 |access-date=23 July 2021 |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104032032/https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-jakarta/documents/publication/wcms_419652.pdf |url-status=live }}
{{refend}}

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