Sexta, Dezembro 06, 2024
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The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (RDTL) or just Timor-Leste as it is more commonly known, sits in island of Timor, in the farthest eastern corner of Southeast Asia.

The island of Timor is divided into East and West. The eastern half of the island being Timor-Leste the nation (East Timor), and the western half being a province of the Indonesian Republic (West Timor).

Timor-Leste is a small nation of just over 1 million inhabitants sharing a geographical area approximately 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi). Timor-Leste is composed by the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and the enclave of Oe-cusse that sits within the Indonesian West Timor territory. The island of Timor is also located some 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia.

East Timor was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century (1512-1515), and was known as Portuguese Timor until Portugal's unsuccessful decolonization of the country in the 1970s. In November 1975, Timor-Leste declared its independence, but by December of the same year it was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia's 27th province.

After 24 years of armed and diplomatic struggle for independence, in 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored National Referendum, the vast majority of Timorese voted to break away from Indonesia. Timor-Leste became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002.

Timor-Leste is predominantly Roman Catholic, although animistic beliefs are still widely practiced.

The country has two official language are Tetum and Portuguese. Indonesian and English are used as working languages. Timor-Leste also has a host of other local indigenous languages such as Kemake, Massasae, Mambae, Naweti, Tokodede, Fataluku, Tetum Terik, Baikeno, Bunak, Galolen, etc.) widely spoken with Timorese speaking at home at least 1 or 2 other indigenous languages.

Timor-Leste’s currency is the US Dollar but it has its own coinage, the centavos.

Timor-Leste’s country code is +670.



Timor-Leste's Flag

For more information and facts about Timor-Leste visit:

http://timor-leste.gov.tl

For Entrepreneurs; How to Register a Business in Timor-Leste:

http://www.mj.gov.tl/dnrn/