Timor Leste Country Profile

Timor Leste lies on the eastern part of Timor Island. The country occupies 5,375 sq. miles of mountainous terrain. It was colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Indonesia invaded and occupied the former Portuguese colony in 1975-1999. On 30 August 1999, during a United Nations-sponsored referendum, the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence ending 24 years of Indonesian occupation. After bitter fighting between the Indonesian forces and the pro-independence Timorese, independence was restored on 20th May 2002 made possible by UN intervention. Timor-Leste became the world’s newest democracy and the first new country of the third millennium.

For a newly independent people who have never been given the opportunity to run their own country and lacking the skills to push for its development, the Timorese are still coping with the legacy and history of brutal occupation and violence. After the Indonesian rule was voted out, the army systematically damaged 85 percent of the country’s infrastructure, displacing 250,000 people with hundreds of thousands seeking sanctuary in the mountains.

In the UNDP National Human Development Report, Timor-Leste is officially Asia’s poorest country with a per capital GDP of just $478. The vast majority of its population live in rural areas and have livelihoods based on subsistence agriculture. The government’s main focus now is to increase the adult literacy rate of 43 percent (ages 15 and above). It aims to lower the illiteracy rate, especially among women and to increase the supply of basic school materials such as textbooks and writing materials. In 2002 only 17 percent of the youths enrolled for secondary education.

The civil unrest in Timor-Leste leaves the younger generation with little opportunity to realize their potential. With the unemployment rate currently at 70%, rampant poverty discourages school enrollment, while the lack of basic infrastructure provides an unsupportive environment for a proper educational system.

The aftermath of the recent violence in the capital has left over 150,000 civilians in refugee camps. Another 50,000 have fled their homes for safer grounds in the mountains and in the surrounding rural areas.

Widely dispersed communities without public transportation make school attendance difficult for Timorese youth. To make matters even worse, the migration of 250,000 skilled professionals has left the country with very few qualified personnel. With most aid and government projects focusing on providing primary education and vocational training, the out-of-school-youth are neglected and left with almost no opportunity.

Lacking the support and education they need, the young people have resorted to joining gangs at the risk of their lives. These gangs have been held responsible for contributing to the massive looting and violence that have plagued the city in the recent riots.

Goals for Education:

• Lower adult illiteracy, especially among women
• Easier access to education for all, and establish at least one primary school (SD) in each suco
• Better quality of teaching
• Higher school completion and retention rates
• Develop school curricula, particularly for technical training, relevant to the conditions and needs of East Timor