Geography of Timor-Leste

Map of East Timor indicating cities and principal roads.

The geography of East Timor exhibits a mountainous terrain on the eastern half of the island of Timor in Southeast Asia (or Oceania depending on definitions). East Timor includes the eastern half of Timor, the Ocussi-Ambeno region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the islands of Atauro and Jaco. The country is located northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago. 'Timor' is a Portuguese derivation of 'Timor', the Malay word for "Orient"; the island of Timor is part of the Malay Archipelago and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East Timor is the only Asian nation to lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere.

Statistics

Area

• Total: 14,874 km²
• Land: 14,874 km²
• Water: 0 km²

Land boundaries

• Total: 2,538 km (1,577 mi)
• Border countries: Indonesia (253 km or 157 mi)

Coastline

706 km (439 mi)

Maritime claims

• Territorial sea: 12 nmi
• Contiguous zone: 24 nmo
• Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nmi
  

Elevation extremes

• Lowest point: Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m
• Highest point: Tatamailau (2,963 m or 9,721 ft)

Natural resources

Gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble

Land use

• Arable land: 10.1%
• Permanent crops: 4.9%
• Permanent pasture: 10.1%
• Forest: 49.1%
• Other: 25.8% (2011)

Irrigated land

346.5 km² (134 sq mi) (2003)

Climate

Tropical; hot and humid with distinct rainy and dry seasons. Tropical Cyclones do occur along with floods.

Environment

Natural hazards

Landslides are common; earthquakes; and tsunamis.

Environment - current issues

Satellite image of the Island of Timor

Widespread use of slash and burn agriculture has led to deforestation and soil erosion

Environment - international agreements

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification

References

• Much of the material in this article is adapted from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and 2012.