Source: Wikipedia
Flag of East Timor
Capital: Dili 8°34′S 125°34′E
Official language: Tetum and Portuguese
Government: Republic

President: Xanana Gusmão
Prime Minister: José Ramos Horta

Independence from Portugal:
- Declared November 28, 1975
- Recognized May 20, 2002

Area :
- Total 14,609 km² (158th) 5,743 sq mi
- Water (%) negligible

Population :
- July 2005 estimate 947,000 (155th)
- Density 64/km² (132nd) 166/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2005 estimate :
- Total $370 million (not ranked)
- Per capita $400 (not ranked)

HDI (2003): 0.513 (medium) (140th)

Currency: U.S. Dollar3 (USD)

Time zone: (UTC+9)

Internet TLD: .tl (.tp is being phased out)

Calling code: +670

East Timor , officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia comprising the eastern half of the island of Timor , the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor . The small country of 5,376 square miles (14,609 square kilometres) is located about 400 miles (640 km) northwest of Darwin , Australia .

The name Timor derives from timor or timur, the word for 'east' in Malay as well as Indonesian, which became Timor in Portuguese. The Portuguese name Timor-Leste and the Tetum name Timor Lorosa'e are sometimes used in English. Lorosa'e (the word for 'east' in Tetum) literally means 'rising sun'.

East Timor has the lowest per capita GDP (Purchasing Power Parity adjusted) in the world, of only $400 (which corresponds to the 192nd position.) However, its Human Development Index, or HDI, it is in 142nd place among the world's nations, which corresponds to medium human development.

Colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, East Timor was known as Portuguese Timor for centuries. It was invaded by Indonesia in 1975, which occupied it until 1999. Following the UN-sponsored act of self-determination that year, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory, which achieved full independence on May 20, 2002 , becoming the first new country of the 21st century. With the Philippines , East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia , and the only Portuguese-speaking sovereign state in Asia .