MDG Profile:
Restoring security is vital to alleviating poverty
A newly independent country, Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) is resolutely committed to working towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Timor-Leste’s first National Development Plan, which served as the primary guiding document for development, was framed against this backdrop of the MDGs. To bring the country closer to the MDG targets, the fourth Constitutional Government, as well as the previous governments, is determined to allocate more than 30 per cent annually of its state budget to education, health, and water and sanitation.
Progress toward achieving the country’s twin objectives of economic growth and poverty reduction in the framework of the MDGs has been limited, however, mainly because of current problems in budget execution. Socio-economic indicators point to low life expectancy, high illiteracy, widespread food insecurity, and limited access to basic services. Timor-Leste scores lower on the human development index than any of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. One consequence of the poor growth performance following the downsizing of the United Nations Missions has been an increase in poverty and unemployment rates since 2001.
The violence that recently erupted has introduced new risks, forcing the country to concentrate again on rehabilitation and recovery. Already fragile domestic institutions are unable to respond to the widespread consequences of the crisis. The government, with assistance from the international community, has set up an ambitious target in its development strategy and will step up spending in public investment, in combination with increasing levels of private investment. It is hoped that these measures will boost the economic growth rate up to seven per cent per year. Restoring security after the recent politico-military crisis is vital to the achievement of economic growth and poverty alleviation.
Last updated September 2008
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Total population
(millions): |
1.2 |
Surface area
(sq. km): |
14,874 |
GDP per capita
(PPP US$): |
N/A |
GDP growth
(annual %): |
-1.6
|
Human Development Index
(Rank 1 - 177): |
142 |
Life expectancy at birth
(years): |
58.3 |
Population below PPP $1 per day
(%): |
N/A |
Net enrolment ratio in primary education
(% both sexes): |
68.1 |
Carbon dioxide emissions per capita
(metric tons): |
0.1737 |
Unemployment, total
(% of total labor force): |
N/A |
NOTE: The MDG data presented here is the latest available from the United Nations Statistics Division. The World Bank has recently released new poverty estimates, which reflect improvements in internationally comparable price data. The new data estimates set a new poverty line of US$1.25 a day and offer a much more accurate picture of the cost of living in developing countries. They are based on the results of the 2005 International Comparison Program (ICP), released in first half of 2008. Country-specific poverty estimates will be released by the World Bank in late 2008
