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Where you could be born / Asia / South-Eastern Asia

Born in Timor-Leste

About 1 in 4,317 people born in 2023 started life in Timor-Leste. A boy can expect to live 66 years and a girl 69, up from 28 and 31 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 86% have basic drinking water.

1 in 4,317
odds of being born here
30,600 births · Ranked 145th of 230
66 / 69
years of life, boys / girls
Was 28 / 31 in 1950
$1,350
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 193rd of 203 · extrapolated
29%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 39 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 401 in every 1,000 births to 47.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0200400600195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth66.1 years for boys, 69.4 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 546.6 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year10,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.8World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles72%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.2%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year455 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.6 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.7.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.71UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.4 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 38 and the poorest fifth 9.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2014
9%Poorest fifth
13%Second
17%Middle
22%Fourth
38%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,350 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth38% / 9% (2014)World Bank PIP
Unemployment1.5% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises8.4% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person-19.0% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming48% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed75% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment85% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Dili, with 150,000 people.

29%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
86%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Dili150,000
Maliana22,000
Suai21,539
Likisá19,000
Aileu17,356
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Portuguese59%
Tetum59%
Portuguese, Tetum is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Dili Municipality150,000
Liquiçá35,300
Baucau32,000
Bobonaro22,000
Cova Lima21,539
Aileu17,356
Lautém17,186
Ermera16,304

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

People on the move

About 7.8% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Indonesia, Australia, Portugal.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Indonesia95,603
Australia11,546
Portugal2,215
Residents born abroad0.6% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 7.8% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostIndonesia (95,603), Australia (11,546), Portugal (2,215)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $189.9 million a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

100% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

100%
of older people receive a pension (2020)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2019)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024138Our World in Data, from WHO

Now live it.

Born in Timor-Leste, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Timor-Leste

Elsewhere in Asia

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences