n of pacification followed over the
next two decades, during which an estimated 100,000 to 250,000
individuals lost their lives. On 30 August 1999, in a UN-supervised
popular referendum, an overwhelming majority of the people of East
Timor voted for independence from Indonesia. Between the referendum
and the arrival of a multinational peacekeeping force in late
September 1999, anti-independence Timorese militias - organized and
supported by the Indonesian military - commenced a large-scale,
scorched-earth campaign of retribution. The militias killed
approximately 1,300 Timorese and forcibly pushed 300,000 people into
West Timor as refugees. The majority of the country's
infrastructure, including homes, irrigation systems, water supply
systems, and schools, and nearly 100% of the country's electrical
grid were destroyed. On 20 September 1999 the Australian-led
peacekeeping troops of the International Force for East Timor
(INTERFET) deployed to the country and brought the violence to an
end. On 20 May 2002, East Timor was internationally recognized as an
independent state.

Geography East Timor

Location:
Southeastern Asia, northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda
Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago; note -
East Timor includes the eastern half of the island of Timor, the
Oecussi (Ambeno) region on the northwest portion of the island of
Timor, and the islands of Pulau Atauro and Pulau Jaco

Geographic coordinates:
8 50 S, 125 55 E

Map references:
Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 15,007 sq km
land: NA sq km
water: NA sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Connecticut

Land boundaries:
total: 228 km
border countries: Indonesia 228 km

Coastline:
706 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: NA nm
extended fishing zone: NA nm
exclusive economic zone: NA nm
continental shelf: NA nm
exclusive fishing zone: NA nm

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid; distinct rainy and dry seasons

Terrain:
mountainous

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m
highest point: Foho Tatamailau 2,963 m

Natural resources:
gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble

Land use:
arable land: 4.71%
other: 94.62% (2001)
permanent crops: 0.67%

Irrigated land:
1,065 sq km (est.)

Natural hazards:
floods and landslides are common; earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical
cycl