d: The Portuguese colony of Timor declared itself independent
from Portugal on 28 November 1975 and was invaded and occupied by
Indonesian forces nine days later. It was subsequently incorporated
into Indonesia in July 1976 as the province of Timor Timur. A so-called
campaign of pacification followed, during which time an estimated
100,000 to 250,000 individuals lost their lives. On 30 August 1999,
in a UN-supervised popular referendum, the people of Timor Timur
voted for independence from Indonesia. On 20 May 2002, East Timor was
internationally recognized as an independent state and the world's
newest democracy.

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: NA NM territorial sea: economic zone: NA NM

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

Terrain: mountainous

Elevation extremes: Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m highest
point: Natural resources: gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble

Land use: arable land: NA% other: NA% permanent crops: NA%

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

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

Environment - current issues: widespread use of slash and burn
agriculture has led to deforestation and soil erosion

Environment - international agreements: NA

Geography - note: Timor is 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

People East Timor

Population: 952,618 (July 2002 est.) note: other estimates range as
low as 800,000 (2002 est.)

Age structure: NA

Population growth rate: 7.26% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 28.07 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 51.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est