Timor-Leste Economy - 2023

Economic overview

lower middle-income Southeast Asian economy; government expenditures funded via oil fund drawdowns; endemic corruption undermines growth; foreign aid-dependent; wide-scale poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$6.648 billion (2021 est.)

$6.313 billion (2020 est.)

$4.786 billion (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

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Real GDP growth rate

5.29% (2021 est.)

31.91% (2020 est.)

23.51% (2019 est.)

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Real GDP per capita

$5,000 (2021 est.)

$4,900 (2020 est.)

$3,700 (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

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GDP (official exchange rate)

$2.775 billion (2017 est.)

note: non-oil GDP

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

0.96% (2019 est.)

2.29% (2018 est.)

0.52% (2017 est.)

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GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 9.1% (2017 est.)

industry: 56.7% (2017 est.)

services: 34.4% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 33% (2017 est.)

government consumption: 30% (2017 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 10.6% (2017 est.)

investment in inventories: 0% (2017 est.)

exports of goods and services: 78.4% (2017 est.)

imports of goods and services: -52% (2017 est.)

Agricultural products

rice, maize, vegetables, coffee, roots/tubers nes, other meats, cassava, pork, beans, mangoes/guavas

Industries

printing, soap manufacturing, handicrafts, woven cloth

Industrial production growth rate

5.65% (2021 est.)

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Labor force

569,700 (2021 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 41%

industry: 13%

services: 45.1% (2013)

Unemployment rate

5.07% (2021 est.)

4.91% (2020 est.)

4.51% (2019 est.)

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Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 13.8%

male: 11.4%

female: 16.8% (2021 est.)

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Population below poverty line

41.8% (2014 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

28.7 (2014 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 4%

highest 10%: 27% (2007)

Budget

revenues: $879 million (2019 est.)

expenditures: $1.396 billion (2019 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-75.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

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Public debt

3.8% of GDP (2017 est.)

3.1% of GDP (2016 est.)

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Taxes and other revenues

22.86% (of GDP) (2019 est.)

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Fiscal year

calendar year

Current account balance

$1.022 billion (2021 est.)

-$308.02 million (2020 est.)

$133.98 million (2019 est.)

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Exports

$2.315 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$57.105 million (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$117.472 million (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

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Exports - partners

Singapore 51%, China 20%, Japan 9%, Indonesia 6% (2019)

Exports - commodities

crude petroleum, natural gas, coffee, various vegetables, scrap iron (2019)

Imports

$1.523 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$842 million (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$1.039 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

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Imports - partners

Indonesia 39%, China 27%, Singapore 10%, Malaysia 5% (2019)

Imports - commodities

refined petroleum, cars, cement, delivery trucks, motorcycles (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$934.781 million (31 December 2021 est.)

$656.524 million (31 December 2020 est.)

$656.221 million (31 December 2019 est.)

note: excludes assets of approximately $9.7 billion in the Petroleum Fund (31 December 2010)

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Debt - external

$311.5 million (31 December 2014 est.)

$687 million (31 December 2013 est.)

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Exchange rates

1 (2021 est.)

1 (2020 est.)

1 (2019 est.)

1 (2018 est.)

1 (2017 est.)

the US dollar is used

NOTE: The information regarding Timor-Leste on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Timor-Leste 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Timor-Leste 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.