TimorLeste Military - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Timor-Leste Defense Force (Falintil-Forcas de Defesa de Timor-L'este, Falintil (F-FDTL)): Joint Headquarters with Land, Air, Naval, Service Support, and Education/Training components; Ministry of Interior: National Police (Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste, PNTL) (2023)

Military expenditures

1.8% of GDP (2022 est.)

1.8% of GDP (2021 est.)

1.8% of GDP (2020 est.)

1.7% of GDP (2019 est.)

1.3% of GDP (2018 est.)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 2,000 personnel (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the military is lightly armed and has a limited inventory consisting of equipment donated by other countries; in recent years, it has received small amounts of material from China, South Korea, and the US (2022)

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service; compulsory service was authorized in 2020 for men and women aged 18-30 for 18 months of service, but the level of implementation is unclear (2023)

Military - note

the small and lightly equipped F-FDTL has both external defense and internal security roles; it has 2 infantry battalions and a handful of naval patrol boats 

since achieving independence, Timor-Leste has received security assistance from or has made defense cooperation arrangements with Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, the UN, and the US; some Defense Force personnel train with the Indonesian military and the two countries maintain a joint Border Security Task Force to jointly monitor and patrol the border, particularly the Oecussi exclave area where smuggling and trafficking are prevalent (2023)

NOTE: The information regarding TimorLeste 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 TimorLeste 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about TimorLeste 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.