Geography of Timor-Leste

Geography of Timor-Leste

Continent	Asia
Region	Southeast Asia Lesser Sunda Islands
Coordinates	8°50′S125°55′E / 8.833°S 125.917°E / -8.833; 125.917
Area	Ranked 154th
• Total	14,919 km2 (5,760 sq mi)
• Land	100%
• Water	0%
Coastline	706 km (439 mi)
Borders	Indonesia: 253 km (157 mi)
Highest point	Tatamailau (2,963 m or 9,721 ft)
Lowest point	Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m (0 ft)
Longest river	Loes River 80 km (50 mi)
Largest lake	Ira Lalaro 1.9 km2 (1 sq mi)
Climate	Tropical
Terrain	Mountainous and rugged
Natural resources	Gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble
Natural hazards	Landslides are common; earthquakes; and tsunamis.
Environmental issues	deforestation and soil erosion
Exclusive economic zone	70,326 km2 (27,153 mi2)

Detailed map of Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste includes the mountainous eastern half of Timor, the Ocussi-Ambeno region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the islands of Atauro and Jaco. The country is located northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian Archipelago. 'Timor' is a Portuguese derivation of 'Timor', 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. Timor-Leste is the only Asian nation to lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere.^{[ citation needed ]} The Loes River is the longest with a length of 80 km (50 mi). This river system covers an area of 2,184 km² (843 mi²). It is a small country with a land size of 14,919 km² (5,760 mi²). The exclusive economic zone is 70,326 km² (27,153 mi²). ^[1]

Statistics

Area

• Total: 14,874 square kilometres (5,743  sq mi )
  • country rank in the world: 154th
• Land: 14,874 square kilometres (5,743 sq mi)
• Water: 0 km²

Area comparative

• Australia comparative: slightly less than ⁠2/9⁠ the size of Tasmania
• Canada comparative: slightly more than ⁠1/4⁠ the size of Nova Scotia
• United Kingdom comparative: slightly larger than Northern Ireland
• United States comparative: slightly larger than Connecticut
• European Union comparative: slightly less than ⁠1/2⁠ the size of Belgium

Land boundaries

• Total: 2,538 km (1,577 mi)
• Border countries: Indonesia (253 km or 157 mi)

Coastline

706 km (439 mi)

Maritime claims

• Territorial sea: 12 nautical miles (14 mi; 22 km)
• Contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles (28 mi; 44 km)
• Exclusive economic zone: 70,326 km² (27,153 mi²) and 200 nautical miles (230 mi; 370 km)

Elevation extremes

• Lowest point: Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea 0 m
• Highest point: Tatamailau (2,963 m or 9,721 ft)

Natural resources

Gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble

Land use

• Arable land: 10.1%
• Permanent crops: 4.9%
• Permanent pasture: 10.1%
• Forest: 49.1%
• Other: 25.8% (2011)

Irrigated land

346.5 km² (134 sq mi) (2003)

Climate

Further information: Effects of climate change on small island countries

The islands have a tropical savanna climate, bordering on a tropical monsoon climate; hot and humid with distinct rainy and dry seasons. Tropical cyclones do occur along with floods.

Climate data for Dili (1914-1963)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	36.0 (96.8)	35.5 (95.9)	36.6 (97.9)	36.0 (96.8)	35.7 (96.3)	36.5 (97.7)	34.1 (93.4)	35.0 (95.0)	34.0 (93.2)	34.5 (94.1)	36.0 (96.8)	35.5 (95.9)	36.6 (97.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	31.3 (88.3)	31.1 (88.0)	31.2 (88.2)	31.5 (88.7)	31.3 (88.3)	30.7 (87.3)	30.2 (86.4)	30.1 (86.2)	30.3 (86.5)	30.5 (86.9)	31.4 (88.5)	31.1 (88.0)	30.9 (87.6)
Daily mean °C (°F)	27.7 (81.9)	27.6 (81.7)	27.4 (81.3)	27.4 (81.3)	27.0 (80.6)	26.8 (80.2)	25.5 (77.9)	25.1 (77.2)	25.4 (77.7)	26.0 (78.8)	27.2 (81.0)	27.4 (81.3)	26.6 (79.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	24.1 (75.4)	24.1 (75.4)	23.5 (74.3)	23.5 (74.3)	22.8 (73.0)	21.9 (71.4)	20.8 (69.4)	20.1 (68.2)	20.5 (68.9)	21.5 (70.7)	23.0 (73.4)	23.6 (74.5)	22.4 (72.3)
Record low °C (°F)	19.0 (66.2)	16.2 (61.2)	16.5 (61.7)	18.2 (64.8)	13.2 (55.8)	14.5 (58.1)	12.4 (54.3)	11.8 (53.2)	13.4 (56.1)	16.1 (61.0)	18.0 (64.4)	16.7 (62.1)	11.8 (53.2)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	139.5 (5.49)	138.7 (5.46)	132.7 (5.22)	104.3 (4.11)	74.9 (2.95)	58.4 (2.30)	20.1 (0.79)	12.1 (0.48)	9.0 (0.35)	12.8 (0.50)	61.4 (2.42)	144.9 (5.70)	908.8 (35.77)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm)	13	13	11	9	6	4	3	1	1	2	6	11	80
Average relative humidity (%)	80	82	80	77	75	72	71	70	71	72	73	77	75
Mean monthly sunshine hours	189.1	161.0	235.6	234.0	266.6	246.0	272.8	291.4	288.0	297.6	270.0	220.1	2,972.2
Mean daily sunshine hours	6.1	5.7	7.6	7.8	8.6	8.2	8.8	9.4	9.6	9.6	9.0	7.1	8.1
Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst [2]

Environment

Natural hazards

Landslides are common; earthquakes; and tsunamis.

Environment - current issues

Widespread use of slash and burn agriculture has led to deforestation and soil erosion.

Environment - international agreements

Biodiversity, climate change, climate change-Kyoto Protocol, desertification

Fauna

Timor-Leste Coral Reef

Timor-Leste's fauna is diverse and contains a number of endemic and threatened species. The Timor and Wetar deciduous forests region, which covers the entire island, has 38 mammal species. Timor-Leste's two endemic mammal species are the Timor shrew and the Timorese horseshoe bat. The country's and region's largest mammal, the Javan rusa, and its only native marsupial, the Northern common cuscus, are both believed to have been introduced to the island in prehistoric times by settlers from the Lesser Sunda Islands and New Guinea, respectively. Other mammals found in Timor-Leste include the Crab-eating macaque, a large number of species of bats, and the aquatic mammal, the Dugong. Timor-Leste also has its own native horse breed, the Timor pony.

Timor-Leste's terrestrial biodiversity is most visible in its native bird species. As of 2022, a total of 289 bird species are found in Timor-Leste. Significantly threatened bird species include the endangered Timor green pigeon and Wetar ground dove and the critically endangered Yellow-crested cockatoo. Timor-Leste has an endemic subspecies of the Iris lorikeet, S. i. rubripileum.

Along with the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia, Timor-Leste is one of the countries located in the Coral Triangle, the site of the most biodiverse coral reefs in the world. ^{[3] [4]} In particular, Atauro Island's coral reefs have been recognised as having the highest average fish biodiversity of any site surveyed, with reef sites off Atauro carrying an average of 253 different species. ^[5] The highest number of species recorded from a single site in Timor-Leste was 642 different fish species, ranking second out of surveyed sites after Indonesia's Raja Ampat Islands. ^[6]

Additionally, the reefs appeared to have suffered limited damage from coral bleaching and rising ocean temperatures compared to other sites in the Coral Triangle. ^{[7] [8] [9]} However, despite being in relatively pristine condition, the reefs remain threatened by climate change and habitat destruction, especially blast fishing. It is believed that this has most affected large marine species such as sharks; despite the diversity of the reefs, there were a significant lack of sharks recorded in the surveys of 2016.

Timor-Leste's isolation and lack of tourism are believed to have helped preserve the reefs, as opposed to tourist-heavy locales such as Bali, where the abundance of tourism has negatively affected the health of the reefs. The Timorese government and local residents of Atauro have made attempts to preserve the reefs through education of local citizens, rejecting harmful development projects, and placing emphasis on traditional laws of preserving nature, called Tara Bandu. ^{[10] [11]}

References

1. Exclusive Economic Zones – Sea Around Us Project – Fisheries, Ecosystems & Biodiversity – Data and Visualization.
2. "Klimatafel von Díli, Insel Timor / Ost-Timor" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
3. Unit, Biosafety. "Main Details". www.cbd.int. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
4. "Timor-Leste". Dugong & Seagrass Hub. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
5. Slezak, Michael (2016-08-17). "Atauro Island: scientists discover the most biodiverse waters in the world". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-03-30.
6. "Little-known reef reveals wealth of unexpected riches, new species". www.conservation.org. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
7. Norman, James (8 May 2022). "East Timor's coral reefs are the most biodiverse in the world. Why are they surviving climate change?". ABC News. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
8. Kim, Catherine J. S.; Roelfsema, Chris; Dove, Sophie; Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove (June 2022). "The Condition of Four Coral Reefs in Timor-Leste before and after the 2016–2017 Marine Heatwave". Oceans. 3 (2): 147–171. Bibcode:2022Oce.....3..147K. doi: 10.3390/oceans3020012 . ISSN   2673-1924.
9. "Timor-Leste's incredible marine life – in pictures". the Guardian. 2018-05-15. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-10-10.
10. Collett, Richard (19 May 2021). "East Timor: A young nation reviving ancient laws". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
11. Chan, Tiffany (2022-05-20). "Ataúro Island Revives a Conservation Tradition". GSTC. Retrieved 2025-03-30.

• Much of the material in this article is adapted from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and 2012.

Further reading

• Crosby, Michael J (2007). Important Bird Areas in Timor-Leste. BirdLife International. ISBN   9780946888597.
• Kaiser, Hinrich; Carvalho, Venancio Lopes; Ceballos, Jester; Freed, Paul; Heacox, Scott; Lester, Barbara; Richards, Stephen J.; Trainor, Colin R.; Sanchez, Caitlin; O’Shea, Mark (20 June 2011). "The herpetofauna of Timor-Leste: a first report". ZooKeys (109): 19–86. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.109.1439 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   3118819 . PMID   21852932.
• Kaiser, Hinrich; Sanchez, Caitlin; Heacox, Scott; Kathriner, Andrew; Ribeiro, Agivedo Varela; Soares, Zito Afranio; Araujo, Luis Lemos de; Mecke, Sven; O’Shea, Mark (1 August 2013). "First report on the herpetofauna of Ataúro Island, Timor Leste". Check List. 9 (4): 752–762. doi: 10.15560/9.4.752 . ISSN   1809-127X.
• O'Shea, Mark; Sanchez, Caitlin; Kathriner, Andrew; Mecke, Sven; Carvalho, Venancio Lopes; Ribeiro, Agivedo Varela; Soares, Zito Afranio; Araujo, Luis Lemos de; Kaiser, Hinrich (25 June 2015). "Herpetological Diversity of Timor-Leste: Updates and a Review of Species Distributions". Asian Herpetological Research. 6 (2): 72–131. doi:10.16373/j.cnki.ahr.140066. ISSN   2095-0357.
• Sanchez, Caitlin; Carvalho, Venancio Lopes; Kathriner, Andrew; O'Shea, Mark; Kaiser, Hinrich (January 2012). "First Report on the Herpetofauna of the Oecusse District, an Exclave of Timor-Leste". Herptology Notes. 5: 137–149.