East Timor (Timor-Leste)
Fishing in Timor-Leste. Picture courtesy of United Nations Photo on Flickr. Conventional Name : Timor-Leste Location : Southeastern Asia; eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago History : The Island of Timor was colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century. After being occupied by Japan for a while, they declared independence from Portugal in 1975. Nine days later, they were invaded and occupied by Indonesia. After various bouts of pacification attempts and violence, Timor-Leste was internationally recognized as an independent state in 2002. Area : Almost 15000 sq km; 160th largest in the world Slightly smaller than Connecticut Adjective : Timorese Official Languages : Tetum and Portuguese Religion : 98% Roman Catholic Population : About 1.2 million; 159th largest in the world Capital : Dili Children Under the Age of 5 Underweight : 40.6%; 4th highest in the world GDP Spent on Education : 16.8%; Highest in ...