East Timor ranked 180/197 by economy size with a GDP of $1.88B and 166/197 by GDP per capita at $1,343. East Timor has $249M in government debt, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 13.9%.
In 2025, East Timor made up 0.002% of the world's economy, compared to 0.0006% in 1990.
The chart below shows GDP in nominal terms, GDP adjusted for inflation (in constant dollars), and a bar chart of year-over-year inflation-adjusted growth.
| Year | GDP | GDP growth | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current $ | Constant $ | ||
| 1990 | $128,210,142 | $481,437,141 | - |
| 1991 | $147,713,000 | $533,019,666 | 15.2% |
| 1992 | $187,891,500 | $588,770,963 | 27.2% |
| 1993 | $216,914,400 | $648,853,659 | 15.4% |
| 1994 | $239,040,500 | $695,070,456 | 10.2% |
| 1995 | $262,819,900 | $741,509,953 | 9.95% |
| 1996 | $306,956,900 | $800,698,650 | 16.8% |
| 1997 | $319,972,700 | $832,726,548 | 4.24% |
| 1998 | $325,729,800 | $816,072,049 | 1.8% |
| 1999 | $225,357,600 | $526,754,667 | -30.8% |
| 2000 | $366,924,300 | $832,683,748 | 62.8% |
| 2001 | $477,443,500 | $968,839,039 | 30.1% |
| 2002 | $469,455,500 | $903,891,443 | -1.67% |
| 2003 | $490,439,100 | $884,166,144 | 4.47% |
| 2004 | $440,772,000 | $887,702,844 | -10.1% |
| 2005 | $462,268,000 | $914,197,043 | 4.88% |
| 2006 | $453,792,400 | $876,567,845 | -1.83% |
| 2007 | $542,795,400 | $966,550,939 | 19.6% |
| 2008 | $648,523,600 | $1,076,687,532 | 19.5% |
| 2009 | $726,937,800 | $1,185,938,525 | 12.1% |
| 2010 | $881,909,300 | $1,296,604,518 | 21.3% |
| 2011 | $1,042,534,600 | $1,373,863,214 | 18.2% |
| 2012 | $1,160,555,000 | $1,440,641,509 | 11.3% |
| 2013 | $1,395,727,400 | $1,485,364,307 | 20.3% |
| 2014 | $1,447,535,200 | $1,551,797,202 | 3.71% |
| 2015 | $1,590,282,400 | $1,590,282,400 | 9.86% |
| 2016 | $1,640,464,600 | $1,638,148,797 | 3.16% |
| 2017 | $1,584,878,400 | $1,586,016,100 | -3.39% |
| 2018 | $1,555,988,614 | $1,586,017,920 | -1.82% |
| 2019 | $2,032,550,389 | $1,957,336,651 | 30.6% |
| 2020 | $2,162,619,241 | $2,582,938,998 | 6.4% |
| 2021 | $3,624,889,673 | $2,720,236,116 | 67.6% |
| 2022 | $3,208,593,982 | $2,161,456,509 | -11.5% |
| 2023 | $2,079,916,909 | $1,769,697,035 | -35.2% |
| 2024 | $1,881,265,333 | $1,730,956,216 | -9.55% |
Economic Statistics of East Timor
East Timor
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross domestic product |
$1.88B
2024 |
180/197 |
| GDP growth |
-9.55%
2023-2024 |
189/196 |
| GDP per capita |
$1,343
2024 |
166/197 |
| GDP per capita, PPP |
$4,758
2024 |
159/197 |
| Government debt |
$249M
2024 |
180/185 |
| Debt-to-GDP ratio |
13.9%
2025 |
178/185 |
| Government debt per person |
$177.7
2024 |
182/185 |
| Average annual personal income after taxes |
$1,668
2025 |
176/197 |
| Income share by richest 10% |
24%
2014 |
138/169 |
| Income share by poorest 10% |
4%
2014 |
13/169 |
| Government expenditure, % of GDP |
96.6%
2025 |
4/195 |
| Consumer prices inflation |
0.9%
2024-2025 |
174/195 |
| Unemployment rate |
1.54%
2022 |
181/196 |
| Population |
1433311
|
152/197 |
East Timor's GDP per capita
East Timor has a GDP per capita of $1,343, ranking 166/197, a GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP) of $4,758, ranking 159/197, and a median annual after tax income of $1,668, ranking 176/197.
| Year | Current $ | |
|---|---|---|
| GDP per capita | GDP per capita, PPP | |
| 1990 | $168.6 | $685 |
| 1991 | $189.8 | $766 |
| 1992 | $235.1 | $843 |
| 1993 | $264.1 | $925 |
| 1994 | $283.1 | $985 |
| 1995 | $303 | $1,043 |
| 1996 | $344 | $1,116 |
| 1997 | $349 | $1,149 |
| 1998 | $346 | $1,108 |
| 1999 | $270 | $819 |
| 2000 | $492 | $1,483 |
| 2001 | $588 | $1,619 |
| 2002 | $534 | $1,417 |
| 2003 | $535 | $1,355 |
| 2004 | $474 | $1,379 |
| 2005 | $487 | $1,435 |
| 2006 | $465 | $1,377 |
| 2007 | $540 | $1,516 |
| 2008 | $628 | $1,675 |
| 2009 | $687 | $1,810 |
| 2010 | $813 | $1,955 |
| 2011 | $939 | $2,066 |
| 2012 | $1,023 | $2,386 |
| 2013 | $1,205 | $2,566 |
| 2014 | $1,225 | $2,860 |
| 2015 | $1,320 | $3,108 |
| 2016 | $1,336 | $3,391 |
| 2017 | $1,266 | $3,463 |
| 2018 | $1,219 | $3,561 |
| 2019 | $1,562 | $4,557 |
| 2020 | $1,631 | $6,132 |
| 2021 | $2,685 | $6,825 |
| 2022 | $2,343 | $5,728 |
| 2023 | $1,503 | $4,806 |
| 2024 | $1,343 | $4,758 |
East Timor's government spending, deficit, and chart
This chart shows East Timor's government spending, budget balance, and debt over time, each expressed as a share of GDP.
Over the past 25 years, East Timor recorded a fiscal deficit in 23 years — average annual deficit equal to -22.8% of GDP. In 2024, government spending reached $1.7B (96.6% of GDP), with a deficit of -51%.
The national debt reached $249M, ranking 180th out of 185 countries by total size, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 13.9%, ranking 178th.
| Year | % of GDP | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Government spending | Government debt | Government deficit/surplus | |
| 2001 | 95.7% | 0% | 3.24% |
| 2002 | 93.5% | 0% | -7.64% |
| 2003 | 80.1% | 0% | -8.24% |
| 2004 | 74.2% | 0% | -7.48% |
| 2005 | 58.3% | 0% | -10.5% |
| 2006 | 59.8% | 0% | 41% |
| 2007 | 75.8% | 0% | -29.9% |
| 2008 | 122.4% | 0% | -18.6% |
| 2009 | 121.8% | 0% | -17.2% |
| 2010 | 121.3% | 0% | -19.8% |
| 2011 | 133.3% | 0% | -25.4% |
| 2012 | 129.3% | 0.002% | -38.7% |
| 2013 | 96.1% | 0.46% | -14.4% |
| 2014 | 111% | 1.52% | -37.5% |
| 2015 | 98.1% | 2.95% | -33.2% |
| 2016 | 112.2% | 4.71% | -55.7% |
| 2017 | 87.3% | 6.71% | -33.8% |
| 2018 | 85.5% | 9.31% | -26.9% |
| 2019 | 68.7% | 9.51% | -25.4% |
| 2020 | 61% | 10.1% | -18.9% |
| 2021 | 44.8% | 6.53% | -20.1% |
| 2022 | 60.2% | 7.9% | -31.7% |
| 2023 | 81.4% | 12.4% | -37.3% |
| 2024 | 90.3% | 13.2% | -44.3% |
| 2025 | 96.6% | 13.9% | -51% |
Inflation rate by year
Over the past 20 years, East Timor has had an average annual inflation rate of 4.31%. In 2025, inflation was 0.9%. The bar chart below shows consumer price inflation by year.
| Year | Inflation |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 3.6% |
| 2002 | 4.1% |
| 2003 | 8% |
| 2004 | 2.2% |
| 2005 | 1.6% |
| 2006 | 5.2% |
| 2007 | 8.6% |
| 2008 | 7.4% |
| 2009 | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 5.2% |
| 2011 | 13.2% |
| 2012 | 10.9% |
| 2013 | 9.5% |
| 2014 | 0.8% |
| 2015 | 0.6% |
| 2016 | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 0.5% |
| 2018 | 2.3% |
| 2019 | 0.9% |
| 2020 | 0.5% |
| 2021 | 3.8% |
| 2022 | 7% |
| 2023 | 8.4% |
| 2024 | 2.1% |
| 2025 | 0.9% |
Balance of trade
|
East Timor
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
Current account balance
|
-$565M
2024 |
103/189 |
| Current account balance, % of GDP |
-30%
2024 |
185/189 |
| Goods imports |
$839M
2024 |
167/188 |
| Goods exports |
$196M
2024 |
167/188 |
| Service imports |
$405M
2024 |
163/188 |
| Service exports |
$82.1M
2024 |
172/188 |
| Imports of goods and services, % of GDP |
66.4%
2023 |
41/180 |
| Exports of goods and services, % of GDP |
22.9%
2023 |
135/193 |
East Timor's top 10 trading partners
East Timor's biggest trading partner accounting for 32.4%% of all exports and imports is Indonesia, with a trade balance between the two of -$289M — East Timor exports $11.8M worth of goods and services to Indonesia and imports $300M.
Below is the list of the top 10 trade partners of East Timor.
| Rank | Country | Trade value | Share of total trade | Export to | Import from | Top export to | Top import from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Indonesia
|
$312M | 32.4% | $11.8M | $300M | Raw agricultural goods | Machinery & equipment |
| 2 |
China
|
$205M | 21.3% | $76.2M | $129M | Raw materials & minerals | Machinery & equipment |
| 3 |
Singapore
|
$125M | 13% | $31.2M | $94.2M | Raw materials & minerals | Raw materials & minerals |
| 4 |
Australia
|
$88.4M | 9.17% | $27.6M | $60.9M | Machinery & equipment | Machinery & equipment |
| 5 |
India
|
$52.1M | 5.41% | $0 | $52.1M | Animal & marine products | Raw agricultural goods |
| 6 |
Malaysia
|
$30.3M | 3.14% | $39K | $30.2M | Metals | Raw materials & minerals |
| 7 |
United States
|
$23.9M | 2.48% | $2.62M | $21.3M | Raw agricultural goods | Animal & marine products |
| 8 |
Vietnam
|
$20.1M | 2.09% | $138K | $20M | Raw agricultural goods | Machinery & equipment |
| 9 |
Japan
|
$18.1M | 1.88% | $4.84M | $13.3M | Raw materials & minerals | Machinery & equipment |
| 10 |
Brazil
|
$14M | 1.45% | $2K | $14M | Textiles & consumer goods | Animal & marine products |
East Timor's top 10 exports
|
East Timor
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Raw materials & minerals | $110M | 149/193 |
| Transport & tourism services | $52.1M | 168/188 |
| Machinery & equipment | $31.2M | 149/193 |
| Raw agricultural goods | $16.6M | 148/193 |
| Government & miscellaneous services | $12.4M | 133/180 |
| Business & finance services | $3.68M | 180/188 |
| Metals | $3.25M | 165/192 |
| Textiles & consumer goods | $857K | 170/193 |
| IT & IP services | $743K | 179/183 |
| Processed food, beverages & tobacco | $679K | 182/192 |
East Timor's top 10 imports
|
East Timor
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Raw materials & minerals | $230M | 164/193 |
| Machinery & equipment | $223M | 170/193 |
| Transport & tourism services | $214M | 162/188 |
| Processed food, beverages & tobacco | $126M | 168/193 |
| Raw agricultural goods | $95.3M | 162/193 |
| Government & miscellaneous services | $90.7M | 72/180 |
| Textiles & consumer goods | $60.7M | 172/193 |
| Metals | $59.4M | 169/193 |
| Chemicals & pharma | $51.3M | 177/193 |
| Animal & marine products | $42.5M | 160/193 |
Economic freedom indices
|
East Timor
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Economic freedom | 47.9 | 174/197 |
| Property rights | 41.5 | 119/182 |
| Government integrity | 44.1 | 119/182 |
| Judicial effectiveness | 36.2 | 119/182 |
| Tax burden | 97.3 | 8/181 |
| Government spending | 0 | 176/180 |
| Fiscal health | 19.8 | 154/181 |
| Business freedom | 65.6 | 94/182 |
| Labor freedom | 57.2 | 92/182 |
| Monetary freedom | 67.5 | 130/180 |
| Trade freedom | 80 | 24/181 |
| Investment freedom | 45 | 131/181 |
| Financial freedom | 20 | 160/181 |
East Timor's economic freedom by year
East Timor is ranked 160/180 for economic freedom with a score of 47.9, compared to 144/178 and a score of 50.5 in 2009.
| Year | Index | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic freedom | Judicial effectiveness | Tax burden | Government spending | Fiscal health | |
| 2009 | 50.5 | - | 64.7 | 84 | - |
| 2010 | 45.8 | - | 64.7 | 54.1 | - |
| 2011 | 42.8 | - | 64.7 | 0 | - |
| 2012 | 43.3 | - | 64.7 | 0 | - |
| 2013 | 43.7 | - | 64.7 | 0 | - |
| 2014 | 43.2 | - | 64.7 | 0 | - |
| 2015 | 45.5 | - | 64.7 | 0 | - |
| 2016 | 45.8 | - | 64.7 | 0 | - |
| 2017 | 46.3 | 10.3 | 64.7 | 65.6 | 20 |
| 2018 | 48.1 | 13.8 | 97.4 | 30.9 | 20 |
| 2019 | 44.2 | 13.1 | 96.3 | 0.9 | 20 |
| 2020 | 45.9 | 12.6 | 96.3 | 5.3 | 19.9 |
| 2021 | 44.7 | 15.1 | 91.7 | 0 | 20 |
| 2022 | 46.3 | 35.3 | 97.6 | 0 | 19.7 |
| 2023 | 47.2 | 40.1 | 97.5 | 0 | 19.8 |
| 2024 | 50.2 | 36.2 | 97.9 | 29.5 | 19.9 |
| 2025 | 47.9 | 36.2 | 97.3 | 0 | 19.8 |
More economic indicators
|
East Timor
|
Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Services, % of GDP |
61%
2023 |
68/191 |
| Industry, % of GDP |
23.9%
2023 |
101/194 |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, % of GDP |
16.9%
2023 |
45/193 |
|
GNI, Atlas method
|
$2.18B
2024 |
174/194 |
| GNI per capita, PPP |
$4,880
2024 |
155/191 |
| Total reserves including gold |
$780M
2024 |
145/177 |
|
Net foreign direct investment
|
-$228M
2024 |
84/188 |
|
Net inflows of foreign direct investment
|
$232M
2024 |
134/193 |
|
Net outflows of foreign direct investment
|
$4.5M
2024 |
129/187 |
|
Servicing debt to the IMF, % of GNI
|
1.03%
2023 |
110/119 |
| Poverty at national poverty lines |
41.8%
2014 |
35/176 |
|
Gross capital formation, % of GDP
|
20.5%
2023 |
118/176 |
Compare countries by 7 more topics
GDP per capita map
GDP per capita
Relevant pages:
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Economy comparisons
The current account balance is the sum of net trade in goods and services, net earnings from cross-border investments, and net transfer payments. It reflects a country's economic transactions with the rest of the world and is a fundamental component of the balance of payments. A surplus indicates that a country exports more than it imports, while a deficit shows the opposite.
Gross National Income (GNI) measures a country's total income. It encompasses income earned by residents, businesses, and foreign sources, defined as employee compensation and investment profits. GNI adds product taxes not included elsewhere and subtracts subsidies. It accounts for income from residents working abroad but excludes earnings from foreigners within the country.
A negative value for Net Foreign Direct Investment indicates a country is a net receiver of investments, as foreign inflows exceed outflows after Balance of Payments adjustments. A positive value indicates a net provider, with outflows exceeding inflows. Inflows are credits (increasing foreign claims on domestic assets), while outflows are debits (increasing domestic assets abroad).
Foreign direct investment (FDI, net inflows) shows how much capital foreign investors bring into a country after accounting for any funds that flow back in the opposite direction. It represents the net value of overseas companies establishing, expanding, or financing businesses in the reporting country. A positive number means more capital entered the country than was withdrawn, while a negative number means foreign investors pulled out more than they invested.
Foreign direct investment (FDI, net outflows) shows how much capital residents of a country invest abroad after accounting for any funds that flow back in the opposite direction. It represents the net value of domestic companies establishing, expanding, or financing businesses in other countries. A positive number means more capital was invested abroad than withdrawn, while a negative number means residents pulled back more than they invested.
Principal and interest payments to the IMF in currency, goods, or services on long-term debt expressed as a share of GNI.
Formerly gross domestic investment, gross capital formation measures the share of a country’s economic output invested in fixed assets, including buildings, machinery, and infrastructure. It indicates how much of the economy is devoted to building productive capacity.