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People
Demographic Background
East Timor, also called Timor Lorosa'e or "Timor of the rising sun," is located on the eastern side of the island of Timor. The western side of Timor is controlled by Indonesia. The population figures for this country are estimated at approximately one million in recent years. The number of East Timorese people approximated here is imprecise as it may not accurately account for the high rates of death that occurred during Indonesian occupation, the displacement that occurred following the political turmoil in 1999, the population living as refugees in West Timor, or the subsequent return of significant numbers of these refugees in the last several years.
Lifestyle and Livelihood
Historically, the East Timorese have been farmers, living in scattered rural areas and growing sufficient food to live. Even today, among the rural population, the primary livelihood is based on subsistence agriculture. Interestingly, despite the fact that East Timor is part of an island with a lengthy coastline, fishing is not particularly common in East Timor. In fact, only a few coastal East Timorese enclaves are home to fishermen. Meanwhile, the Chinese population have been merchants for generations, controlling trade, commerce and mercantile outlets.
For decades until the mid-1990s, about 90 percent of the population lived in rural areas. In the last several years, however, there has been a notable change in demography with a high level of urbanization. The 100,000 people who now live in Dili are reflective of this urbanization trend. (Note: this figure includes not only metropolitan Dili, which is the capital city, but also all the areas surrounding Dili's city center in the general area of Dili's administrative division. In this way, it includes towns such as Dare and Metinaro within the administrative division of Dili.)
Religion
In terms of religion, 93 percent of the East Timorese population is Christian. Of this Christian majority, over 90 percent are Roman Catholic and about three percent are Protestant. Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and other religions make up the remaining five percent. Despite its proximity to Muslim countries, such as Indonesia, East Timor has had a strong Christian tradition. Legends and historical data suggest that the village chiefs had an aversion to Islamic beliefs and as such, Islamicization never took hold in East Timor. Likewise, Hinduism and Buddhism were also lacking in influence.
Animist beliefs, however, prevail alongside Christianity. Animism is generally understood as a spiritual ideology whereby all elements of nature have souls and transcend material form. Animism in East Timorese culture is illustrative of an enduring connection between the spiritual and natural realms. As is the case in many countries touched by Christian missionaries, the Christian religion often exists simultaneously with indigenous spiritiual practices and attitudes. In some places, the two world views morph into a syncretic amalgamation while in other places, these two belief systems exist together. Anthropologists suggest that the East Timorese are religiously Christian, while being influenced by the spirituality and mysticism of animism.
Cultural Diversity
The population of East Timor is more culturally diverse than its religious breakdown suggests. In terms of ethnicity, about 78 percent of the population is Timorese; less than 20 percent of the population is Indonesian; about two percent of the population is Chinese; and less than one percent is Portuguese. Most of the Portuguese population left East Timor when Indonesian occupation began. The Timorese population is composed of about 12 different ethnic groups, some of which are Austronesian and others which are Papuan. Within this Timorese population, however, there is also a strong enduring Portuguese presence attributable to the fact that many Timorese are actually Mestizos of mixed Timorese and Portuguese ancestry. The 78 percent figure noted here does not distinguish between people of Timorese ancestry and those of mixed Timorese and Portuguese ancestry. Furthermore, it does not illuminate any specific Timorese ethnic group.
Languages
Linguistically, there is even greater variance. Each of the 12 ethnic groups of East Timor has its own language, which are themselves rooted in either the Austronesian or Papuan ethno-liguistic families. The nine Austronesian languages are as follows: Tetun, Mambai, Tokodede, Kemak, Galoli, Idate, Waima'a, Naueti and Uab Meto or Dawan. The three Papuan languages are: Bunak, Makasae, Fatuluku. The official languages of East Timor are Tetun and Portuguese; English and Indonesian are well-used spoken languages. A dialect of Tetun (actually a simplified version of Tetun) has also been used in parts of East Timor, such as the capital city of Dili. This version spread from Dili throughout the East Timor so that it now functions, along with English and Indonesian, as another spoken language for a significant part of the population.
Human Development
The gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of East Timor was estimated at approximately $500 USD in 2001. it is believed that more than half of the East Timorese population live below the poverty line on an income of $1 USD per day. The devastating events following East Timor's independence referendum in 1999 resulted in significant shifts in population, settlement patterns, agricultural production, and economic activities. Indeed, about 70 percent of all houses and most of East Timor's infrastructure were utterly decimated. Meanwhile, the national economy and basic infrastructure will have to be rebuilt almost in its entirety. It is generally believed that international aid will play a vital role in reconstructing this newly-independent country.
Life expectancy for the East Timorese people is 66.94 years (64.6 years for males and 69.39 years for females), according to recent estimates. With the dubious distinction of being one of Asia's poorest countries, the East Timorese people suffer from a devastated economy, a turmoil-ravaged infrastructure and an under-educated and traumatized population. It is believed that 75 percent of the entire population was displaced and about 25 percent of the East Timorese people died during the years of occupation. Since Indonesian occupation lasted for about a quarter of a century, this means that approximately one percent of the entire population died per year of occupation.
In terms of health and human welfare, the minister of health noted that the main health oriented objective of the government is to improve the overall standard of health among the Timorese people, and to help mothers and children. The second priority is notable given the fact that the infant mortality rate in the country is approximately 41.98 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the CIA World Factbook (the numbers vary depending on the source of information). The most disturbing cause of the majority of infant deaths is communicable diseases. Being a new member of the World Health Organization will likely present a great advantage in this regard since the organization can provide technical expertise, and most importantly, it can continue its efforts in creating a communicable disease surveillance system, which could assist in detecting, researching, controlling and responding to disease outbreaks. Poverty, malaria and AIDS/HIV are other significant health and human welfare issues. Another key consideration is the question of health care and medical field workers who are a terribly difficult to find in a country where many people left due to political turmoil. It is hoped that the World Health Organization can help in the recruitment and education of new health care workers and other medical professionals.
The country's overall average literacy rate is 58 percent. Despite its dire socio-economic straits and lack of infrastructure, East Timor has a small but well-educated segment within its population. Members of this echelon benefited from a European-style education in both colonial schools and the Catholic seminary. Not surprisingly, this element of East Timorese society produced the voices of nationalist sentiment and the leaders of the independence movement. Many of these people are now represented within East Timor's new goverment. Understanding the value of education in an emerging independent democracy, these individuals have been forthright in calling for education to be one of the top priorities in the new national budget. Rebuilding the country's infrastructure and developing the economy are the other two obvious priorities aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of the East Timorese people.
Meanwhile, in the realm of human development, females suffer discrimination. Approximately 60 percent of rural women in East Timor are illiterate. Many families feel that educating a female child is a waste of money. In the rare instances in which girls attend school, their tenure is usually only for a few years. Higher education for this segment of the population is rarely on option.
See Bibliography for list of research sources.
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