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| .tp/.tl Timor-Leste |
Overview Timor-Leste, or Timor Lorosae, "Timor of the rising sun", is situated on the eastern part of the island of Timor, the eastern-most of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It is bordered on the west by the Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur. To the north lies the Savu Sea and the Strait of Wetar. To the south, 500 kilometres across the Timor Sea, is Australia. Also part of the national territory of Timor-Leste are the enclave of Oecussi in the western part of Timor island and the islands of Ataúro and Jaco. Timor’s relief is characterised by a core of rugged hills and mountains consisting of a confused mass of knife-edged ridges and craggy upland blocks. The highest point is Mount Tatamailau at 3,000 metres. Steep slopes are found in around 44 percent of Timor-Leste, which, combined with heavy rainfall, lead to soil erosion. The climate is hot, with an average temperature of 21°C and around 80 percent humidity. During the dry season, Timor-Leste has moderate winds and slightly milder temperatures of 18°C on the coastline and 10°C or lower in the mountains. But between November and April, in the monsoon season, the rivers become torrents because of extremely high precipitation. During this period, the average temperature on the coast is about 25°C. On the northern coast, rainfall ranges from 500 to 1,000 millimetres per year and there is only one harvest. The southern coastal plain, however, can receive over 2,000 millimetres and have two wet seasons and two harvests. The island is also affected by El Nina-related weather anomalies. There
are 12 ethnic groups in Timor-Leste, each with its own language: nine Austronesian
language groups (Tetum, Mambai, Tokodede, Kemak, Galoli, Idate, Waima’a, Naueti)
and three Papuan language groups (Bunak, Makasae, Fatuluku). The Tetums live in
two separate geographic areas within Timor-Leste. A simplified version of the
Tetum language was utilised in Dili by the Portuguese as a lingua franca. Though
widespread, it is not understood by all. Timor-Leste comprises 13 districts, 67
subdistricts, 498 villages (sucos) and 2,336 subvillages (aldieas). ICTs ICTs are quite new to Timor-Leste. The first computer probably arrived here in the early 1990s. In the education sector, the National University of Timor-Leste and the University of Martinho Lopes have set up departments of information technology. The first intake of students in the National University of Timor-Leste was in May 2001. Courses are conducted in Portuguese and follow the Portuguese curriculum. The University of Martinho Lopes enrolled its first intake in September 2002. Little ICT is used in the other sectors. The total number of computers deployed in the government is about 1,000 units. According to the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, only 70 of them are connected to the Internet. Important local sources of content UNDP
Timor-Leste <http://www.undp.east-timor.org> Timor-Leste
News <http://www.solidamor.org> Government
of Timor-Leste <http://www.gov.east-timor.org>
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