Timor-Leste Population
Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor) had an estimated population of 1,418,517 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 154th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.02% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +1.27% a year.
Timor-Leste at a glance
How Timor-Leste's population is changing
Timor-Leste's population is growing: +1.27% a year, which works out to about +17,993 people per year, or +49 a day. Births (21.8 per 1,000) and deaths (7.2 per 1,000) alone would give +1.45% a year; net migration removes about 2,550 people a year (−0.18%). Roughly one in every 5,792 people on Earth lives in Timor-Leste.
Population of Timor-Leste since 1960
In 1960, Timor-Leste had 468,118 people. By 2025 that was 1,418,517 — 3.0× larger. The fastest growth came between 2000 and 2010, when the population rose by 46%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 468,118 | — |
| 1970 | 553,069 | +18.1% |
| 1980 | 649,871 | +17.5% |
| 1990 | 760,345 | +17.0% |
| 2000 | 745,088 | −2.0% |
| 2010 | 1,084,679 | +45.6% |
| 2020 | 1,326,053 | +22.3% |
| 2025 | 1,418,517 | +7.0% |
Timor-Leste from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Timor-Leste at about 137,262 people in 1800; the UN estimates 1,418,520 in 2025 (10× 1800) and projects 1,972,927 for 2100 in its medium scenario. The population is projected to peak around 2076 at 2,092,354 and decline afterwards.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 137,262 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 203,636 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 329,377 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 414,767 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 745,095 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 1,418,520 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 1,889,248 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 2,092,212 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 1,972,927 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Timor-Leste
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 1,418,517. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dili | 345,038 | UN urban centre | 24.32% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Maliana | 22,000 | GeoNames settlement | 1.55% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 3 | Suai | 21,539 | GeoNames settlement | 1.52% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 4 | Likisá | 19,000 | GeoNames settlement | 1.34% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 5 | Aileu | 17,356 | GeoNames settlement | 1.22% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 6 | Lospalos | 17,186 | GeoNames settlement | 1.21% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 7 | Atsabe | 16,304 | GeoNames settlement | 1.15% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 8 | Maubara | 16,300 | GeoNames settlement | 1.15% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 9 | Baukau | 16,000 | GeoNames settlement | 1.13% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 10 | Venilale | 16,000 | GeoNames settlement | 1.13% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
How Timor-Leste compares
Timor-Leste has almost the same population as Cyprus (1,370,754).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Timor-Leste | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #152 |  Bahrain | 1,600,366 | +13% | compare → |
| #153 |  Kosovo | 1,576,876 | +11% | compare → |
| #155 |  Cyprus | 1,370,754 | −3% | compare → |
| #156 |  Trinidad and Tobago | 1,367,764 | −4% | compare → |
Compare Timor-Leste with any country →
Same region (East Asia & Pacific): China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand.
Explore around Timor-Leste
Land neighbours (1)
Timor-Leste's 1 neighbours together hold 285,721,236 people — 201.4× Timor-Leste's population. The most populous is Indonesia (285,721,236).
In its region
Timor-Leste is the 19th most populous of the 37 economies in East Asia & Pacific, holding 0.1% of the region's 2,367,527,180 people.
Rankings
Largest countries, fastest-growing, oldest populations, densest — all rankings.
Cities
Dili, Maliana, Suai, Likisá, Aileu, Lospalos, Atsabe, Maubara — all Timor-Leste's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Timor-Leste when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.