| Date - Field | EastTimor - Economy - overview |
2008 January
Economy - overview | In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of Timor-Leste was laid waste by Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias. Three hundred thousand people fled westward. Over the next three years a massive international program, manned by 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, led to substantial reconstruction in both urban and rural areas. By the end of 2005, refugees had returned or had settled in Indonesia. The country has faced great challenges in continuing the rebuilding of infrastructure, strengthening the infant civil administration, and generating jobs for young people entering the work force. The development of oil and gas resources in nearby waters has begun to supplement government revenues ahead of schedule and above expectations - the result of high petroleum prices. The technology-intensive industry, however, has done little to create jobs for the unemployed because there are no production facilities in Timor. Gas is piped to Australia. The parliament in June 2005 unanimously approved the creation of a Petroleum Fund to serve as a repository for all petroleum revenues and preserve the value of Timor-Leste's petroleum wealth for future generations. The Fund held assets of US$1.8 billion as of September 2007. The mid-2006 outbreak of violence and civil unrest disrupted both private and public sector economic activity and created 1.5 millon internally displaced persons. Real non-oil GDP growth in 2006 probably was negative. The underlying economic policy challenge the country faces remains how best to use oil-and-gas wealth to lift the non-oil economy onto a higher growth path and reduce poverty. In late 2007, the new government announced plans aimed at increasing spending, reducing poverty, and improving the country's infrastructure, but it continues to face capacity challenges. |
2007 January
Economy - overview | void - (all current Economy informations) |
2006 January
Economy - overview | void - (all current Economy informations) |
2005 January
Economy - overview | void - (all current Economy informations) |
2004 January
Economy - overview | void - (all current Economy informations) |
2003 January
Economy - overview | void - (all current Economy informations) |
2002 January
Economy - overview | void - (all current Economy informations) |
2001 January
Economy - overview | void - (all current Economy informations) |
2000 January
Economy - overview | void - (all current Economy informations) |
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