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The official name of the state comes from Portuguese. Portugal was a colonial power here for a long time. The Portuguese called the country Timor-Leste, which translates as Timor-East. In German, the country is also often simply called East Timor. This is because Timor-Leste consists of the eastern part of the island of Timor. The western part of Timor belongs to Indonesia. In the national and official language “Tetum”, the country is also called Timór Loro Sa’e, which literally translates as “Timor of the Rising Sun”.
In addition to the eastern part of Timor, the Oecusse exclave, the island of Atauro north of the capital Dili and the island of Jaco in the east are counted as part of the national territory.
The main land mass of East Timor on the island of Timor is slightly smaller than Schleswig-Holstein with almost 15,000 square kilometers. It is about 260 kilometers long and 80 kilometers wide. If you include the corresponding island groups, Timor-Leste stretches 364 kilometers in the east-west and 149 kilometers in the north-south direction. The border with Indonesia’s West Timor is 228 kilometers long and was only largely determined in 2006. The two countries are still fighting over some smaller areas to this day.
North of East Timor are the two Indonesian islands Wetar and Liran, which, like East Timor, are counted among the Sunda Islands. The Sunda Islands are a group of islands between Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula. A little further to the south is Australia.
The Timor Sea stretches between the north coast of Australia and the island of Timor. This subsidiary sea of the Indian Ocean is considered unpredictable and rough, because seafarers always have difficulties in these waters. That’s why the inhabitants call the Timor Sea Tasi Mane, which means “sea of men”. The quieter Banda Sea in the north, on the other hand, is called Tasi Feto, “Sea of women”.
What country does Timor belong to?
What nationality is Timor-Leste?
Is Timor-Leste a real country?
What country owns Timor-Leste?
