Timor Leste
Timor Leste
Asia
Geography
Area: 14,874 sq km
Eastern half of Timor and the Ocussi-Ambenu enclave in Indonesian West Timor and Atauro Island.
Population: 1,171,163 Annual Growth: 3.38%
Capital: Dili
Urbanites: 28.1%
HDI Rank: 162 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)
Peoples
Official language: Portuguese (13.5% understand), Tetum (and its dialects) is understood by 91%. Bahasa Indonesia is also common, understood by 43% Languages: 19 All languages
Religion
Largest Religion: Christian
Prayercast
Challenges for Prayer
Timors traumatic birth left deep scars. The vindictive destruction and forcible removal of many Timorese by the departing Indonesian military and its Timorese militia allies left a legacy of hatred and trauma that will take decades to heal. Internal tensions between Eastern and Western, disaffected armed gangs and rival political factions cause violence and unrest to persist, despite the presence of international (mostly Australian and some Portuguese) peacekeepers. Pray for peace for Timor, that grievances might be laid to rest and that reconciliation might begin to take root.
For an additional 3 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.