E. Timor poorest country in Asia with per capita GDP of $478: UNDP
E. Timor poorest country in Asia with per capita GDP of $478: UNDP
Joanne Collins, Reuters, Dili, East Timor
Tiny East Timor, counting down to its independence in a few days,
is Asia's poorest country and will need considerable
international assistance in the years ahead, the United Nations
said on Monday.
The UN Development Program (UNDP) said in a report that East
Timor was Asia's poorest nation in terms of financial and human
development, with annual per capita GDP of just US$478.
Its human development indicators put it among the world's 20
poorest countries -- alongside nations such as Rwanda and Angola.
East Timor will declare independence in the early hours of May
20 following centuries of Portuguese colonization and, more
recently, 24 years of brutal Indonesian rule.
"Now that independence is achieved, the problems of poverty
and economic growth still remain to be tackled and considerable
international assistance will be needed in the years ahead," said
the report, released on the eve of a two-day meeting of foreign
donors in the capital, Dili.
The UNDP said war-ravaged Afghanistan did not fall under its
definition of Asia.
East Timor, home to some 740,000 people, has been under UN
administration since late 1999 after an overwhelming vote to
break free from Indonesian control triggered an orgy of violence
and looting from pro-Jakarta militias who opposed the move.
That widespread destruction has made the job of the East
Timorese even harder, and the statistics paint a bleak picture.
More than 40 percent of the population live below the national
poverty line of $0.55 per day, with many Timorese engaged in
subsistence agriculture, the report said.
Over half the population is illiterate, life expectancy is 57
years of age, very few people have received adequate education
and more than 50 percent of infants are underweight, it said.
Discussions with donors are expected to focus on a vision for
national development and strategies to reduce poverty.
Donors will also pledge more aid for a fledgling nation about
half the size of Belgium and slightly smaller than Hawaii. It was
not clear how much donors have already committed to East Timor
since the violence of the independence vote.
While economic growth would be a problem when the UN scales
down, the report said Timorese could draw on their determination
for freedom to help build the world's newest nation.
"Through the long years of colonization and occupation, the
people of East Timor retained an unquenchable desire for freedom.
That kind of courage and determination should serve them well in
the years ahead," said the report.
One of the main determinants of East Timor's future would be
how it used oil revenues estimated at $7 billion over two decades
from 2004, the UNDP report said.
East Timor and neighbor Australia and will sign a treaty over
developing gas fields in the Timor Sea on May 20. Royalties will
be split 90:10 in East Timor's favor.
Another problem for East Timor would be the range of languages
spoken in the territory, the report added.
East Timor authorities have decided to make Portuguese the
language of school instruction, although a household survey last
year concluded only 5 percent of the population spoke it compared
with 82 percent for Tetum, the main local language.
Tetum is regarded as too limited for the modern world.
Both Tetum and Portuguese are considered national languages by
the constitution, the UNDP report said. Bahasa Indonesia, a
symbol of Jakarta's harsh and unwelcome rule, was spoken by 43
percent of East Timorese, according to the household survey.