Portuguese Timor: Location, History, Size, Population, & Government

About the Portuguese Timor, information, history size, location, population, people, culture, and government.

Timor, Portuguese

Size--5,763 sq. mi. (14,925 sq. km.). Population--650,000.

The island of Timor in the Malay archipelago, 360 mi. northwest of Australia, is divided between Indonesia and Portugal. Portuguese Timor includes the eastern half of the island, an enclave on the northern coast of Indonesian Timor known as Ocussi-Ambeno, and 2 smaller islands. Since the 1974 coup in Portugal, the political future of Timor has been uncertain. Those who are politically aware favor either union with Indonesia, or independence. However, large sections of the inland population remain unaffected by government policy, or the modern economy, except when the Portuguese come around to collect taxes.