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Photo: Nhobgood Nick Hobgood · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 02 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Timor-Leste: Economy & Innovation
What does an economy do for the people inside it?
Timor-Leste is placed 167th of 176 countries on economy & innovation in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: GDP per Capita (PPP) 4,110 (2025); Firms with a Bank Loan or Line of Credit 8.318 (2025).
Economy & Innovation
167th
of 176 countries placed
Placed from 2 of 4 key statistics
- 4,110GDP per Capita (PPP), 2025GDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP)
- 8.318Firms with a Bank Loan or Line of Credit, 2025Firms with a bank loan or line of credit (%)
- —Economic Complexity Index, 2024No reading for this country
- —Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, 2024No reading for this country
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Timor-Leste on economy & innovation — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
GDP per Capita (PPP)
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: Output per person: the standard measure of an economy's size set against the population it has to support.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
4,110
GDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP)
Higher is better
Timor-Leste: 4,110. Across the 185 countries in this edition, values run from 1,067 (Burundi) to 139,593 (Singapore); the world median is 17,265.
- World median
- 17,265
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 139,593 Singapore
- Land neighbours
- Indonesia 15,091
Each grey tick is one of 185 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 2 of 4
Firms with a Bank Loan or Line of Credit
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: Whether businesses can borrow from the formal financial system — the firm-level counterpart to adults holding a bank account.
Latest reading per country, 2016–2025 · Timor-Leste’s is from 2021 · CC BY 4.0
8.318
Firms with a bank loan or line of credit (%)
Higher is better
Timor-Leste: 8.318. Across the 179 countries at their latest reading, values run from 2.113 (Pakistan) to 88.52 (Israel); the world median is 35.95.
- World median
- 35.95
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 45.89 Thailand
- Land neighbours
- Indonesia 19.99
Each grey tick is one of 179 countries at its latest reading, 2016–2025.
Key 3 of 4
Economic Complexity Index
Growth Lab at Harvard University
Why it is a key: What an economy knows how to make, read from the diversity and rarity of what it exports.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC0 1.0
No reading
ECI score (standardised, roughly −3 to +3)
Higher is better
Growth Lab at Harvard University publishes no 2024 figure for Timor-Leste, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 145 countries in this edition, values run from -3.53 (Chad) to 1.729 (Japan); the world median is 0.131.
- World median
- 0.131
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 1.52 Singapore
- Land neighbours
- Indonesia 0.223
Each grey tick is one of 145 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Account Ownership at a Financial Institution
World Bank Group
Why it is a key: Whether ordinary adults are inside the financial system at all, which output per person does not reveal.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 4.0
No reading
Adults with an account (% of population aged 15+)
Higher is better
World Bank Group publishes no 2024 figure for Timor-Leste, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 139 countries in this edition, values run from 14.83 (Niger) to 99.85 (Iceland); the world median is 72.83.
- World median
- 72.83
- Best in South-eastern Asia
- 97.97 Singapore
- Land neighbours
- Indonesia 56.33
Each grey tick is one of 139 countries in the 2024 edition.
02Over time
Which way Timor-Leste is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
GDP per Capita (PPP)
GDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP) · higher is better
Timor-LesteWorld median
Timor-Leste rose from 3,784 in 2000 to 4,110 in 2025; the world median went from 10,589 to 17,265.
Every year’s figures
Year Timor-Leste World median 2025 4,110 17,265 2024 3,891 18,108 2023 4,331 17,686 2022 5,348 16,933 2021 6,825 16,260 2020 6,595 15,631 2019 5,103 16,761 2018 4,189 16,349 2017 4,290 16,129 2016 4,515 15,512 2015 4,468 14,857 2014 4,445 14,475 2013 4,340 14,681 2012 4,298 14,631 2011 4,190 13,916 2010 4,047 14,101 2009 3,792 13,655 2008 3,531 14,030 2007 3,257 13,755 2006 3,039 12,983 2005 3,264 12,023 2004 3,235 11,608 2003 3,265 11,183 2002 3,481 11,144 2001 4,038 10,907 2000 3,784 10,589
03In context
Timor-Leste beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 176 countries on economy & innovation, never a place within the region.
1st176thNot placed · 48 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
Timor-Leste and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 176 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | GDP per Capita (PPP)GDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP) | Firms with a Bank Loan or Line of CreditFirms with a bank loan or line of credit (%) | Economic Complexity IndexECI score (standardised, roughly −3 to +3) | Account Ownership at a Financial InstitutionAdults with an account (% of population aged 15+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Indonesia | =110th | 15,091 | 19.99 | 0.223 | 56.33 |
| Timor-Leste | 167th | 4,110 | 8.318 | — | — |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across South-eastern Asia
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 176.
Placed either side on economy & innovation
The countries immediately above and below Timor-Leste in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Timor-Leste is ahead of the world, and behind
18 more statistics filed under economy & innovation, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median4
Statistics on which Timor-Leste does better than the middle country measured.
Debt Service on External DebtWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 12.933.05112.93▼ Worsened since 2014
Timor-Leste: 3.051 · world median 12.93 · Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.285 to 96.2; lower is better.
Position 102nd of 109 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
External Debt Stocks (% of GNI)World Bank Group · 2024 · world median 43.9415.3743.94▼ Worsened since 2014
Timor-Leste: 15.37 · world median 43.94 · External debt stocks (% of GNI). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 2.213 to 350.57; lower is better.
Position 101st of 110 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
GDP GrowthWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 3.3966.9753.396▲ Improved since 2015
Timor-Leste: 6.975 · world median 3.396 · GDP growth (annual %). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -5.847 to 19.34; higher is better.
Position 18th of 186 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Crop Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.23107.66106.23▼ Worsened since 2012
Timor-Leste: 107.66 · world median 106.23 · Crop production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 53.79 to 189.93; higher is better.
Position 86th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median11
Statistics on which Timor-Leste does worse than the middle country measured.
Food Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 106.08101.69106.08▼ Worsened since 2012
Timor-Leste: 101.69 · world median 106.08 · Food production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 71.08 to 177.49; higher is better.
Position 124th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Regulatory QualityWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median -0.093-0.732-0.093▲ Improved since 2015
Timor-Leste: -0.732 · world median -0.093 · Regulatory Quality (−2.5 to 2.5). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -2.106 to 2.113; higher is better.
Position 161st of 209 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
ICT Services ExportsUNCTAD · 2024 · world median 7.4742.4377.474▼ Worsened since 2014
Timor-Leste: 2.437 · world median 7.474 · ICT services exports (% of services exports). UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 56.25; higher is better.
Position 92nd of 118 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Livestock Production IndexFAO · 2022 · world median 107.0692.01107.06▼ Worsened since 2012
Timor-Leste: 92.01 · world median 107.06 · Livestock production index (2014–2016 = 100). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 35.52 to 190.08; higher is better.
Position 168th of 194 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Digitally-Deliverable Services ExportsUNCTAD · 2024 · world median 25.425.26425.42▼ Worsened since 2014
Timor-Leste: 5.264 · world median 25.42 · Digitally-deliverable services exports (% of services exports). UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.377 to 87.15; higher is better.
Position 153rd of 170 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Government AI Readiness IndexOxford Insights · 2025 · world median 40.1918.3940.19▼ Worsened since 2020
Timor-Leste: 18.39 · world median 40.19 · AI readiness score (0–100). Oxford Insights, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 12.12 to 88.36; higher is better.
Ranked 179th of 195 by Oxford Insights.
Business Ready: Public ServicesWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 50.1323.850.13No earlier reading
Timor-Leste: 23.8 · world median 50.13 · Public services score (0–100). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 18.35 to 73.31; higher is better.
Position 46th of 50 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Liner Shipping Connectivity IndexUNCTAD · 2026 · world median 56.2112.2356.21No real change since 2016
Timor-Leste: 12.23 · world median 56.21 · LSCI (index, average Q1 2023 = 100). UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2026 edition, data for 2026.
Published values in that edition run from 4.13 to 1,319; higher is better.
Ranked 161st of 175 by UNCTAD.
Business Ready: Operational EfficiencyWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 65.8244.8365.82No earlier reading
Timor-Leste: 44.83 · world median 65.82 · Operational efficiency score (0–100). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 40.36 to 87.33; higher is better.
Position 48th of 50 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Adjusted Net SavingsWorld Bank Group · 2021 · world median 8.389-81.628.389▼ Worsened since 2015
Timor-Leste: -81.62 · world median 8.389 · Adjusted net savings, including particulate emission damage (% of GNI). World Bank Group, 2021 edition, data for 2021.
Published values in that edition run from -81.62 to 32.18; higher is better.
Position 118th of 118 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Business Ready: Regulatory FrameworkWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 66.846.2166.8No earlier reading
Timor-Leste: 46.21 · world median 66.8 · Regulatory framework score (0–100). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 46.21 to 78.34; higher is better.
Position 50th of 50 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end3
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Total Natural Resources Rents (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2021 · world median 1.70834.731.708Moved since 2015
Timor-Leste: 34.73 · world median 1.708 · Natural resources rents (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2021 edition, data for 2021.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 61.03.
Position 6th of 180 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Foreign Direct Investment InflowsUNCTAD · 2025 · world median 1.96812.711.968Moved since 2015
Timor-Leste: 12.71 · world median 1.968 · FDI inflows (% of GDP). UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from -32.97 to 2,221.
Gross Savings (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 2024 · world median 22.06-21.1322.06Moved since 2014
Timor-Leste: -21.13 · world median 22.06 · Gross savings (% of GDP). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from -21.13 to 47.82.
Position 146th of 146 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Timor-Leste
Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP) (last 2024), Container Port Traffic (last 2019), Economic Complexity Index, Exports of Goods and Services (% of GDP) (last 2024), General Government Consumption (last 2024), Gini Index (last 2014), Global Innovation Index, GNI per Capita (PPP) (last 2024), Gross Capital Formation (% of GDP) (last 2024), Household Consumption (last 2024), ICT Goods Exports (last 2023), Imports of Goods and Services (% of GDP) (last 2024), Income Share Held by Lowest 20% (last 2014), Income Share Held by Richest 10% (last 2014), Industry Value Added including Construction (% of GDP) (last 2024), Logistics Performance Index (last 2007), Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP) (last 2024), Palma Ratio (last 2014), Research and Development Spending, Researchers per Million Inhabitants, Tariff Rate, Applied, Weighted Mean, All Products (last 2021), Trade (% of GDP) (last 2024) and World Energy Trilemma Index. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Economy & Innovation among Timor-Leste’s 14 topics
Economy & Innovation is Timor-Leste’s 14th best-placed topic of 14. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Peace & Securityjoint 30th of 1774/4 keys
- Gender & Equalityjoint 49th of 1833/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainabilityjoint 53rd of 1813/3 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties82nd of 1983/3 keys
- Poverty & Inequalityjoint 76th of 1592/2 keys
- Work & Labour90th of 1824/4 keys
- Education & Knowledge98th of 1713/4 keys
- Food & Agriculture102nd of 1753/4 keys
- Governance & Institutions114th of 1944/4 keys
- Risk & Resilience141st of 1923/3 keys
- Development & Human Capital149th of 1963/3 keys
- Digital & Technology173rd of 1983/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeing177th of 2003/4 keys
- Economy & Innovation167th of 1762/4 keys
No standing on Mobility & Trade, Energy: too few of those topics’ key statistics are published for this country.
06The top of the list
Who leads on economy & innovation
The three countries placed highest of 176, and the leaders Timor-Leste can most readily be measured against.
1
AustriaWestern Europe
1st of 176 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0, greyscale
2
JapanEastern Asia
2nd of 176 · 4 of 4 keys
Photo: JurriaanH · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
GermanyWestern Europe
3rd of 176 · 4 of 4 keys
Placed highest nearby
Highest in Asia
Japan2nd4/4 keysHighest in South-eastern Asia
Singapore=24th4/4 keysThis page
Timor-Leste167th2/4 keys
Positions out of 176 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Timor-Leste and economy & innovation
On economy & innovation
China Leads Global High-Technology Exports
The world’s ten largest high-technology exporters as a treemap, with the rest of the world beside them. Each country’s figure is its own most recent year, between 2022 and 2024.
On economy & innovation
India vs Pakistan 2025: Comparison of Hunger Index, Happiness, HDI, Rule of Law, Literacy & GDP
India and Pakistan on six published measures: hunger, happiness, human development, rule of law, literacy and GDP per capita. India is the better placed on five of them; Pakistan on one.
On economy & innovation
Countries in Asia with the highest average salaries 2024
Thirteen Asian countries by gross average monthly wage, each carrying its WORLD rank rather than an Asian one — so the numbers skip, from 11th place to 45th.
08Questions
Timor-Leste on economy & innovation: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Timor-Leste rank on economy & innovation?
Timor-Leste is placed 167th of 176 countries on Economy & Innovation in the Country Index 2026, from 2 of its 4 key statistics (GDP per Capita (PPP) and Firms with a Bank Loan or Line of Credit). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest GDP per Capita (PPP) figure for Timor-Leste?
4,110 in 2025 (gDP per capita (constant 2021 international $, PPP)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 17,265.
What is the latest Firms with a Bank Loan or Line of Credit figure for Timor-Leste?
8.318 in 2025 (firms with a bank loan or line of credit (%)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 35.95.
How does Timor-Leste compare with Indonesia on economy & innovation?
Indonesia is placed joint 110th of 176, and Timor-Leste 167th. GDP per Capita (PPP): Indonesia 15,091, Timor-Leste 4,110; Firms with a Bank Loan or Line of Credit: Indonesia 19.99, Timor-Leste 8.318.
How have Timor-Leste’s economy & innovation figures changed?
GDP per Capita (PPP) rose from 3,784 in 2000 to 4,110 in 2025.
Which economy & innovation statistics are missing for Timor-Leste?
No current reading is published for Timor-Leste on Account Ownership at a Financial Institution, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP), Container Port Traffic, Economic Complexity Index, Exports of Goods and Services (% of GDP), General Government Consumption, Gini Index, Global Innovation Index, GNI per Capita (PPP), Gross Capital Formation (% of GDP), Household Consumption, ICT Goods Exports, Imports of Goods and Services (% of GDP), Income Share Held by Lowest 20%, Income Share Held by Richest 10%, Industry Value Added including Construction (% of GDP), Logistics Performance Index, Manufacturing Value Added (% of GDP), Palma Ratio, Research and Development Spending, Researchers per Million Inhabitants, Tariff Rate, Applied, Weighted Mean, All Products, Trade (% of GDP) and World Energy Trilemma Index. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Timor-Leste, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions114th of 194
- Work & Labour90th of 182
- Education & Knowledge98th of 171
- Health & Wellbeing177th of 200
- Development & Human Capital149th of 196
- Environment & Sustainability=53rd of 181
- Gender & Equality=49th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties82nd of 198
- Peace & Security=30th of 177
- Risk & Resilience141st of 192
- Food & Agriculture102nd of 175
- Poverty & Inequality=76th of 159
- Digital & Technology173rd of 198
- The full Timor-Leste profile
Nearby, on economy & innovation
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
The total size of an economy is deliberately left out: a very large economy spread over a very large population is not doing more for each person. Growth rates, trade shares and the structure of output (how much is farming, industry or services) are published here as context, because they describe an economy's shape rather than how well it serves people. Jobs and wages have their own topic, Work & Labour.
How the Economy & Innovation standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 40 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2024 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 176 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- GDP per Capita (PPP) — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Firms with a Bank Loan or Line of Credit — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
- Economic Complexity Index — Growth Lab at Harvard University, CC0 1.0
- Account Ownership at a Financial Institution — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
The other 18 statistics on this page come from 4 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Timor-Leste’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Timor-Leste (banner) — Nhobgood Nick Hobgood, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Austria — chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Japan — JurriaanH, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Germany — dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Timor-Leste: Economy & Innovation — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/timor-leste/economy