The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor (Tetum: Timór Lorosa'e), is a country in Southeast Asia. It lies northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago. East Timor includes the eastern half of the island of Timor, the Oecussi (Ambeno) region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the small islands of Atauro and Jaco.
Decades of occupation and periodic eruptions of post-independence violence - most recently in April 2006 - have left Timor-Leste with extremely poor infrastructure and limited economic opportunities. Electricity, telephone and telecommunications, roads, and lodging remain unreliable, particularly outside of the capital.
