digifyworld
🇹🇱
Languages

Languages of Timor-Leste

DiliLocal time

Portuguese and Tétum are Timor-Leste's official languages. English and Bahasa Indonesian have separate working-language status.

Timor-Leste
COUNTRY LANGUAGE PROFILE
português
Portuguese
Text direction: LTR

Tetum and Portuguese are official, while Indonesian and English are designated working languages under the constitutional framework.

Portuguese
First listed core language
Not a speaker-share estimate
1
Writing system represented
Across the core language set
LTR
Primary text direction
Additional directions noted below

Language Overview

PortugueseTétum

Read the Characters

Portuguese · 26 characters

Portuguese · 26 characters
A
a
B
b
C
c
D
d
E
e
F
f
G
g
H
h
I
i
J
j
K
k
L
l
M
m
N
n
O
o
P
p
Q
q
R
r
S
s
T
t
U
u
V
v
W
w
X
x
Y
y
Z
z

How to Read the Language Landscape

PolicyLegal and administrative language status may differ between national and subnational government.
Everyday useA language can be socially dominant without being the only language used at home, school, work or in media.
Community diversityIndigenous, minority, migrant and sign languages can remain important even when they are not part of a short national headline list.

Frequently Asked Questions

What languages are used in Timor-Leste?

Tetum and Portuguese are official, while Indonesian and English are designated working languages under the constitutional framework.

What writing systems are used in Timor-Leste?

The represented writing system is Latin and the primary direction shown is left to right.

More about Timor-Leste

Explore Timor-Leste across the other DigifyWorld country-data sections.

Public HolidaysPublic holidays 2026 and 2027→Digital AdoptionInternet, payments and digital government→Population & DemographicsPopulation, age structure and projections→Economy SnapshotGDP, trade and economic structure→Currency & ExchangeCurrency, exchange rates and money→Human DevelopmentHDI and quality-of-life indicators→Geography & EnvironmentLand, climate and environment→Practical Country InfoTime, driving, electricity and codes→EducationSchool system and education data→

Sources & methodology

View sources used for this page
Government of Timor-Leste: About Timor-Leste

Official government source identifying Portuguese and Tétum as the official languages, and English and Bahasa Indonesian as working languages.

Unicode CLDR: Country/Region Names

Localized country display-name reference. CLDR names are customary UI/display names, not claims about a state’s full constitutional long-form name.

Unicode: Supported Scripts

Reference for the writing-system/script families represented in the character component.

Unicode: Writing Direction and Bidirectional Text

Reference for left-to-right and right-to-left script direction and bidirectional text behavior.

Unicode Character Database: NamesList

Reference for Unicode character names used as small readout labels under selected character samples; these labels are not presented as a complete transliteration standard.