Population and Demographics of Timor-Leste
Population changed +1.18% in 2024 · median age 21 years
Children under 15 make up 33.66% of Timor-Leste's population, and the current annual rate is +1.18% rather than a static population. The 2000-to-2024 series records a 88.0% increase, which is more informative than a single annual rate alone. Looking ahead, 1.89 million is projected for 2050 under the medium scenario, compared with 1.4 million in 2024.
Population Over Time in Timor-Leste
Since 2000, Timor-Leste's population has grown from 0.745M to 1.401M, a net shift of about 0.66 million. Looking ahead, the medium projection points to 1.889M in 2050, 34.9% higher than the 2024 level. The chart connects dated reference points only and should not be read as an annual interpolated series.
Age Structure and Sex Balance
In 2024, Timor-Leste's age mix can be described as young on the broad UN age-group measures. At 33.66%, the under-15 group is larger than the 5.28% aged 65+, while ages 15 to 64 account for 61.06%. The age balance is weighted toward younger residents.
Population by broad age group
The 2024 World Bank sex-share indicator gives Timor-Leste a female share of 49.6% and a male share of 50.4%. Males exceed females by 0.8 percentage points.
Female and male population share
Males made up 50.4% of the population in the World Bank's 2024 series, compared with 49.6% females.
What Is Shaping Population Change
Timor-Leste pairs a 2024 annual population rate of +1.18% with fertility of 2.6, within a population where the under-15 and 65-plus shares differ by 28.38 percentage points.
Over the longer record, Timor-Leste changed +88.0% from 2000 to 2024, with the projection period then moving +34.8% from 2024 to 2050; the aggregate numbers are not used to manufacture a causal explanation.
2024 estimate for Timor-Leste. The world comparison value is 2.25 children per woman.
Timor-Leste vs. World
The world comparison highlights three contrasts for Timor-Leste. Annual change is +1.18% versus +0.87% globally, fertility is 2.6 versus 2.25, and median age is 21 versus 30.6 years.
| Indicator | Timor-Leste | World | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual population change | +1.18% | +0.87% | 2024 |
| Total fertility rate | 2.6 | 2.25 | 2024 |
| Median age | 21 | 30.6 | 2024 |
The comparison is intentionally narrow: each row uses the 2024 country table and its matching world value rather than mixing sources or observation years.
Key Takeaways
Timor-Leste has 1,400,638 people in the 2024 estimate, with the population changing +1.18% over the year.
Broad age shares show 5.28% aged 65+ compared with 33.66% under 15; the 15 to 64 group accounts for 61.06%.
Females make up 49.6% of the 2024 population in the World Bank indicator, with males at 50.4%.
By 2050, the medium projection is 1.889M, differing from 2024 by roughly 0.49 million people.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Timor-Leste?
The 2024 harmonized population estimate for Timor-Leste is 1,400,638 people.
Is the population of Timor-Leste growing or declining?
In the 2024 estimate, Timor-Leste's population is growing, with annual change of +1.18%.
What percentage of the population of Timor-Leste is aged 65 or older?
People aged 65 or older account for 5.28% of Timor-Leste's 2024 population in the UN WPP-based broad age data.
What is the projected population of Timor-Leste in 2050?
The UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium projection puts Timor-Leste's 2050 population at 1,889,249.
What is the fertility rate in Timor-Leste?
The 2024 harmonized fertility estimate for Timor-Leste is 2.6 children per woman.
Sources & methodology
This profile uses United Nations World Population Prospects 2024 as the primary framework for globally comparable population, age, fertility and projection data. The World Bank is the primary source for the female population share. Some country values were accessed through secondary retrieval interfaces that republish or organize UN data; those interfaces are identified below as secondary and are not treated as the original statistical publishers.
View sources used for this page
Primary global framework for the population estimates and projections.
Harmonized 2024 country table based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized broad age shares based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized reference for the 2000 population point.
Harmonized 2050 country projection based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Used for the 2024 female share; the male share is calculated as the remainder to 100%.