Key findings:
- Previously one of the most oil-dependent countries in the world, Timor-Leste could become a post-oil country in as little as five years’ time.
- A nationwide program of public roadworks and other projects have boosted construction while recent improvements in electricity coverage around the country are likely to have supported more economic activity.
- Recent studies show a welcome reduction in the national poverty rate from 50 percent in 2007 down to 41.8 percent in 2014.
- The economy grew by 5.9 percent in 2014 and by a projected 4.3 percent in 2015.
- GDP forecast to recover to 5.0 percent in 2016.
- Imports forecast to grow from estimated US$1,198 million in 2015 to US$1,668 million in 2018.
- Exports forecast to grow from estimated US$91.6 million in 2015 to US$128.0 million in 2018.
- The report recommends that Timor-Leste should employ its finite resources effectively now to support a more diversified economy and longer-term fiscal sustainability