Timor-Leste: Gross savings (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Timor-Leste's gross savings (% of GDP) fell 12.64 percentage points on 2023 (from -8.48% to -21.13%).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2023), the average change was −9.87 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 70.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 149.02 percentage points in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 154.21 percentage points in 2009. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 5.69 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 45% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Timor-Leste had the 49th highest value of the 48 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Timor-Leste in the 2024 ranking

• Guinea — 45th of 48: 9.59%
• Namibia — 46th of 48: 9.45%
• Solomon Islands — 47th of 48: 1.08%

What this measures

Savings is an amount that represents the part of disposable income (adjusted for the change in pension entitlements) that is not spent on final consumption. Gross savings are calculated as gross national income less total consumption, plus net transfers. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 19 values

Gross savings (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Australia — 22.15% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 45.33% (2025)
• Cambodia — 39.09% (2025)
• China — 42.72% (2024)
• Fiji — 13.06% (2024)
• French Polynesia — 23.29% (2016)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 30.55% (2025)
• Indonesia — 35.04% (2025)
• Japan — 32.06% (2024)
• Kiribati — 12.85% (2024)
• Korea, Rep. — 35.6% (2025)
• Lao PDR

More economic policy & debt data for Timor-Leste

• Short-term debt (% of total external debt) — 0.43% (2024)
• IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, current US$) — −US$750,000 (2024)
• Adjusted savings, education expenditure (% of GNI) — 3.19% (2021)
• Adjusted savings, mineral depletion (current US$) — US$0 (2021)
• Grants, excluding technical cooperation (BoP, current US$) — US$221.69 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (current US$) — US$259.94 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) — US$259.94 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (current US$) — US$259.94 million (2023)

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Questions people ask

What is Timor-Leste's gross savings (% of GDP)?

-21.13% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2006?

It is down 180.35 percentage points from 159.23% in 2006. The highest value was 372.98% in 2008 and the lowest -21.13% in 2024.

How does Timor-Leste rank?

49th highest of 48 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in gross savings (% of GDP) unusual for Timor-Leste?

In 2024, Timor-Leste's gross savings (% of GDP) fell 12.64 percentage points on 2023 (from -8.48% to -21.13%). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2023), the average change was −9.87 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 70.71 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.GNS.ICTR.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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