Timor-Leste: Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Timor-Leste's imports of goods and services (% of GDP) rose 18.51 percentage points on 2023 (from 66.38% to 84.89%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was −4.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 22.07 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 29.12 percentage points in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 57.15 percentage points in 2003. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 5% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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 3rd highest value of the 33 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

• Kiribati — 1st of 33: 97.59%
• Cuba — 3rd of 33: 82.39%
• Maldives — 4th of 33: 78.26%
• Aruba — 5th of 33: 78.17%

What this measures

Imports of goods includes change in the economic ownership of goods from non-residents to residents of the compiling economy, irrespective of physical movement of goods across national borders. Imports of services includes services provided by non-residents to residents. 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.

Limitations: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data.

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

All 25 values

Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 77.73% (2022)
• Australia — 22.66% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 52.04% (2025)
• Cambodia — 67.44% (2025)
• China — 16.89% (2025)
• Fiji — 64.56% (2024)
• French Polynesia — 46.15% (2024)
• Guam — 63.98% (2022)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 196.89% (2025)
• Indonesia — 20.54% (2025)

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)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Timor-Leste's imports of goods and services (% of GDP)?

84.89% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 80.14 percentage points from 165.03% in 2000. The highest value was 172.6% in 2002 and the lowest 36.35% in 2021.

How does Timor-Leste rank?

3rd highest of 33 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in imports of goods and services (% of GDP) unusual for Timor-Leste?

In 2024, Timor-Leste's imports of goods and services (% of GDP) rose 18.51 percentage points on 2023 (from 66.38% to 84.89%). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was −4.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 22.07 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.IMP.GNFS.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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