Timor-Leste: Services, value added per worker (constant 2015 US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Timor-Leste's services, value added per worker (constant 2015 US$) fell US$64.25 on 2023 (from US$3,918 to US$3,854).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +US$29.62 and a typical year strayed about US$350.37 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 US$912.85 in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was US$580.7 in 2002. 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 US$168.93 a year. A straight line explains 81% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about US$3,217 for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was US$86.25, against US$164.58 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, Timor-Leste had the 17th highest value of the 19 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

• Papua New Guinea — 14th of 19: US$6,587
• Tajikistan — 15th of 19: US$5,599
• Bolivia — 16th of 19: US$5,100
• Solomon Islands — 18th of 19: US$3,614
• Afghanistan — 19th of 19: US$2,796

What this measures

Services industries correspond to ISIC (Rev. 4) divisions 45-99 and includes wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communication, financial intermediation, real estate, renting and business activities, public administration and defence, compulsory social security, education, health and social work, other community, social and personal service activities, private households with employed persons, and extra-territorial organizations and bodies. Value added is the contribution to the economy by a producer or an industry or an institutional sector, which is estimated by the total value of output produced and deducting the total value of intermediate consumption of goods and services used to produce that output. The core indicator has been divided by the number of workers in the economy to derive a measure of labor productivity. This indicator is expressed in constant prices, meaning the series has been adjusted to account for price changes over time. The reference year for this adjustment is 2015. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.

Limitations: For comparability of individual sectors labor productivity is estimated according to national accounts conventions. However, there are still significant limitations on the availability of reliable data. Information on consistent series of output is not easily available, especially in low- and middle-income countries, because the definition, coverage, and methodology are not always consistent across countries. For more details, see Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (constant 2015 US$) [NV.AGR.TOTL.KD], Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) [NV.IND.TOTL.KD], and Services, value added (constant 2015 US$) [NV.SRV.TOTL.KD].

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

All 25 values

Services, value added per worker (constant 2015 US$) in nearby economies

• Australia — US$104,665 (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — US$33,254 (2025)
• Cambodia — US$3,701 (2025)
• China — US$31,545 (2025)
• Fiji — US$16,068 (2025)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$99,420 (2025)
• Indonesia — US$8,546 (2025)
• Japan — US$67,154 (2024)
• Korea, Rep. — US$53,735 (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)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Timor-Leste's services, value added per worker (constant 2015 US$)?

US$3,854 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 19.07% from US$3,237 in 2000 (0.73% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$5,197 in 2016 and the lowest US$3,237 in 2000.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NV.SRV.EMPL.KD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Development Indicators database, World Bank (WB); ILOSTAT database, International Labour Organization (ILO) 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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