🇹🇱 Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (Timor Lorosa'e)
Visiting: ReasonableWomen visiting: Take care
East Timor is generally safe, with a few caveats. There is no conflict at all, ranking 1st, and LGBT rights are solid, at 49th. Its weakest measure is women's safety, which is poor, placed 140th. Freedom is only partly protected, ranking 68th, road deaths are moderate, at 84th, and violent crime sits mid-range, placed 114th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
East Timor (Timor-Leste): 5.1
Ranked 67th in the world for the highest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Five killings per 100,000 people a year is a touch under the world average of 5.8, which is where the risky tier begins.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable. The rate sits just below the world average, on a WHO estimate — Timor-Leste last counted in 2015.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
East Timor (Timor-Leste): 12.0
Ranked 84th in the world for the safest roads.
Why this rank?
Twelve deaths per 100,000 people a year is under the world average of fifteen but past half of it.
Is it safe to visit?
Reasonable. Below the world average, and the numbers are small.
Conflict — world number one
Conflict deaths inside the country in the last twelve months, as recorded by the Uppsala conflict database, civilians killed on purpose, and any UN sanctions or court order over a war. The worst of those sets the colour. Lower is better.
East Timor (Timor-Leste): 1.00
Ranked 1st least conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
Nothing on record. The Uppsala conflict database has never recorded a conflict death in Timor-Leste since its records began in 1989.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe. Politics is settled peacefully now, and nothing armed reaches a visitor.
Freedom
Six freedoms rated 0–4 by Freedom House — protest, speech, press, religion, movement and due process. The weakest rating sets the colour, and the total places the country inside it — higher is better.
East Timor (Timor-Leste): 6.71
Ranked 68th freest country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Timor-Leste the lowest is due process at 1. Total 17 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Competitive elections and peaceful handovers since independence in 2002. Due process is undermined by serious capacity deficits and is the low rating. A legal dispute is the one thing that could reach a visitor.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
East Timor (Timor-Leste): 5.5
Ranked 49th most equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Same-sex acts have been legal since the 2009 penal code, with no recognition. Public opinion scores 60 out of 100, above the law at 50.
Is it safe to visit?
Fine. One of Asia's gentler climates. The prime minister welcomed Pride marches through Dili, though the Church sets limits.
Women's Safety
Women's safety — feeling safe out at night, political violence against women, a fair hearing in court, and how normal violence at home is, with the night figure setting a floor on the colour — higher is better.
East Timor (Timor-Leste): 6.21
Ranked 41st least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Violence at home is what pulls the score down, with partner violence at 28 percent and seven in ten women thinking wife-beating can be justified.
Is it safe to visit?
A woman travelling alone should take care when visiting Timor-Leste.