Yearbook 2016
Timor. Prolonged drought due to the weather phenomenon of
El Niņo caused food and water shortages during the year,
which had major consequences for households in East Timor
where over 70% of the population lives from self-cultivated
crops. Many families were forced to reduce the number of
meals and go a long way to fetch water. The children were
particularly vulnerable, as a large number were already
malnourished. According to a report published by the
Humanitarian Partnership Agreement (HPA) in February, nearly
40% of children under 5 years in East Timor were
underweight. According to the aid organization Plan
International, 70,000 cattle had also died as a result of
the drought.
According to
countryaah, the current population of Timor-Leste is 1,318,456.
A research report aimed at drawing attention to the
upbringing of children was published in the scientific
journal eLife in July. The results of the research showed
that the world's shortest men came from East Timor and that
they had an average length of 160 cm. The world's shortest
women were from Guatemala and the tallest men and women came
from the Netherlands and Latvia respectively. According to
the report, children who have access to nutritious food and
a good growing environment tend to become longer. Genes are
also an important factor.
The Permanent Arbitration Court (PCA) in The Hague in
September agreed to East Timor's request to review a border
dispute between Australia and East Timor regarding the
distribution of revenue of a large gas and oil field in the
Timor Sea. According to the arbitral tribunal, which after
initial negotiations stated that the talks were "very
successful", an agreement between the countries was expected
to be reached in September 2017.
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