01Key Takeaways
- Timor-Leste exported $163.72 million worth of goods in 2023, down 65.3% from $471.77 million in 2022, by far the sharpest decline anywhere in this dataset's five-year window and the most recent year with verified trade data available.
- Mineral fuels led every export category by a wide margin, worth $110.30 million, or 67.4% of the total.
- China was Timor-Leste's largest export market, absorbing 46.6% of exports, worth $76.21 million.
- The top three export partners together accounted for 82.5% of total export value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $141.4M | $249.9M | $458.3M | $471.8M | $163.7M |
03Top Export Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $76.2M | 46.6% |
| 2 | Singapore | $31.2M | 19.1% |
| 3 | Australia | $27.6M | 16.8% |
| 4 | Indonesia | $11.8M | 7.2% |
| 5 | Japan | $4.8M | 3.0% |
| 6 | United States | $2.6M | 1.6% |
| 7 | Philippines | $2.1M | 1.3% |
| 8 | Portugal | $1.8M | 1.1% |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | $1.5M | 0.9% |
| 10 | Other Asia, nes | $662.8K | 0.4% |
04Top Export Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $110.3M | 67.4% |
| 2 | Aircraft, Spacecraft and parts thereof | $19.1M | 11.7% |
| 3 | Coffee, Tea, Mate and Spices | $15.5M | 9.5% |
| 4 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $5.7M | 3.5% |
| 5 | Ships, Boats and Floating Structures | $4.2M | 2.6% |
| 6 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $3.1M | 1.9% |
| 7 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $819.5K | 0.5% |
| 8 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $791.3K | 0.5% |
| 9 | Oil Seeds and Oleaginous Fruits; Miscellaneous Grains, Seeds and Fruit; Industrial or Medicinal Plants; Straw and Fodder | $635.6K | 0.4% |
| 10 | Edible Fruit and Nuts; Peel of Citrus Fruit or Melons | $468.3K | 0.3% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Export Value Collapsed in 2023 After Three Years of Growth
Timor-Leste exported $163.72 million worth of goods in 2023, down 65.3% from $471.77 million in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023.
Export value stood at $141.42 million in 2019. It climbed for three consecutive years in a row, nearly doubling to $249.89 million in 2020 and then almost doubling again to $458.30 million in 2021. Export value edged higher still to $471.77 million in 2022, the high point of this five-year window, before collapsing to $163.72 million in 2023.
This dataset does not explain the three-year climb or the collapse that followed it. Export value in 2023 nonetheless remained above where it stood back in 2019, even after giving up most of the ground gained since then. A decline of 65.3% stands out as an unusually sharp move for a single year, wiping out most of the gains built up over the preceding three years. Timor-Leste's Bayu-Undan oil and gas field, once the backbone of the country's export revenue, has been steadily running dry, a decline consistent with the scale of this country's 2023 export collapse.
Mineral Fuels Dominate an Export List Now in Steep Decline
Mineral fuels led every export category in 2023, worth $110.30 million, or 67.4% of the total, by far the largest single category on this list. Aircraft, spacecraft and parts thereof ranked second at 11.7%, worth $19.13 million, an unusual entry for an economy this size. It likely reflects a small number of large individual shipments rather than a sustained domestic industry. Coffee, tea, mate and spices rounded out a top three at 9.5%, worth $15.50 million.
Machinery and mechanical appliances added 3.5%, worth $5.75 million, and ships, boats and floating structures contributed 2.6%, worth $4.22 million. Iron or steel articles added 1.9%, worth $3.07 million. These middle-ranked categories are worth a small fraction of the fuel category at the top of this list, each contributing only a modest slice of total export value.
Optical and medical instruments contributed 0.5% ($0.82 million), and electrical machinery added a nearly identical 0.5% ($0.79 million). Oil seeds contributed 0.4%, worth $0.64 million, and fruit and nuts closed out the top ten at 0.3%, worth $0.47 million, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. Mineral fuels alone are worth more than double every other category on this list combined. That imbalance describes an export base built overwhelmingly around a single depleting energy source, a concentration risk consistent with the sharp decline recorded across this entire dataset in 2023. Coffee ranking third is one of the few bright spots on this list, a category tied to agriculture rather than the fuel extraction that otherwise dominates this ranking.
China Absorbs Nearly Half of All Exports
China was Timor-Leste's largest export market in 2023, taking 46.6% of exports, worth $76.21 million. Singapore ranked second at 19.1%, worth $31.24 million. Australia followed at 16.8%, worth $27.56 million. Together, these top three partners accounted for 82.5% of total export value. That is one of the highest concentrations found anywhere in this dataset.
Indonesia contributed 7.2% ($11.76 million), and Japan added 3.0% ($4.84 million). United States followed at 1.6% ($2.62 million), and Philippines added 1.3% ($2.06 million). Indonesia's position as the nearest large neighbor helps explain its fourth-place ranking, well ahead of more distant partners further down this list.
Portugal contributed 1.1% ($1.84 million), a market with historical ties to this country's colonial past, and Sri Lanka added 0.9% ($1.50 million), a smaller South Asian market further down this list. A destination recorded in trade statistics as "Other Asia, nes," a catch-all classification for shipments not assigned to a single specific country, closed out the top ten at 0.4% ($0.66 million), the smallest share among the ten destinations listed here. Every partner outside the top three holds a share below 8%. That is a steep drop-off once the list moves past China, Singapore and Australia into a long tail of much smaller markets.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an export profile still dominated by a depleting fuel source, coming off by far the sharpest single-year decline anywhere in this dataset. That profile is sold overwhelmingly to a partner base concentrated in China, Singapore and Australia.