Editing Economy of Timor-Leste (section)

==History==
Prior to and during colonisation, the island of Timor was best known for its [[sandalwood]]. The Portuguese colonial administration also granted concessions to Oceanic Exploration Corporation to develop oil and gas deposits. However, this was curtailed by the Indonesian invasion in 1976.

Petrochemical resources were divided between Indonesia and Australia with the [[Timor Gap Treaty]] in 1989.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atns.net.au/biogs/A002026b.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050616125127/http://atns.net.au/biogs/A002026b.htm |archive-date=16 June 2005 |title=TIMOR GAP TREATY between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the Zone of cooperation in an area between the Indonesian Province of East Timor and Northern Australia}}</ref> The treaty established guidelines for joint exploitation of seabed resources in the area of the "gap" left by then-Portuguese Timor in the [[maritime boundary]] agreed between the two countries in 1972.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/timelines/s1408008_to.htm |title= Radio Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102054153/http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/timelines/s1408008_to.htm |archive-date=2 January 2007}}</ref> Revenues from the "joint" area were to be divided 50-50. [[Woodside Petroleum]] and [[ConocoPhillips]] began development of some resources in the Timor Gap on behalf of the two governments in 1992.

In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of Timor-Leste was destroyed by [[Military of Indonesia|Indonesian troops]] and anti-independence militias,<ref name="cia.gov"/> and 260,000 people fled westward. From 2002 to 2005, an international program led by the [[United Nations]], manned by civilian advisers, 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, substantially reconstructed the infrastructure. By mid-2002, all but about 50,000 of the refugees had returned.

The economy grew by about 10% in 2011 and at a similar rate in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=Timor-Leste's Economy Remains Strong, Prospects for Private Sector Development Strengthened|url=http://www.adb.org/news/timor-leste/timor-lestes-economy-remains-strong-prospects-private-sector-development-strengthen|publisher=Asian Development Bank|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102193133/http://www.adb.org/news/timor-leste/timor-lestes-economy-remains-strong-prospects-private-sector-development-strengthen|archive-date=2 January 2014}}</ref>

While Timor-Leste gained revenue from offshore oil and gas reserves, little of it has been spent on the development of villages, which still rely on subsistence farming.<ref name="Schonhardt">{{cite news|last=Schonhardt|first=Sara|title=Former Army Chief Elected President in East Timor|work=The New York Times|date=19 April 2012|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/world/asia/former-army-chief-elected-president-in-east-timor.html|access-date=26 May 2022|archive-date=28 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528135705/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/world/asia/former-army-chief-elected-president-in-east-timor.html|url-status=live}}</ref> {{as of|2012}}, nearly half the East Timorese population was living in extreme poverty.<ref name="Schonhardt"/>