Dili (
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
and
Tetum
, nativename=Tetun
, states= Indonesia East Timor
, speakers=, mostly in Indonesia
, date=2010–2011
, ref=e18
, speakers2=50,000 L2-speakers in Indonesia and East Timor
, familycolor=Austronesian
, fam2=Malayo-Polynesian
, fam3= Central–East ...
: ''Díli'') is the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
and largest city of
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
. It lies on the northern coast of the island of
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...
, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountains. The climate is tropical, with distinct wet and dry seasons. The city has served as the economic hub and chief port of what is now East Timor since its designation as the capital of
Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies.
The first Europeans to arrive in the ...
in 1769. It also serves as the capital of the
Dili Municipality
Dili Municipality (, ) is one of the 14 municipalities, formerly districts, of Timor-Leste, and includes the national capital Dili. The municipality had a population of 277,279 , most of whom live in the capital city. Etymology
Several expla ...
, which includes some rural subdivisions in addition to the urban ones that make up the city itself. Dili's growing population is relatively youthful, being mostly of working age. The local language is
Tetum
, nativename=Tetun
, states= Indonesia East Timor
, speakers=, mostly in Indonesia
, date=2010–2011
, ref=e18
, speakers2=50,000 L2-speakers in Indonesia and East Timor
, familycolor=Austronesian
, fam2=Malayo-Polynesian
, fam3= Central–East ...
; however, residents include many internal migrants from other areas of the country.
The initial settlement was situated in what is now the old quarter in the eastern side of the city. Centuries of Portuguese rule were interrupted in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, when Dili became the site of
a battle between
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
and Japanese forces. The damaged city returned to Portuguese control following the war. In 1975, a civil war between Timorese political parties broke out, leading to a declaration of independence and a subsequent
invasion by Indonesia. Under
Indonesian rule infrastructure in the city was developed, with landmarks such as the
Immaculate Conception Cathedral and ''
Cristo Rei of Dili
The ''Cristo Rei of Dili'' (Christ the King of Dili) statue ( pt, Estátua do Cristo Rei de Díli, tet, Estátua Cristo Rei Dili) is a colossal statue of Jesus Christ situated atop a globe at Cape Fatucama in Dili, East Timor. It is one of ...
'' being built during this time. The city expanded as its population grew to over 100,000 people.
Resistance to Indonesian rule faced violent repression, and a
massacre in Dili led to international pressure culminating in an
independence referendum
An independence referendum is a type of referendum in which the residents of a territory decide whether the territory should become an Independence, independent sovereign state. An independence referendum that results in a vote for independence ...
. Following a vote for independence
violence erupted in the city, destroying huge amounts of its infrastructure and leading to an exodus of refugees. A period of
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
rule followed, during which international agencies began the reconstruction of the city. Dili became the capital of an independent East Timor in 2002. A
period of violence in 2006 saw another period of infrastructure damage and population displacement. In 2009 the government launched the ''City of Peace'' campaign to reduce tensions. As the population has continued to grow and the original site of the city has filled up, the urban area has expanded into coastal areas to the east and west of the main city.
Infrastructure in Dili continues to be developed. The city was the first location in East Timor to see 24 hours of electricity, although its water infrastructure remains relatively limited. Education levels are higher than the national average, and the country's universities are located in the city. An
international port and
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
lie within the city limits. Most economic activity comes from the
tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
and public employment. To further build the economy, the government is developing the tourism potential of the city, focusing on cultural, environmental, and historical attractions.
History
![PT Dili 1952-1975 COA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/PT_Dili_1952-1975_COA.svg)
Dili has played a central role in the history of East Timor.
However, early records about Timor, especially before the 1700s, are sparse.
The tumultuous history of the city has resulted in a great deal of information being lost; archives in the city were destroyed in 1779, 1890, 1975, and 1999.
The island of Timor was possibly known as a source for
sandalwood
Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...
in the 15th century.
The first recorded Portuguese voyage to the island from
Portuguese Malacca
Portuguese control of Malacca, a city on the Malay Peninsula, refers to the 130 year period (1511–1641) when it was a possession of the Portuguese East Indies. It was conquered from the Malacca Sultanate as part of Portuguese attempts to ...
occurred in 1516, returning with sandalwood. In 1521, sandalwood was left out of a list of products under royal monopoly, leaving most trade with Timor in the hands of private enterprises.
Portuguese and Spanish interest in the island increased in the 1520s, with regular trade established by 1524.
In the late 1500s, administrative officials began to be appointed to nearby
Solor
Solor is a volcanic island located off the eastern tip of Flores island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, in the Solor Archipelago. The island supports a small population that has been whaling for hundreds of years. They speak the lang ...
with jurisdiction over that island and Timor, signifying increasing state interest in Portuguese activities there.
The Netherlands began to compete for control of the island in 1613, especially in the west.
A rebellion in 1629 forced the Portuguese off the island for three years.
In 1641, a number of kings in Timor converted to Catholicism while seeking Portuguese protection. This introduced a political dimension to Portuguese influence, which had previously been primarily economic.
Timor became administratively separated from Solor in 1646, although the exact administrative structure is unknown.
It received its first dedicated governor in 1702, who resided in
Lifau
Lifau is a village and suco in the East Timor exclave of Oecusse District. The village is located west of the mouth of the Tono River. 1,938 people live in the suco.
History
Lifau was the first European settlement on the island of Timor. Do ...
. This reflected the growing importance of Timor compared to nearby
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and th ...
.
1749 saw Dutch military forces take control over large portions of the island, broadly reflecting
current borders.
In 1769, seeking to break the influence of
powerful local families in Lifau, the Portuguese governor moved the administration and 1,200 people to the site of what would become Dili.
From 1788 to 1790, a civil war broke out between the governor in Dili and an official based in
Manatuto
Manatuto is a city in Manatuto Municipality, East Timor.
Manatuto Vila has 3,692 inhabitants (Census 2015) and is capital of the subdistrict and district Manatuto. It is on the north coast of Timor, (about as the crow flies) east of Dili, t ...
, which was resolved upon the arrival of a new governor. In response to Dutch provocations, a permanent military force was established in 1818.
A revolt to the east led to the city being isolated in 1861; however, the revolt was defeated by the Portuguese and their Timorese allies.
Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural se ...
visiting in the 1860s wrote that the governor's house was "merely a low whitewashed cottage", and that all other buildings appeared to be mud and thatch. At the time swamps and mudflats surrounded the town, which did not extend to the mountains surrounding it.
In 1844 Timor, along with Macau and Solor, was removed from the jurisdiction of
Portuguese India
The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...
. A few years later in 1850,
Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies.
The first Europeans to arrive in the ...
was removed from the jurisdiction of the governor of Macau, before being returned to the jurisdiction of Portuguese India in 1856. In 1863, Dili was declared a city (although the news may not have arrived to the city until the next year), and East Timor became directly subordinate to the Lisbon government. In 1866 the territory was again put under the jurisdiction of Macau. An 1887 mutiny in Dili led to the death of the governor at the time. The territory was separated from Macau for the last time in 1896, again coming directly under the jurisdiction of Lisbon, and becoming a full province in 1909.
![DiliMercadoMunicipal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/DiliMercadoMunicipal.jpg)
Another
notable revolt took place in the years after the
1910 republican revolution in Portugal.
The republican government downgraded the status of its overseas provinces to colonies.
A civil government was established in 1913.
As the administrative structures developed, Dili became part of the Dili municipality in 1940, the first municipal administration to be created. At the time the municipality was larger, including what is now the
Aileu Municipality
Aileu (, ) is a municipality, and was formerly a district, of East Timor. It has a population of 48,554 (Census 2015) and an area of 737 km². The municipality's capital is also named Aileu. Its administrative posts are Aileu, Laular ...
.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and its colonies remained neutral, but the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
saw East Timor as a potential target for Japanese invasion. Upon the outbreak of the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
in 1941, Australian and Dutch troops were sent to Dili despite Portuguese objections.
In response, the Japanese invaded Dili as part of a two-pronged
invasion of Timor. The city had been mostly abandoned prior to the invasion,
and allied forces retreated further into the island. The Japanese left the Portuguese governor nominally in position, but took over administration. Much of Dili was destroyed during the war,
from the initial Japanese invasion and from later allied bombings.
Japanese forces on the island of Timor surrendered to Australian forces at the end of the war.
Following the surrender, an Australian official travelled to Dili where on 23 September 1945 he informed the Portuguese governor of the Japanese surrender.
Following the Second World War, Dili covered what today is the old core of the city, within the sucos of Acadiru Hun, Bemori, Bidau Lecidere, Caicoli, Colmera, Culu Hun, Gricenfor, Motael, and Santa Cruz.
Portuguese Timor became a full part of Portugal in 1951, although this did not bring the locals any political power. Dili remained the only area with any significant development. In 1960, the population of Dili was about 7,000 people.
The 1974
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...
in Portugal created immediate change in East Timor, with new political parties forming with the goal of independence from Portugal. Relationships between these new parties was fractious. Some, particularly the
Timorese Democratic Union
The Timorese Democratic Union ( pt, União Democrática Timorense, UDT) is a conservative political party in East Timor. It was the first party to be established in the country on May 11, 1974, following the Carnation Revolution in Portugal.
...
(UDT), advocated union with Indonesia.
On 11 August 1975, the UDT initiated a coup.
UDT control was limited outside of Dili, and on 20 August the opposing
Fretilin
The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor ( pt, Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente, abbreviated as Fretilin) is a centre-left political party in East Timor. They presently hold 23 of 65 seats in the National Parliame ...
party began its attempt to seize the city. Some houses were set on fire to assist the defence; however, after some days Fretilin succeeded in taking control of the city.
The
last Portuguese governor fled Dili for
Atauro Island
Atauro ( pt, Ilha de Ataúro, Tetum and Indonesian: ''Pulau Atauro'' or ''Ata'uro''), also known as Kambing Island ( id, Pulau Kambing), is an island and municipality ( pt, Município Ataúro, links=no, tet, Munisípiu Atauro, links=no or ) ...
on 26 August, as the civil war continued.
On 28 November, Fretilin declared independence in a ceremony in Dili. On 7 December, Indonesia
landed paratroopers in the city and amphibious forces to its west, as part of an
invasion of East Timor
The Indonesian invasion of East Timor, known in Indonesia as Operation Lotus ( id, Operasi Seroja), began on 7 December 1975 when the Indonesian military (ABRI/TNI) invaded East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism and anti-communism to o ...
,
leading many to flee the city.
This invasion brought the territory under Indonesian rule. On 17 July 1976, Indonesia annexed East Timor, which it designated its
27th province.
Despite Indonesian attempts to restrict rural-urban migration, the population of Dili continued to grow, reaching 80,000 people in 1985, and over 100,000 in 1999, and economic growth for the territory remained centred in Dili.
Indonesia developed the city's infrastructure, partly as an attempt to win over the population. Structures and monuments built during this time include the
Immaculate Conception Cathedral, the Integration Statue commemorating the end of Portuguese rule, and the ''
Cristo Rei of Dili
The ''Cristo Rei of Dili'' (Christ the King of Dili) statue ( pt, Estátua do Cristo Rei de Díli, tet, Estátua Cristo Rei Dili) is a colossal statue of Jesus Christ situated atop a globe at Cape Fatucama in Dili, East Timor. It is one of ...
''.
By the 1990s, urban sprawl had taken up much of the available flat land around the original settlement.
In the 1980s, resistance to Indonesian rule grew among youth in the city.
Nonetheless, towards the end of the decade Indonesia began allowing foreign tourists access to the city, with the entire province previously being restricted.
A visit by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in 1989 was interrupted by independence activists.
On 12 November 1991, Indonesian forces were filmed
shooting at a funeral procession. This led to global condemnation of Indonesia's rule in East Timor, increasing pressure for East Timorese self-determination.
The
1997 Asian financial crisis
The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
along with a drought related to an
El Niño
El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date L ...
event led to profound food insecurity, worse for Dili than any other city in Indonesia. The crisis also precipitated the
resignation of Indonesian President Suharto, whose successor,
B. J. Habibie
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian engineer and politician who was the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. Less than three months after his inauguration as the seventh vice preside ...
, soon approved a referendum on East Timorese independence.
Outbreaks of violence from pro-Indonesian militia occurred throughout the country in the months leading up to the vote.
In August 1999, East Timor
voted for independence.
![Landsat dili lrg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Landsat_dili_lrg.jpg)
The vote led to a
period of extreme violence, as pro-Indonesian militia were unchecked by the Indonesian military that was meant to be providing security. On 4 September, when the result was announced, Indonesian police began to leave Dili.
In the first 48 hours, international media organisations present in the city reported 145 deaths. Most foreigners were evacuated.
Violence continued for several days,
causing significant damage to infrastructure and housing in the city.
Administrative buildings were looted, and much of the city was destroyed by fire. 120,000 people became refugees. International pressure grew for an international peacekeeping force to replace the Indonesian military, which Indonesia agreed to on 12 September. On 14 September, the UN evacuated refugees that had been sheltering in its Dili compound to Australia. The Australian-led
International Force East Timor
The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took ...
arrived on 20 September.
Dili continued to grow under UN rule. As Indonesian infrastructure investment outside of Dili was not replicated by the UN government, leaving it to deteriorate, population growth was driven in part due to internal migration from these areas to the city.
Housing left abandoned by Indonesians in 1999 was occupied by squatters. This was most common in the western areas of the city.
Most inward migration during this period was from eastern areas of the country.
Population growth combined with a poor economy led to an increase of urban poverty and unemployment, especially amongst youth.
This was despite the city reaping 80% of the economic benefits of reconstruction efforts; 65% of direct jobs created by the UN were in Dili, a figure that rose to 80% when including indirect jobs.
Following the beginning of UN rule, the population of Dili grew by over 10% annually. This was a result of both rural-urban migration, and a baby boom driven by the country having highest fertility rate in the world. By 2004, the population had reached 173,541 people,
with unemployment at 26.9% overall, and 43.4% for men aged 15–29. Around half of employment for these young men was informal.
Issues with food security reoccurred periodically throughout the early years of independence.
By 2006, Dili produced half of the country's non-oil GDP.
It was also receiving two-thirds of government expenditure, and 80% of goods and services.
However, economic benefits were distributed unequally. 1999 saw the end of Indonesian subsidises of core food products, which alongside infrastructure destruction led to rapid inflation. Under UN rule, the use of the US dollar and the purchasing power of international organisations led to price increases. Together, these factors led to extremely high costs of living. Electricity cost four times as much as it did in Indonesia, averaging $15 per household. Telecommunications and petrol similarly grew in price compared to Indonesia. By 2006 Dili had the eighth-highest living costs of any city in Asia, despite the country's having Asia's lowest GDP.
At this point, the city had around 300 youth groups, some of which were involved in the
informal economy
An informal economy (informal sector or grey economy) is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government.
Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countrie ...
.
These groups, driven by unemployment, were often connected to former guerrillas and current politicians.
Many developed identities reflecting the regional origins of their members, especially with regards to the broad distinction between those from the east and those from the west.
In April 2006, disputes within the military between a leadership mostly from the east of the country and soldiers mostly from the west spilled over into
street violence in Dili.
Disputes over housing, again mostly between groups from the east and west, contributed to property destruction.
Most of the 150,000 people displaced were from Dili,
including about half of the city's residents.
Around 72,000 people ended up in camps, while 80,000 fled to rural areas.
Rice prices in the city increased by half by October 2006, and then almost doubled again by February 2007.
Foreign military intervention was needed to restore order.
A National Recovery Strategy was put in place following the
2007 national election to return these people.
In 2008, around 30,000 people displaced from Dili remained in camps, while 70,000 continued to live with friends or family.
Continuing unrest led to the
attempted assassinations of the country's president and prime minister.
By 2009 most displaced people had returned to the city, and the camps were officially closed by the end of the year. However, some community tensions remained.
In a couple of areas, there were two or three fights a week between opposing youth groups.
Nonetheless, large-scale violence did not return. Mediation teams were utilised to assist in the resettlement of some displaced people to their previous homes.
In May 2009, the year-long ''Dili City of Peace'' campaign was launched by
Jose Ramos-Horta
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
*Jose ben Abin
*Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galilean ...
. The initiative was created to build unity and prevent violence, with the
2006 East Timorese crisis
The 2006 East Timorese crisis began as a conflict between elements of the military of East Timor over discrimination within the military and expanded to a coup attempt and general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili. Th ...
in mind. The campaign included dialogues between different sectors of Timorese society, a cycling tour, a Dili marathon, and a reforestation initiative. Focusing the peace campaign on Dili reflects the influence it has on the entire country, with the government expecting its impacts would extend beyond the city itself.
The ''Latelek'' (Bridge) Project was instituted from 2010–2012 by some organs of the Catholic Church to improve community cohesion, reintegrating previously displaced individuals with those who had remained.
Other programs were initiated by the government and NGOs to tackle issues such as skills development, youth engagement, and women's empowerment. Some sucos developed community laws to reduce violence.
By 2010 the municipal population reached 234,026 people,
of which 210,250 lived in urban areas.
In 2018 the population reached 281,000 people.
During a period of
COVID-19 restrictions, the city was hit by the worst flood in 50 years in April 2021.
Geography
Dili lies on the northern coast of the island of
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...
, which is among the eastern
Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...
and lies in the
UTC+9
UTC+09:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +09:00.
During the Japanese occupations of British Borneo, Burma, Hong Kong, Dutch East Indies, Malaya, Philippines, Singapore, and French Indochina, it was used as a common time with ...
timezone.
Offshore is the
Ombai Strait
Ombai Strait ( id, Selat Ombai, pt, Estreito de Ombai, tet, Estreitu Ombai) is an international strait in Southeast Asia. It separates the Alor Archipelago from the islands of Wetar, Atauro, and Timor in the Lesser Sunda Islands. The strait ...
of the
Savu Sea
The Savu Sea (or the Sawu Sea) ( id, Laut Sawu, pt, Mar de Savu, tet, Tasi Savu) is a small sea within Indonesia named for the island of Savu (Sawu) on its southern boundary. It is bounded by Savu and Rai Jua to the south, the islands of ...
,
while to the south is the central mountain range running through Timor.
The underlying ground is predominately
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and
marine clay
Marine clay is a type of clay found in coastal regions around the world. In the northern, deglaciated regions, it can sometimes be quick clay, which is notorious for being involved in landslides.
Marine clay is a particle of soil that is dedica ...
.
The precise location of the city is around 8°35′S, 125°36′E.
The city lies mostly within the larger
Dili Municipality
Dili Municipality (, ) is one of the 14 municipalities, formerly districts, of Timor-Leste, and includes the national capital Dili. The municipality had a population of 277,279 , most of whom live in the capital city. Etymology
Several expla ...
, whose total area is .
Atauro Island
Atauro ( pt, Ilha de Ataúro, Tetum and Indonesian: ''Pulau Atauro'' or ''Ata'uro''), also known as Kambing Island ( id, Pulau Kambing), is an island and municipality ( pt, Município Ataúro, links=no, tet, Munisípiu Atauro, links=no or ) ...
, north of Dili, was formally part of the municipality before becoming a separate municipality on 1 January 2022. The bordering municipalities to Dili are
Aileu
Aileu is the main township in Aileu District, East Timor. It is located 47 km (29 mi) southwest of Dili, the national capital, and had a population of 2,788 in 2015.
In Portuguese Timor, the city was known as Vila General Carmona, af ...
,
Liquiçá
Liquiçá (Tetum: ''Likisá'') is a coastal city in East Timor, 32 km to the west of Dili, the national capital. Liquiçá is the capital of Liquiçá District. The city has a population of 5,005 inhabitants.
History
A part of the coloni ...
, and
Manatuto
Manatuto is a city in Manatuto Municipality, East Timor.
Manatuto Vila has 3,692 inhabitants (Census 2015) and is capital of the subdistrict and district Manatuto. It is on the north coast of Timor, (about as the crow flies) east of Dili, t ...
.
The municipality contains 31 sucos, divided into 241 aldeias.
The urban area of the city of Dili extends through four of the Dili Municipality's Administrative Posts,
Cristo Rei,
Dom Aleixo,
Nain Feto
Nain Feto, officially Nain Feto Administrative Post (, ), is an Administrative posts of East Timor, administrative post (and was formerly a subdistrict) in Dili Municipality, Dili municipality, East Timor. Its seat or administrative centre is ...
, and
Vera Cruz, which together contain 25 sucos, as well as west into the
Tibar suco of the
Bazartete Administrative Post
Bazartete, officially Bazartete Administrative Post (, ), is an administrative post (and was formerly a subdistrict) in Liquiçá municipality, East Timor. Its seat or administrative centre
An administrative center is a seat of regional ad ...
in the
Liquiçá Municipality
Liquiçá (, ) is one of the municipalities (formerly districts) of East Timor. Its capital is also called Liquiçá.
Etymology
The English language name of the municipality has been said to be a Portuguese approximation of the old name ''Li ...
. The combined area of these 25 sucos is 17,862 ha.
Much of this area is however considered too steep for habitation,
with only perhaps 37%, or 6,698 ha, flat enough for development.
As of 2014, only 25.5% of the total area was developed.
The main city lies within an area of flat lowlands of less than 100m altitude
and a slope under 15 degrees.
This distance between the sea and the mountains reaches a maximum width of only ,
and the surrounding mountains slope near the city at angles of 20 degrees or higher.
The old quarter of the city lies within what is now the eastern half.
This area is the most densely built up, with little available land. The western side is the location of the airport and most recent urban growth.
On either side of this main city are mountain ridges extending from the southern range to the coast, leading to urban development spilling over onto areas of flat land on the other sides of these
spurs. Tibar lies on the opposite site of the western range, while Hera lies on the opposite side of the eastern range.
Another spur encloses Hera on its east.
The
Comoro River
The Comoro River ( pt, Ribeira de Comoro or , tet, Mota Komoro) is a river in East Timor. It flows north into Ombai Strait, reaching the coast in the north western suburbs of the capital, Dili. In its lower reaches, it is the main and largest o ...
flows through the western side of the city, while the Bemorl and Benmauc Rivers join together in the East. The Maloa river lies between these. The Maucau river flows through Tibar, while the Akanunu and Mota Kiik rivers flow through Hera.
The Comoro is the largest, with a
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
extending inland to a point where the mountains are high.
The water level within these rivers differs greatly between the dry and wet seasons.
Parts of the city are considered to face drought hazards and flooding risk from rivers, issues related to
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
.
Within the main city of Dili (although not in Hera or Tibar), rivers have reinforced to contain a once-in-25-year flood.
Small-scale flooding occurs in a minority of houses a few times each year, and reports of land
subsidence
Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...
are found throughout the city.
The Maloa river is the most commonly flooded.
Landslide
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
s have previously caused damage and loss of life.
The area is thought to face
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
and
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
risks, although no major events have occurred.
Air pollution is considered an increasing issue,
with contributors including forest fires, wood-fuelled cooking, and vehicles.
Ecology
The landscape around Dili naturally supports dry
deciduous forests
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, afte ...
.
Common tree species there include ''
'', ''
Callophyllum teysmanii'', and ''
Aleurites moluccana
''Aleurites moluccanus'', the candlenut, is a flowering tree in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, also known as candleberry, Indian walnut, ''kemiri'', varnish tree, ''nuez de la India'', ''buah keras'', ''godou'', kukui nut tree, and ''rata ke ...
''. ''
Eucalyptus alba
''Eucalyptus alba'', commonly known as white gum, khaki gum or poplar gum, is a species of tree that is native to Australia, Timor, and New Guinea. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowe ...
'' is found in rocky areas, and
palm
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
and
acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
trees are also found. The eucalyptus trees often serve as firewood, while nuts from ''A. moluccana'' are sometimes burnt to produce lighting. Trees found within urban areas include ''
Alstonia scholaris
''Alstonia scholaris'', commonly called blackboard tree, Scholar Tree, Milkwood or devil's tree in English, is an evergreen tropical tree in the Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae). It is native to southern China, tropical Asia (mainly the Indian subcon ...
'', ''
Albizia julibrissin
''Albizia julibrissin'', the Persian silk tree, pink silk tree, or mimosa tree, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, native to southwestern Asia and eastern Asia.
The genus is named after the Italian nobleman Filippo degli Albizzi, who i ...
'', ''
Ficus microcarpa
''Ficus microcarpa'', also known as Chinese banyan, Malayan banyan, Indian laurel, curtain fig, or , is a tree in the fig family Moraceae. It is native in a range from China through tropical Asia and the Caroline Islands to Australia. It is wide ...
'', and a variety of fruit trees.
While forests around the city have been damaged by harvesting for construction and firewood,
the national government aims to reforest these areas.
Coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Co ...
s,
seagrass meadow
A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and ...
s, intertidal
mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...
s, and
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
s can be found along some areas of the coastline.
The coral reefs off Dili appear to be locally sheltered from the average
sea surface temperature
Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air mass ...
rise from climate change. However, they face some degradation from human activities.
There are three protected biodiversity areas within Dili: Behau, Cristo Rei Protected Area, and Tasitolu. The Cristo Rei Protected Area lies on the mountains separating central Dili and Hera. The Tasitolu area lies near the border of the Dili and Liquiçá municipalities, and covers land and some coastal waters. It is being developed as a recreational site and holy area. The large Behau protected area covers much of the sea off eastern Dili, as well as coastal areas in Hera and to the east. Behau is the most recently proposed of the three areas, and the government is considering abolishing it and replacing it with smaller areas.
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
has identified Cristo Rei Protected Area and Tastitolu as falling within
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
s. Development can occur in these areas with the approval of the national government.
Climate
Dili has a rather dry
tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Aw''). A rainy season lasts from November to April and a dry season from May to October. Rainfall is highest in December, averaging between 2005 and 2013, and lowest in August, averaging over the same time period. The overall average is annually, although there is significant variation between years.
Mean temperatures average around . This changes by throughout the day, from minimums at around to maximums at over . There are larger temperature changes during the dry season.
Climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
is shifting weather patterns, and may exacerbate extreme weather events.
Buildings and monuments
![2021-12-16 Sede do Municipio de Dili](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/2021-12-16_Sede_do_Municipio_de_Dili.jpg)
Most infrastructure was destroyed in 1999,
including 68,000 homes.
Following rebuilding as of 2010, 71.6% of houses have concrete or brick walls.
In Hera however, just over 50% of houses were mostly wooden as of 2014.
Land rights remain complicated and unresolved as a result of the 2006 crisis, with returns of former residents to the capital having been carried out on an ad-hoc basis. There are disputes between residents who claim land was taken from them by previous regimes, and the national government that has created what is seen as an expansive definition of state land. Developing a formal property system and land register is a key development goal.
The government has identified a number of heritage buildings in the city, especially in the old quarter.
This central area of Dili is the site of historical settlement, and many buildings there reflect Portuguese architecture.
Portuguese-era buildings are most common in the Motael, Gricenfor, and Bidau Lecidere sucos.
They include the former Market Hall built around 1930, now used as a Congress Centre. The former Portuguese governor's office is now the office of the
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
. It was previously also used by the Indonesian-appointed governor, and by the
United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor
The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), ( pt, Administração Transitória das Nações Unidas em Timor Leste), was a United Nations mission in East Timor that aimed to solve the decades long East Timorese cri ...
(UNTAET).
Notable churches include the
Motael Church
The Church de Santo António de Motael is the oldest Roman Catholic church in East Timor and is located in Dili, the country's capital city. It is dedicated to Anthony of Padua (''Santo António de Lisboa'' in Portuguese). While the first chur ...
, the oldest in the country, which became associated with resistance to Indonesian rule.
The
Immaculate Conception Cathedral was built with the intention of being the largest church in Southeast Asia.
The
Cristo Rei of Dili
The ''Cristo Rei of Dili'' (Christ the King of Dili) statue ( pt, Estátua do Cristo Rei de Díli, tet, Estátua Cristo Rei Dili) is a colossal statue of Jesus Christ situated atop a globe at Cape Fatucama in Dili, East Timor. It is one of ...
is a tall statue of Jesus situated on top of a globe at the end of a peninsula in Dili. It is positioned at the end of a
Stations of the Cross
The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...
pathway including over 500 steps.
It was a present from the government of Indonesia during occupation for the 20th anniversary of
East Timor's integration into Indonesia. Its height reflects the symbolism of East Timor being Indonesia's 27th province at the time of the monument's construction in 1996.
The Integration Monument commemorates the Indonesian annexation of the territory in 1976. It takes the shape of a statue of an East Timorese warrior in traditional dress breaking the chains round his wrists, deliberate chosen to associate traditional Timorese identity with Indonesian rule. The monument has not been demolished, but is instead now regarded as representing the struggle against both periods of foreign rule.
New buildings are being built to house cultural institutions. The Museum and Cultural Centre of Timor-Leste is tasked with hosting the country's cultural artefacts.
The
National Library of East Timor is intended to serve as both a library and a national archive.
The
National Stadium
Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...
has two seating stands, one on either side, with grass banks providing space for other spectators. It has a capacity of around 9,000 people. It is often used to host
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
, the most popular sport in the country, although infrastructure issues mean the
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...
must sometimes play home games in other countries. In the past it has been used to host refugees and distribute aid.
File:Palacio do Governo 2011.jpg, Government Palace, Dili (Timor-Leste's prime minister's Office)
File:Hindu Tempel Dili04.jpg, Pura Girinatha
Pura Girinatha is the largest Balinese Hindu temple in East Timor. It is located in the quarter Taibesi, in the south of the capital city of Dili, near the local market. The temple is located on a small hill outside the city center, but is acc ...
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
temple, built during Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n occupation
File:2017-03-30 Kathedrale von Dili 1.jpg, Dili Cathedral
File:110623-F-HS649-551 (5881875275).jpg, Cristo Rei of Dili
The ''Cristo Rei of Dili'' (Christ the King of Dili) statue ( pt, Estátua do Cristo Rei de Díli, tet, Estátua Cristo Rei Dili) is a colossal statue of Jesus Christ situated atop a globe at Cape Fatucama in Dili, East Timor. It is one of ...
atop a summit on a peninsula outside of Dili
File:Painel pateo AMRT1.jpg, Timorese Resistance Archive and Museum
Administration
![Sucos Dili](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Sucos_Dili.png)
Dili is the administrative centre of the
Dili Municipality
Dili Municipality (, ) is one of the 14 municipalities, formerly districts, of Timor-Leste, and includes the national capital Dili. The municipality had a population of 277,279 , most of whom live in the capital city. Etymology
Several expla ...
,
serving as both the municipal and national capital.
The municipality has an elected mayor and council. East Timor's municipalities are divided into
administrative posts, and each of these is divided into
sucos. The central city of Dili is spread over four of the six administrative posts within Dili municipality:
Cristo Rei,
Dom Aleixo,
Nain Feto
Nain Feto, officially Nain Feto Administrative Post (, ), is an Administrative posts of East Timor, administrative post (and was formerly a subdistrict) in Dili Municipality, Dili municipality, East Timor. Its seat or administrative centre is ...
, and
Vera Cruz. The Hera suco is the easternmost suco of Cristo Rei.
Tibar, to the west of the main city, is the easternmost suco of the
Bazartete Administrative Post
Bazartete, officially Bazartete Administrative Post (, ), is an administrative post (and was formerly a subdistrict) in Liquiçá municipality, East Timor. Its seat or administrative centre
An administrative center is a seat of regional ad ...
in the
Liquiçá Municipality
Liquiçá (, ) is one of the municipalities (formerly districts) of East Timor. Its capital is also called Liquiçá.
Etymology
The English language name of the municipality has been said to be a Portuguese approximation of the old name ''Li ...
.
Each suco has a ''chefe''. Those in Dili have less influence over community land than those elsewhere,
however their elected status gives them greater authority in other areas.
Each also has a head office. Municipal and national government buildings are concentrated in the city centre, mainly in the sucos of Caicori, Colmera, and Gricenfor.
Sucos, administrative posts, and municipalities are all tasked with setting up a Disaster Management Committee. These are responsible for planning, public awareness, and disaster response.
The borders of sucos, and the aldeias within them, are often undefined. Reasons for this include the history of displacement, and taboo over formal demarcation.
Land registration
Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession, or other rights in land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transactions, a ...
is difficult due to the city's tumultuous history, and legal ownership is often unclear.
It is thought that in 1999 existing land records were taken from Dili to Indonesia.
The new government attempted to set up a system of rent, charging a small fee of $10 a month for those occupying state property. However, in many cases even this could not be paid.
In 2003 the national government legislated that all previous state property, as well as abandoned properties, belonged to the state. It also set up a system of registration based on occupation.
Residents can claim land they live in, if there are no objections from others.
The 2006 crisis put an end to attempts to enforce rent. Evictions from state property are rare. A cadastral survey began in 2008.
As of 2014, 70% of the land in Dili had been surveyed, although this information is not public.
Despite this lack of information, most in the city claim ownership of their homes, with 90% of homes considered owned by an individual or by a family.
Land valuation is often unclear.
![Dili cities rivers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Dili_cities_rivers.png)
The sucos within the four administrative posts in the Dili Municipality are as follows:
Cristo Rei
* Balibar
* Becora
* Bidau Santana
* Camea
* Culu Hun
* Hera
* Meti Aut
Dom Aleixo
* Bairropite
* Comoro
* Fatuhada
*
Kampung Alor
Kampung Alor (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: كامڤوڠ الور; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Aldeia de Alor'') is a village located in East Timor. This village belongs to the administrative post Dom Aleixo Administrative Post, Dom Aleixo, Dili. I ...
Nain Feto
Nain Feto, officially Nain Feto Administrative Post (, ), is an Administrative posts of East Timor, administrative post (and was formerly a subdistrict) in Dili Municipality, Dili municipality, East Timor. Its seat or administrative centre is ...
* Acadiru Hun
* Bemori
* Bidau Lecidere
* Gricenfor
* Lahane Oriental
* Santa Cruz
Vera Cruz
* Caicoli
* Colmera
* Dare
* Lahane Ocidental
* Mascarenhas
* Motael
* Vila Verde
Economy
![DSCI3122 Bucht von Dili](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/DSCI3122_Bucht_von_Dili.jpg)
The economic situation in Dili is substantially better than that of the rest of the country, and most wealth is concentrated there.
Almost all of the
sucos of Dili are among those with the country's highest living standards and the greatest access to public services.
The Dili district as a whole has a higher significantly higher living standard than any other part of the country,
and while poverty rates within the sucos of the municipality as a whole range from 8 to 80%, every suco within the city proper was ranked within the highest level of living standards.
57.8% of those in the capital are among those with relatively high levels of wealth, as opposed to 8.7% in rural areas.
In 2004 18,331 people were working in the agricultural sector, 1,885 in resources and manufacturing, 5,027 in hospitality, 3,183 in finance, real estate, and logistics, 6,520 in government services and security, 879 in home industries, 6,354 for international diplomatic bodies, and 2,142 unknown.
By 2010, the
tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
employed 44% of those working, with government employment providing around 25% of jobs. The
primary sector
The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining.
The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in de ...
is slightly smaller than the government in terms of employment, while the
secondary sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construction. ...
remains small.
The working age population grew by almost 50% from 2004 to 2010, while unemployment declined from 26.9% to 17.4%.
Nonetheless, youth unemployment in the municipality stood at 58% in 2007, above the national average of 43%.
The capital attracts younger and educated individuals from the rest of the country.
The city lies within what the government calls the "Northern Regional Development Corridor", which stretches along the coast from the Indonesia border to
Baucau
Baucau ( pt, Baucau, tet, Baukau) is the second-largest city in East Timor, after Dili, the capital, which lies to its west.
Baucau has about 16,000 inhabitants, and is the capital of Baucau municipality, located in the eastern part of the ...
. Within this, it is part of the smaller "Dili-Tibar-Hera" area in which the government plans to develop the service sector.
The city is also part of what is designated the central tourism zone. Sites related to important historical events are promoted, as well as eco-tourism.
Whale watching
Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...
is possible off the coast,
and there are many
scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
sites near the city. Some tourism and industrial complexes are being developed within the metropolitan area.
Half of visitors arriving at Dili's airport come from three countries: Australia, Indonesia, and Portugal.
Near the beginning of UN rule, there were at least 9 hotels with 550 rooms.
As of 2012, there were at least 14 hotels in the city.
Most hotels are run by local companies, with few international chains present. Nightly rates are relatively high for the region, partially due to a lack of sufficient tourists to benefit from economies of scale.
Important hotels include
Hotel Timor and
Hotel Dili.
Most large investments come from the public sector, although there is a growing small-scale private sector.
The Dili municipality is responsible for around 40% of the country's
fish production, most of which is consumed domestically.
The country's three significant commercial banks operate primarily in Dili.
The
Port of Dili is the country's largest.
It handles the majority of international shipping. There are regular ships to
Darwin (Australia),
Kota Kinabalu
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...
(Malaysia),
Surabaya
Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...
(Indonesia), and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, and less frequent shipping to and from other Indonesian ports. As of 2011, the port processed 200,000 tonnes of goods annually, which had increased by 20% each year for the previous six years. 80% of the goods processed are imports.
Demographics
![Sprachen Osttimors-en](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Sprachen_Osttimors-en.png)
In 2004, the number of dwellings in Dili Municipality was 26,114, while the number of households was 31,702. The population increased from 175,730 to 234,331 between 2004 and 2010, while the average household size increased from 5.5 to 6.7.
The gender ratio was 51% male to 49% female.
The 2010 census recorded a population of 193,563 in the areas of
Dili district
Dili Municipality (, ) is one of the 14 municipalities, formerly districts, of Timor-Leste, and includes the national capital Dili. The municipality had a population of 277,279 , most of whom live in the capital city. Etymology
Several expl ...
classified as urban, with a population of 234,331 in the whole district including rural areas such as Atauro and Metinaro. Within the Dili metropolitan area, the total population was 223,793 as of 2010, containing 33,163 households with an average size of 6.7. The gender ratio is slightly more unbalanced, with 53% male and 47% female.
The population density is about 33.4 people per hectare within the metropolitan area's habitable land.
It is higher in areas of unplanned settlement than in planned neighbourhoods.
The most populous of the administrative posts is Dom Aleixo, which by itself contained 105,154 people in 2010.
Between 2001 and 2004, the population of Dili Municipality grew by 12.58%, with only 54% of the district's inhabitants born in the city. 7% were born in Baucau, 5% each in Viqueque and Bobonaro 4% in Ermera, and the remainder in other districts or overseas. The population growth of the Dili Municipality from 2004 to 2010 represented 40% of the country's total population growth, and is driven in part by internal migration, especially that of younger people.
Net migration into the municipality during this period was 24,000 people.
Due to limited space, a small number of people settled in hilly and mountainous areas starting around 1990,
especially in southern areas near the national highway.
However, due to properties being abandoned following the independence vote, much settlement in the 21st century has been into these vacated areas.
The working age population, those aged 15 to 64, made up 63% of residents in the metropolitan area in 2010. Many of these people were under 29.
The primary local language is
Tetum
, nativename=Tetun
, states= Indonesia East Timor
, speakers=, mostly in Indonesia
, date=2010–2011
, ref=e18
, speakers2=50,000 L2-speakers in Indonesia and East Timor
, familycolor=Austronesian
, fam2=Malayo-Polynesian
, fam3= Central–East ...
, which was promoted during Portuguese rule and has become an official language of the country.
Speakers from the other
languages of East Timor
The languages of East Timor include both Austronesian and Papuan languages. (See Timor–Flores languages and Timor–Alor–Pantar languages.) The lingua franca and national language of East Timor is Tetum, an Austronesian language influenced ...
are present in the city, where the official language of Portuguese and the working languages of English and Indonesian are also spoken; a dialect of Malay-based creole called
Dili Malay
In addition to its classical and literary form, Malay had various regional dialects established after the rise of the Srivijaya empire in Sumatra, Indonesia. Also, Malay spread through interethnic contact and trade across the Malay Archipe ...
is spoken by a number of residents. Migration into the city has led to clustering of incoming migrants into areas with others of similar backgrounds.
Education
Education is more common in Dili Municipality than elsewhere in the country. The attendance rate at primary schools increased from 37% in 2004 to 73% in 2010.
As of 2010, 86% of those five or older in the municipality had attended primary school, equivalent to the literacy rate.
Within the metropolitan area, education rates are highest in Nain Feto and Vera Cruz, where 88% are either attending or have attended primary school. These are followed by Dom Alexio at 87%, and Cristo Rei at 81%. Tibar, lying outside of Dili Municipality, has the lowest at 75%.
![Dili International School celebrating culture](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Dili_International_School_celebrating_culture.jpg)
As of 2013, there were 108 schools in Dili, Hera, and Tibar, including primary, secondary, and specialist schools. Of these, 61 were public and 47 private. This equated to 4.8 schools per 10,000 people.
In 2011, 43% of students in the Dili municipality studied in private schools.
Many private schools are run by the Catholic Church, for example,
Don Bosco Training Center, including 32% of all schools in the Dili Municipality.
Schools include
St. Joseph's High School (Colégio de São José) and
28 de Novembro Public Secondary School
The 28 de Novembro Public Secondary School ( pt, Escola Secundária Pública 28 de Novembro, ESP 28 de Novembro) is a Timorese educational institution based in Becora, in Dili, the country's capital. It is one of the largest educational institution ...
. There are five international schools in Dili: St Anthony's International School, which is Timorese owned and managed but teaches in English and uses a modified Australian curriculum; a Portuguese school by the name of
Escola Portuguesa Ruy Cinatti; an Australian managed school by the name of
Dili International School; an American curriculum school called
QSI International School of Dili; and the Maharlika International School (Formerly Dili Education & Development Center), a Philippine International School. Founded in 2009,
Hadahur Music School is the first school for music in East Timor.
Seventy-six per cent of the country's university students study in the municipality. This is responsible for some of the internal migration to the city.
The
National University of East Timor
The National University of East Timor (UNTL; pt, Universidade Nacional Timor Lorosa'e; Tetum: ''Universidade Nasionál Timór Lorosa'e''), is a public university in East Timor, the only one of its kind in the country.
Founded in 2000, as a result ...
created a "University City" master plan to develop the Hera area.
Other universities situated in Dili include the private undergraduate university,
Universidade da Paz (UNPAZ),
Universidade Dili The University of Dili (Tetum: ''Universidade Dili'') is based in the East Timorese capital Dili
Dili (Portuguese/Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital, largest city of East Timor and the second largest city in Timor islands after Kupang (Indonesi ...
(UNDIL) and Dili Institute of Technology (DIT), a community-based, non-profit education institution.
Infrastructure
![Dili OSM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Dili_OSM.png)
Up to 70% of the country's infrastructure was destroyed in 1999, including almost the entire electrical grid, and much of the water infrastructure.
Dili's airport and port were rehabilitated in the six years following this, along with electricity and telecommunications.
The rapid population growth of the city has put a strain on some of its infrastructure services.
Pre-independence laws prohibiting building within of water bodies are not enforced, with population growth leading to structures such as housing being built in flood-prone areas, including along dry river beds and canals.
Utilities
Electricity
In the early years of UN rule, electricity was provided by the Comoro power station, which has a 16 MW diesel generator. By 2004, there were 23,000 connections in the city creating a demand of 12.5 MW. At the time, Dili was the only location in East Timor with 24-hour electricity.
Electricity demand peaked from 19:00 to 22:00. By 2009, Comoro was producing 32 MW,
and by the year after that 92.3% of Dili's households used electricity for lighting purposes.
Cooking remained carried out using firewood by 66.2% of households, with electricity being used by just 10.1%.
Non-payment of electricity bills has caused some funding problems. In 2011, only 40% of commercial recipients of electricity paid their electricity bills.
In November 2011, the diesel generators at the new Hera Power Station became operational, producing 119 MW.
This replaced the operations of the Comoro station, with Hera able to produce electricity using 17% less fuel.
A new substation was created to supply Dili,
and transmission lines link Dili to other cities and towns along the northern coast, part of a ring surrounding the country.
As of 2016, Dili's peak power demand reached 42.11 MW.
The development of electricity infrastructure since independence has significantly reduced electricity costs, which moved from 249c per
kilowatt-hour
A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...
in 2002 to 5c per kilowatt-hour in 2014.
Telecommunications
Most
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
activity in the country is carried out using mobile phones. Most of the only 3000
landline
A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...
s are found in Dili. There are no
submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables laid beginning in the 1850s carried tel ...
s connecting to the country, so internet access is supplied via satellites. This is expensive, and internet usage nationally was only just above 1% in 2016.
The government has approved the installation of the Timor-Leste South submarine Cable (TLSSC), connecting to Darwin in Australia,
as well as another cable connecting to the Indonesian island of
Alor. As of 2020, there were 3 telecommunications companies in the country.
Water and sanitation
Access to clean water and sanitation is an issue for some households.
Over $250 million was invested by the UN and other organisations to build Dili's water infrastructure. Existing water sources and transportation infrastructure are considered sufficient to meet the immediate needs of the city, although work continues to improve quality and reliability.
In 2007, 25% of residents received 24 hours of water.
As of 2013, while 36% of households were connected to the water supply system, half Dili received less than six hours of water a day.
Furthermore, water quality was irregular, with boiling advised.
By 2015, it remained the case that less than 30% of those in Dili had access to a continuous water supply.
In 2018, water remained available on average from 4 to 8 hours.
Despite the inconsistency of supply, 91% of those in urban areas have some access to safe drinking water,
with sources including pumps, public taps, and wells and
borehole
A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petro ...
s.
Some households have tanks installed to alleviate the impact of service interruptions.
Half of the city's water comes from a local
aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...
, and there are four
water treatment plant
Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, includ ...
s at the southern edges of the city.
Water tariff A water tariff (often called ''water rate'' in the United States and Canada) is a price assigned to water supplied by a public utility through a piped network to its customers. The term is also often applied to wastewater tariffs. Water and wastewat ...
s were put in place in 2004, but were removed in 2006 following the
2006 East Timorese crisis
The 2006 East Timorese crisis began as a conflict between elements of the military of East Timor over discrimination within the military and expanded to a coup attempt and general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili. Th ...
.
Trials for water tariff re-introduction began in 2013.
Increasing usage has led to the aquifer unable to match demand during the dry season, and development has limited recharge rates. Downstream areas also face saltwater intrusion.
Dili is the location of the country's water testing laboratory, and thus its water quality is regularly monitored.
The lack of manufacturing in the city is thought to have limited potential water pollution. However, pollution risks emerge from the common discharge of untreated household water,
and leakage from latrine pits into the soil
and relatively high water table.
As of 2010, only 16% of households emptied their latrine pits.
Hera and Tibar lack water treatment plants, with residents relying on boreholes and delivery by water trucks.
As of 2010, daily demand was 32,000 m
3 in Dili proper, 520 m
3 in Hera, and 220 m
3 in Tibar.
Drainage infrastructure is insufficient to handle the wet season, with drains often being blocked and resultant flooding being common.
This creates property damage and health concerns.
Thirty-six water channels lie within the city in addition to its rivers. These often collect rainwater; however, the growing urbanisation of the city is reducing
infiltration
Infiltration may refer to:
Science, medicine, and engineering
*Infiltration (hydrology), downward movement of water into soil
*Infiltration (HVAC), a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning term for air leakage into buildings
*Infiltration (me ...
capacity, worsening flood risks. There is no city-wide sewerage system.
As of 2010, only 30.3% of households had access to a sceptic tank. The most common sewage disposal system was pit latrines, which were used by 50.7% of households.
Among households with toilets, 97% were flushed through the manual pouring of water.
Wastewater is often collected from some areas by trucks.
Some wastewater is treated in ponds in Tasitolu.
Dili also has one of the country's two
septage treatment facilities.
A Sanitation and Drainage Masterplan was created for the city in 2012, envisioning the creation of eight wastewater treatment systems in the city by 2025.
As of 2014, Dili produces 108 tons of
solid waste
Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, ...
per day, over half of which is
biodegradable
Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradati ...
. The government-funded waste collection system covers Cristo Rei, Dom Aleixo, Nain Feto, and Vera Cruz, with waste being collected by a mixture of government trucks and private trucks contracted by the government. Collected waste is disposed in a landfill in Tibar,
which was established during the Indonesian period.
Metal collected by
waste picker
A waste picker is a person who salvages reusable or recyclable materials thrown away by others to sell or for personal consumption. There are millions of waste pickers worldwide, predominantly in developing countries, but increasingly in post-in ...
s is sold to Malaysia and Singapore for recycling, while some biodegradable waste is composted by a private company. Some waste is
burnt.
Waste collection schedules are variable, with some areas receiving daily collection and some receiving none. Collection is less frequent in Hera and Tibar than in Dili proper.
There are 14 hospitals around the Dili metropolitan area, nine in Dom Aleixo, three in Vera Cruz, one in Cristo Rei (in Hera), and one in Tibar. Dom Aleixo also has two health centres, with Cristo Rei having one health centre in Dili proper, and Nain Feto also having a health centre.
The National Hospital of Timor-Leste is located in Dili, catering to
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
and secondary
health care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
. A specialist hospital is planned to be constructed by 2030 to deal with diseases, such as cancer, that are currently treated outside of the country.
Transport
Land
As of 2015, Dili Municipality had of roads, of which half was classified as National, District, or Urban.
The roads heading into and out of Dili to the East and West carry over 1,000 non-motorbike vehicles daily.
In addition to the Eastern and Western national roads, a third national road extends south from the city.
Within Dili, there is rising congestion.
Poor road quality is the most common cause of accidents and delays.
Many roads are unpaved, and within the old quarter, streets are often one-way. The only four lane roads in the city are National Road A01 and Banana Road.
As of 2016, there were four
roundabout
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
s and 11 intersections with traffic lights.
Few routes travel along the east-west axis, and for most of the time since independence there was
only one vehicular crossing across the Comoro river.
This bridge was expanded from two lanes to four lanes in June 2013.
The two-lane
Hinode Bridge
The Hinode Bridge ( pt, Ponte Hinode, tet, Ponte Hinode) (known during the construction phase as the Comoro Bridge III) is a two-lane road bridge in the '' suco'' of , a western suburb of Dili, capital city of East Timor. It was built by a Ja ...
was opened upriver in September 2018, connecting Banana road to National Road No 03. It is expected that this bridge will also be expanded to four lanes in the future.
The usual form of public transportation within the city is the
minibus
A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, th ...
, which are operated by private companies that purchase route franchises from the government. Each vehicle usually has a capacity of ten people. There are no formal schedules and few official bus stops.
Fares are cheap, at $0.25. Dili is also served by a fleet of air-conditioned blue taxis, whose drivers are expected to speak Tetum and English.
Street names are in Portuguese, as are many official signs labelling locations. Tetum is used for more informational signage. English and Indonesian are rare in official signage, but are more common elsewhere. Chinese is used on some informal signage, while non-Tetum Timorese languages are not used. Even under Indonesian rule, during which the use of
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
was banned, Portuguese street names like ''Avenida Marechal Carmona'' remained unchanged, although they were prefixed with the
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
word ''Jalan'' or 'road'.
Sea
The
Port of Dili has a total berth length of . Depths alongside the berth range from to .
This port was previously the only international cargo reception port in the country, but its capacity is insufficient to meet import needs.
The
Tibar Bay Port was thus planned to handle all cargo shipping, leaving the current Dili port to become a dedicated ferry terminal.
Tibar Bay Port was expected to be built starting in 2015, and scheduled for opening in 2020.
On 3 June 2016 the government signed a
Public-private partnership agreement with
Bolloré
Bolloré SE () is a French conglomerate headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. Founded in 1822, the company has interests in Vivendi, international freight forwarding, oil storage and pipelines in France, solid state ...
, giving the company a 30-year least on the new port. A construction tender was awarded to the
China Harbour Engineering Company
China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) is an engineering contractor and a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), providing infrastructure construction, such as marine engineering, dredging and reclamation, road and ...
in December 2017. Construction began on 30 August 2019, with completion scheduled for August 2021. As of December 2020 construction was 42% complete, with delays including Chinese workers returning to China during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The port was then expected to open in April 2022. The port received its first ships on 30 September that year, and was officially inaugurated on 30 November 2022.
A
dry port
A dry port (sometimes referred to as an inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport, operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.
In addition to their role in ...
has been created from the main Port of Dili, and there is a naval port in Hera.
Cargo operations in Dili Port halted from 1 October 2022. A twice-weekly ferry service operates between Dili and
Oecusse
Oecusse (also variously ''Oecussi'', ''Ocussi'', ''Oekussi'', ''Oekusi'', ''Okusi'', ''Oé-Cusse''), also known as Oecusse-Ambeno (; ) and formerly just Ambeno, officially the Special Administrative Region Oecusse-Ambeno (), is an exclave, mun ...
, and a ferry travels between Dili and
Atauro
Atauro ( pt, Ilha de Ataúro, Tetum and Indonesian: ''Pulau Atauro'' or ''Ata'uro''), also known as Kambing Island ( id, Pulau Kambing), is an island and municipality ( pt, Município Ataúro, links=no, tet, Munisípiu Atauro, links=no or ) ...
once a week.
The Dili Port serves as the main link for these locations with the rest of the country.
These ferries deposit people and vehicles onto a
slipway
A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...
, rather than a dedicated
berthing
A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a deckhouse.
Sailing ships
In sailing ships, the officers and paying passengers wo ...
.
Air
The
Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport
Dili Airport , officially Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport ( pt, Aeroporto Internacional Presidente Nicolau Lobato, ), and formerly Comoro Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Komoro), is an international airport serving Dili, the capital ...
, named after independence leader
Nicolau Lobato
Nicolau dos Reis Lobato (24 May 1946 – 31 December 1978) was an East Timorese politician who is considered the national hero of the country.
Biography
Lobato was born in Soibada, Portuguese Timor on 24 May 1946.
Lobato was the first prime ...
, is located in the city.
It serves regular flights to
Darwin (Australia),
Denpasar
Denpasar (; Balinese script, Balinese: ᬤᬾᬦ᭄ᬧᬲᬃ) is the capital of Bali and the main gateway to the island. The city is also a hub for other cities in the Lesser Sunda Islands.
With the rapid growth of the tourism industry in Bali ...
(Indonesia), and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
.
In 2014, it served 198,080 passengers and 172 tons of cargo. It has one runway, which is long and wide, lying above mean
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
. A lack of runway lighting prevents night-time landings, so the airport operates from 6 am to 6 pm. The passenger terminals were originally domestic terminals during the Indonesian period, leaving them ill-designed to handle international customs and immigration.
Due to the size of the runway, only medium-sized planes such as the A310 and the B737 can be accommodated, and there is limited space for aircraft parking. The runway is constrained by the sea and the Comoro river, although there are plans to extend the runway through
land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...
and/or by bridging the river.
A new international terminal is also planned.
Despite this, it is thought the airport may be able to handle capacity requirement until 2030.
This is the only functioning international airport in East Timor, though there are airstrips in Baucau, Suai and Oecusse used for domestic flights. Until recently, Dili's airport runway has been unable to accommodate aircraft larger than the
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...
or
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
, but in January 2008, the Portuguese charter airline
EuroAtlantic Airways
EuroAtlantic Airways, legally ''EuroAtlantic Airways – Transportes Aéreos S.A.'', is a Portuguese airline specialized in leasing and air charter headquartered in Sintra and based at Lisbon Airport.
History
Founded as Air Zarco on 23 August ...
operated a direct flight from
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
using a
Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978.
The prototype completed its mai ...
, carrying 140 members of the
Guarda Nacional Republicana
The National Republican Guard ( pt, Guarda Nacional Republicana) or GNR is the national gendarmerie force of Portugal.
Members of the GNR are military personnel, subject to military law and organisation, unlike the agents of the civilian Publi ...
.
Culture
The national government has crafted a culture policy that includes the provision of cultural facilities in Dili and aims to have the city reflect diverse cultural influences.
The development of cultural facilities has included the building up of cultural institutions such as libraries and museums, and the development of audio-visual multimedia centres through which information will be more accessible.
The "City of Peace" marathon was first held in June 2010, following which it became an annual event. It includes a full marathon, a half marathon, and a seven-kilometre run.
As in the rest of the country, village chiefs continue to have influence in Dili's communities.
Local communities have important traditional houses, as well as sacred natural areas including specific trees and rocks.
Cultural difference exist not only between different ethnolinguistic groups, but between more established residents of the city, and recent immigrants who retain different cultural practices. Legal traditions reflecting Portuguese and Indonesian rule do not always align with customary practices, such as in the recognition of marriages. Those who migrate internally into Dili retain cultural and identity links to their rural areas of origin, which are passed down through generations. New arrivals often settle near those from the same area of origin, leading Dili's urban population to have formed into a patchwork of different communities.
Some urban areas exhibit occupational or status-based segregation.
Dili contains a number of local and often youth collectivities. While sometimes described as
gang
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
s, many function more as social collectivities integrated into their local community. Such groups have a long history, many forming as an act of resistance against Indonesian rule. Some street art continues to reflect a theme of resistance. The composition of these groups often reflects the East-West divide that exists within the country.
Dili had no cinema as of 2011.
In 2019, the city hosted the first Dili International Film Festival, which was repeated in 2020. Radio is very popular, and the city has 13
FM radio stations.
International relations
Diplomatic missions
Embassies
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Consulate generals
*
Honorary consulates
*
*
Twin towns – sister cities
Dili is
twinned with the following places:
See also
*
Districts of East Timor
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
*
Subdistricts of East Timor
The municipalities of East Timor are divided into 65 administrative posts (former ''subdistricts''). Each administrative post is divided into several ''sucos''. Sucos is divided into several ''aldeias'', the smallest political division of East Timo ...
References
Further reading
* 2004 census results:
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Capitals in Asia
Populated places in Dili District
Populated places established in 1520
1520 establishments in the Portuguese Empire
1520 establishments in Asia