East Timor has a population of 800 000, living in an area slightly less than quarter size of Tasmania . It is the poorest country in Asia , and one of the ten poorest in the world.

Over 2 out of 5 people live on less than US 55c a day. The adult literacy rate is 43%. 46% have never attended school. East Timor is less than 2 hours flying time from Australia.