Natural population growth rate in East Timor
East Timor: Natural population growth rate was 1.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Natural population growth rate in East Timor, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for natural population growth rate in East Timor is 1.5%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 1.7% on the previous year and down 30.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, natural population growth rate in East Timor peaked at 2.9% in 2003 and was at its lowest, -0.2%, in 1975.
That places East Timor 71st out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Natural population growth rate in East Timor, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.7% | — |
| 1951 | 0.9% | +27.7% |
| 1952 | 1.0% | +10.4% |
| 1953 | 1.1% | +7.2% |
| 1954 | 1.2% | +5.6% |
| 1955 | 1.2% | +4.9% |
| 1956 | 1.3% | +4.4% |
| 1957 | 1.3% | +4.2% |
| 1958 | 1.4% | +4.1% |
| 1959 | 1.4% | +3.7% |
| 1960 | 1.5% | +3.3% |
| 1961 | 1.5% | +3.0% |
| 1962 | 1.6% | +2.6% |
| 1963 | 1.6% | +2.3% |
| 1964 | 1.7% | +2.1% |
| 1965 | 1.7% | +1.8% |
| 1966 | 1.7% | +1.6% |
| 1967 | 1.7% | +1.4% |
| 1968 | 1.8% | +1.1% |
| 1969 | 1.8% | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 1.8% | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 1.8% | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 1.8% | -1.1% |
| 1973 | 1.7% | -1.7% |
| 1974 | 1.4% | -17.4% |
| 1975 | -0.2% | -112.5% |
| 1976 | 0.1% | -172.5% |
| 1977 | 0.0% | -62.7% |
| 1978 | -0.2% | -431.5% |
| 1979 | 0.2% | -197.1% |
| 1980 | 1.1% | +591.2% |
| 1981 | 1.4% | +32.4% |
| 1982 | 1.4% | +1.3% |
| 1983 | 1.4% | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 1.6% | +11.3% |
| 1985 | 1.5% | -2.6% |
| 1986 | 1.6% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 1.7% | +6.3% |
| 1988 | 1.7% | -0.2% |
| 1989 | 2.4% | +43.8% |
| 1990 | 2.4% | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 2.4% | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 2.5% | +4.0% |
| 1993 | 2.5% | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 2.6% | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 2.5% | -1.8% |
| 1996 | 2.5% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 2.6% | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 2.5% | -2.3% |
| 1999 | 2.6% | +4.7% |
| 2000 | 2.9% | +10.5% |
| 2001 | 2.9% | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 2.9% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 2.9% | +1.5% |
| 2004 | 2.9% | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 2.8% | -3.3% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | -3.6% |
| 2007 | 2.6% | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 2.5% | -3.4% |
| 2009 | 2.4% | -3.2% |
| 2010 | 2.4% | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 2.3% | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 2.2% | -3.5% |
| 2013 | 2.1% | -3.4% |
| 2014 | 2.0% | -4.0% |
| 2015 | 1.9% | -4.6% |
| 2016 | 1.9% | -4.5% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | -4.6% |
| 2018 | 1.7% | -4.1% |
| 2019 | 1.6% | -3.5% |
| 2020 | 1.6% | -2.5% |
| 2021 | 1.5% | -6.7% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | -1.7% |
East Timor compared with similar countries
- East Timor's 1.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.9%, 77% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- East Timor's 1.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.8%, 1.8× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Natural population growth rate in East Timor changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | +591.2% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| 1978 | -431.5% | 0.0% | -0.2% |
| 1979 | +197.1% | -0.2% | 0.2% |
| 1976 | +172.5% | -0.2% | 0.1% |
| 1975 | -112.5% | 1.4% | -0.2% |
| 1977 | -62.7% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.8% | -0.2% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.6% | 1.1% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.7% | 2.4% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.0% | 1.6% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near East Timor
More population data for East Timor
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.2427 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -1.71 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.2427 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.5654 % change on previous year (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.3779 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -0.2% (2100)
- Population density 132.68 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 97,537 people (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.2% (2100)
- Number of people living in urban and rural areas, annual growth rate 1.71 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is natural population growth rate in East Timor?
- Natural population growth rate in East Timor was 1.5% in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest natural population growth rate recorded in East Timor?
- The highest recorded value was 2.9% in 2003.
- What is the lowest natural population growth rate recorded in East Timor?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.2% in 1975.
- How does East Timor rank for natural population growth rate?
- East Timor ranks 71st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is natural population growth rate rising or falling in East Timor?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this East Timor data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Natural population growth rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Births minus deaths, as a share of the population. This is the part of population change that comes only from births and deaths, ignoring migration.