Share of the population using the Internet in East Timor
East Timor: Share of the population using the Internet was 35.0% in 2021. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population using the Internet in East Timor, 1990–2021
Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database - International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of population.
Analysis
In 2021, share of the population using the internet in East Timor stood at 35.0%. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
That represents a change of up 9.5% on the previous year and up 776.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population using the internet in East Timor peaked at 35.0% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1990.
That places East Timor 174th out of 208 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of the population using the Internet in East Timor, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.0% | — |
| 2002 | 0.0% | — |
| 2005 | 0.1% | — |
| 2006 | 0.5% | +404.9% |
| 2007 | 1.0% | +100.0% |
| 2008 | 1.5% | +50.0% |
| 2009 | 2.0% | +33.3% |
| 2010 | 3.0% | +50.0% |
| 2011 | 4.0% | +33.3% |
| 2012 | 7.0% | +75.0% |
| 2013 | 11.0% | +57.1% |
| 2014 | 17.5% | +59.1% |
| 2015 | 18.6% | +6.3% |
| 2016 | 21.2% | +14.0% |
| 2017 | 24.2% | +14.2% |
| 2018 | 27.6% | +14.0% |
| 2019 | 28.0% | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 32.0% | +14.3% |
| 2021 | 35.0% | +9.5% |
East Timor compared with similar countries
- East Timor's 35.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 55.8%, 63% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- East Timor's 35.0% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 80.5%, 44% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population using the Internet 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +404.9% | 0.1% | 0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.8% | 0.0% | 2.0% | 6 |
| 2010s | 16.2% | 3.0% | 28.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 33.5% | 32.0% | 35.0% | 2 |
Countries ranked near East Timor
More science & technology data for East Timor
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 116.38 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.16 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0.0009 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 1.63 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 104.87 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 3.32 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 4.54 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 20.7 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population using the internet in East Timor?
- Share of the population using the internet in East Timor was 35.0% in 2021, according to World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database - International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population using the internet recorded in East Timor?
- The highest recorded value was 35.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of the population using the internet recorded in East Timor?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1990.
- How does East Timor rank for share of the population using the internet?
- East Timor ranks 174th out of 208 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of the population using the internet rising or falling in East Timor?
- Over the last ten years it is up 776.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this East Timor data come from?
- The figures come from World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database - International Telecommunication Union (ITU), via World Bank (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population using the Internet. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the population who used the Internet in the last three months.