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Hunger · East Asia & Pacific

Hunger and malnutrition in Timor-Leste

32.5Global Hunger Index 2026, rank 114Serious

17% of people in Timor-Leste do not get enough to eat, about 240 thousand. 47% of young children are too short for their age, a sign of long-term undernutrition, and 8.3% are dangerously thin. Stunting ranges from 29% in Ermera to 60% in Ainaro.

17%undernourished (2024, FAO)
54%moderately or severely food insecure (2021)
47%children under 5 stunted (2020)
8.3%children under 5 wasted (2020)
32%children under 5 underweight (2020)
1.3%children under 5 overweight (2020)
46%children 6-59 months anaemic (2019, WHO)
48 per 1,000children who die before age five (2024)

Child stunting by region in Timor-Leste

Children under five too short for their age, the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey (2016). Survey figures can differ from the UN estimate above, which is modelled across surveys.

  1. 1Ainaro60%
  2. 2Bobonaro53%
  3. 3Viqueque52%
  4. 4Oecussi51%
  5. 5Baucau51%
  6. 6Cova Lima48%
  7. 7Liquica47%
  8. 8Aileu46%
  9. 9Manatuto46%
  10. 10Dili42%
  11. 11Lautem41%
  12. 12Manufahi38%
  13. 13Ermera29%

Global Hunger Index score over time

Out of 100, lower is better. The index rescores past years with the latest data, so these are comparable with each other.

  1. 200644.1
  2. 201230
  3. 201827.3
  4. 202632.5

Undernourishment in Timor-Leste since 2002

Share of people not getting enough calories, FAO. Each figure is a three-year average centred on the year.

  1. 200243%
  2. 200432%
  3. 200626%
  4. 200820%
  5. 201016%
  6. 201214%
  7. 201412%
  8. 201613%
  9. 201815%
  10. 202016%
  11. 202215%
  12. 202417%

How Timor-Leste compares

Timor-Leste has the 4th highest child stunting of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015. In East Asia & Pacific it is 2nd of 27.

Frequently asked questions

What is Timor-Leste's rank in the Global Hunger Index?

Timor-Leste ranks 114 in the 2026 Global Hunger Index with a score of 32.5, which the index calls serious. It scored 44.1 in 2006. The score combines undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and deaths of children under five.

How many people are hungry in Timor-Leste?

FAO estimates 17% of people in Timor-Leste were undernourished in 2024, about 240 thousand people. 54% faced moderate or severe food insecurity (2021).

What percentage of children are stunted in Timor-Leste?

47% of children under five in Timor-Leste were stunted in 2020, which WHO rates very high. 8.3% were wasted (2020). That ranks Timor-Leste 4 of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015, highest first.

Which region of Timor-Leste has the most malnutrition?

In the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey, Ainaro had the highest share of stunted children, 60%, and Ermera the lowest, 29%.

Sources: FAO (undernourishment, food insecurity), UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Joint Malnutrition Estimates (stunting, wasting, underweight, overweight), WHO (anaemia) and UN IGME (child deaths), as published by the World Bank; Global Hunger Index 2026; regions from the DHS Program (TL2016DHS).

Hunger in other countries of East Asia & Pacific

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