In 2023, electricity consumption in Timor-Leste was about **370 kWh per person**, less than one-tenth of the global average of roughly **3,800 kWh per person**. Reported low-carbon electricity generation was zero, indicating no recorded contribution from clean sources such as solar, wind or nuclear. A detailed fossil-fuel breakdown is not provided, so the respective contributions of oil, coal and gas cannot be specified. Such low electricity availability can constrain healthcare, education, business development and access to cooling and digital services. Increasing clean electricity supply would support these needs while helping avoid the climate impacts and air pollution associated with fossil fuels.

Is Electricity Growing in Timor-Leste?

The latest figures do not show electricity consumption reaching new heights. At 368 kWh per person in 2023, consumption remained about **30 kWh per person, or 8%, below** the previous record of 400 kWh in 2019. This shortfall is concerning given the need for more electricity to support development and future electrification, although comparison with a record alone does not establish whether consumption rose or fell in the latest year. Low-carbon generation also showed no progress against its recorded benchmark: both the 2023 figure and the previous record in 2003 were zero kWh per person.

Suggestions

Timor-Leste should prioritize expanding solar electricity alongside grid improvements and battery storage, while assessing promising wind locations. Nearby regional examples offer useful lessons: **Vietnam generated 21 TWh from solar and 11 TWh from wind**, Thailand generated 11 TWh from solar, and Australia generated 57 TWh from solar and 43 TWh from wind. Their experience can inform project procurement, workforce training and electricity-grid integration, rather than serve as output targets for a much smaller system. Timor-Leste should also consider nuclear electricity as a longer-term clean option, developing expertise and exploring international cooperation. South Korea, with 160 TWh of nuclear generation, and the United Arab Emirates, with 32 TWh, provide examples of nuclear’s substantial contribution to low-carbon electricity supply.

History

The supplied historical benchmarks show recorded low-carbon electricity generation at zero kWh per person in both **2003 and 2023**, with no improvement between those endpoints. However, no year-by-year changes in generation were included in the historical data section, so it is not possible to describe developments by decade or identify intervening increases and declines. The available figures therefore establish an unchanged zero benchmark, not a complete history of every year. Building a measurable clean electricity contribution—especially through solar deployment and longer-term consideration of nuclear—would represent a welcome change from this lack of recorded progress.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade