East Timor includes the mountainous eastern half of Timor, the Ocussi-Ambeno region on the northwest portion of the island of Timor, and the islands of Atauro and Jaco. The country is located northwest of Australia in the Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the Indonesian Archipelago. 'Timor' is a Portuguese derivation of 'Timor', the Malay word for "Orient"; the island of Timor is part of the Malay Archipelago and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East Timor is the only Asian nation to lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere.^{[citation needed]} The Loes River is the longest with a length of 80 km (50 mi). This river system covers an area of 2,184 km² (843 sq mi). It is a small country with a land size of 14,919 km² (5,760 sq mi). The exclusive economic zone is 70,326 km² (27,153 sq mi).^[1]

Area

• Total: 14,874 km²
• Land: 14,874 km²
• Water: 0 km²

Land boundaries

• Total: 2,538 km (1,577 mi)
• Border countries: Indonesia (253 km or 157 mi)

Coastline

706 km (439 mi)

Maritime claims

• Territorial sea: 12 nmi
• Contiguous zone: 24 nmo
• Exclusive economic zone: 70,326 km² (27,153 sq mi) and 200 nmi

The islands have a tropical savanna climate, bordering on a tropical monsoon climate; hot and humid with distinct rainy and dry seasons. Tropical cyclones do occur along with floods.

Natural hazards

Landslides are common; earthquakes; and tsunamis.

Environment - current issues

Widespread use of slash and burn agriculture has led to deforestation and soil erosion.

Environment - international agreements

Biodiversity, climate change, climate change-Kyoto Protocol, desertification