Timor-Leste

Is Timor-Leste safe to visit?

Mostly yes, if you take the precautions you would in a poorer city at home. The country is peaceful: the 2026 Global Peace IndexGlobal Peace IndexAn annual ranking of 163 countries by how peaceful they are, based on conflict, crime, militarisation and political instability.More in the glossary ranks it 32nd of 163, and there has been no terrorism in recent memory. The risks are closer to the ground. Robbery, gang fights and harassment of women are common in Dili, the mountain roads are poor and slow, and medical care is thin enough that anything serious means a flight to Australia or Singapore. The US rates Timor-Leste Level 2 for unrest and crime. We score it 65, between Vanuatu (71) and Papua New Guinea (41), with low confidence because the crime data are a decade old.

Crime in Dili

The UN's last police-based homicide figure is from 2015: 4.1 per 100,000. The WHO's model, which fills gaps where countries stop reporting, gives 5.1 for 2021. Both are moderate, well below Papua New Guinea.

What visitors actually meet is street crime and harassment. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says gang violence, robbery and assault are common and that unmetered taxis have charged tourists extortionate fares. Fights between rival groups, sometimes linked to martial arts clubs, break out mostly at night and involve stones and occasionally machetes. Foreigners have not been targeted, and the advice is simply to leave.

Women travellers get the most warnings. The US says sexual violence and harassment are common, and the FCDO mentions lewd remarks, indecent exposure and assaults in public places such as Beach Road, Dili's seafront. Run or walk with others, and avoid taxis and minibuses alone after dark.

Protests and politics

Timor-Leste's politics are loud but mostly peaceful. In mid-September 2025, between 1,000 and 2,000 students protested outside parliament against a plan to spend 4 million US dollars on new cars for the 65 members of parliament. Police fired tear gas, at least four protesters were hurt and 12 were arrested, according to the CIVICUS Monitor; parliament dropped the cars and scrapped lifetime pensions for MPs within days. The US warns that stones can be thrown at vehicles during unrest. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says tension rises around elections and advises avoiding crowds, especially around Tasi Tolu and Comoro in Dili.

Roads and the rainy season

Roads are the main physical danger. The World Bank series, based on WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary, puts road deaths at 11.9 per 100,000 in 2019, and the WHO's 2021 estimate is almost the same at 12.0. We score on the 2019 figure for consistency. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary describes poor roads, frequent motorbike crashes and single-track mountain routes that can become impassable in the November to April rains, when flash floods and landslides are common. Outside Dili it advises travelling in convoy, because emergency services are scarce and some cars drive at night without lights. Hire a car with a local driver, which agencies usually require anyway, and avoid driving after dark.

In flooded Dili streets, watch for uncovered manholes, which have caused injuries and drownings.

Health: malaria gone, rabies arrived

On 24 July 2025 the WHO certified Timor-Leste malaria-free, a real change for visitors. Mosquitoes still spread dengue and chikungunya. The new worry is rabies. Timor-Leste was considered rabies-free until 2024, when the first fatal case was confirmed in the Oecusse exclave, which borders Indonesian West Timor. By June 2025 the WHO counted six human deaths in Oecusse, Bobonaro and Ermera and rated the national risk as high. The CDC now says rabid dogs are commonly found. Avoid dogs, and if bitten, wash the wound and get to a clinic in Dili at once.

Health care is limited, especially outside the capital, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says emergency ambulances are unreliable, so make your own way to hospital where you can. Evacuation to Australia or Singapore is the usual route, and few airlines serve Dili, so insurance with medical evacuation is essential. Typhoid and stomach upsets are common; drink bottled water. Call 110 for an ambulance.

Before you go

A 30-day tourist visa is issued on arrival at Dili airport or seaport for 30 US dollars in cash; reaching Oecusse overland needs a separate visa. The US dollar is the currency, but notes printed before 2009 are usually refused and ATMs are rare outside municipal capitals, so bring clean small notes. Saltwater crocodiles live in rivers and on the south and east coasts: swim only where locals say it is safe.

How we scored it

Conflict (78) is the strongest factor, reflecting the lack of terrorism and a good peace ranking. Health (48) is the weakest, because care is limited, evacuation is hard and rabies is spreading. Violent crime (68), road safety (62), natural hazards (62) and petty crime (65) all sit in the middle bands. Confidence is low because the last national homicide figure is from 2015 and the newer one is a WHO model.