Tetum and Portuguese are the official languages, but Indonesian which is widely spoken, and English which is very limited, are working languages according to the constitution. There are also about 37 indigenous languages, of which Tetum, Galole, Mambae, and Kemak are spoken by significant numbers of people.
A person who is proficient in Indonesian and Portuguese can get around quite easily. Don't expect to understand locals' conversations though.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about East Timor
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in East Timor - updated Apr 2024
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East Timor Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
