Dili: population, schools, health, poverty and budgets
Dili is a capital municipality of Timor-Leste, the largest of 15 by population. Dili had 324,738 residents at the 5 October 2022 census, the largest of 14 municipalities by population and 24.2% of the 1,341,737 people counted in Timor-Leste.
In depth
- Economy, jobs and prices in Dili: The 2022 census counted 61,508 conventional dwellings in Dili: 56,782 occupied and 4,710 vacant.
- Health in Dili: In the 2016 Demographic and Health Survey, 83.2% of births in the five years before the survey in Dili took place in a health facility. It ranks as the highest of 13 municipalities, against 48.5% for Timor-Leste as a whole.
- Education in Dili: In Dili, 88.2% of children aged 6 to 14 were attending school at the 2022 census. It ranks as the highest of 14 municipalities, against 81.9% for Timor-Leste as a whole.
- Poverty and living standards in Dili: The Survey of Living Standards 2014 found that 29.1% of people in Dili lived below the national poverty line (figures are from 2014). It ranks as the lowest of 13 districts, against 41.8% for Timor-Leste as a whole.
- Government budget and revenue in Dili: The Ministry of Finance Citizens' Budget lists US$19,234,005 for the municipal administration of Dili in the proposed 2025 General State Budget, making it the largest of 13 municipal budgets, and 15.6% of the US$123,623,927 for all municipalities.
What is the population density of Dili?
Dili covers 228 square kilometres, which gives 1,426.7 people per square kilometre at the 2022 census; the figure for Timor-Leste as a whole is 89.8. It is the most densely populated of 14 municipalities.
Source: National Statistics Institute of Timor-Leste (INETL, I.P.) · saved copyHow many men and women live in Dili?
At the 2022 census Dili had 164,765 men and boys and 159,973 women and girls, 103 men for every 100 women (Timor-Leste: 103).
Source: National Statistics Institute of Timor-Leste (INETL, I.P.) · saved copyHow fast is the population of Dili growing?
The census report finds Dili grew by 57 thousand people between the 2015 and 2022 censuses, an average of 2.7 percent a year, the fastest growth of any municipality; at that pace its population would double in 25 years.
Source: National Statistics Institute of Timor-Leste (INETL, I.P.) · saved copyHow capital municipalitys are governed in Timor-Leste
Municipalities (12), the Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cusse Ambeno, and Ataúro (separated from Díli in 2022). Municipal administrators appointed by the government; Oe-Cusse has an appointed Authority. Deconcentrated administration of services; no elected municipal assembly yet.
Every tier of government in Timor-Leste
Other capital municipalities of Timor-Leste
- Ermera 137,750
- Baucau 134,878
- Bobonaro 106,639
- Liquiçá 83,658
- Oecusse 80,685
- Viqueque 80,176
- Oecussi 75,000
- Cova Lima 73,933
- Ainaro 73,115
- Lautém 70,022
- Manufahi 60,665
- Aileu 54,324
- Manatuto 50,859
- Atauro 10,295
Up a level: Timor-Leste · government and power in Timor-Leste
Sources
- Ministry of Finance of Timor-Leste: Citizens' Budget 2025 (Orsamentu ba Sidadaun 2025): municipal budgets 2023-2025 and the RAEOA budget, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 e7a0dab1c6fd…)
- National Statistics Institute of Timor-Leste (INETL, I.P.): Timor-Leste Population and Housing Census 2022, Main Report (Tables 4.3, 4.11, 4.12, 4.18, 4.20, 4.22), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bd4177c7b2b0…)
- General Directorate of Statistics and Ministry of Health of Timor-Leste, with ICF (DHS Program): Timor-Leste Demographic and Health Survey 2016, Final Report (municipality tables), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 5b18945332c9…)
- Ministry of Finance and General Directorate of Statistics of Timor-Leste (now INETL), with the World Bank: Poverty in Timor-Leste 2014 (Table 7: poverty indices and real per capita consumption by district, from the Timor-Leste Survey of Living Standards 2014), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 45e32bc95da5…)
- National Statistics Institute of Timor-Leste (INETL, I.P.), from Ministry of Education EMIS, Ministry of Health HIMS and the Agriculture Census 2019: Timor-Leste in Numbers 2023 (schools, health facilities and staff, agriculture census tables by municipality), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 b424ff847790…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.