In 2002, Timor-Leste emerged from centuries of autocratic foreign rule and violent Indonesian occupation. Its people have created a peaceful society and democratic government under the rule of law. Economically, they have evolved from depending on foreign aid, through exporting oil and gas, to living off the returns from investing past non-renewable resource revenues. The economy and state treasury are among the most petroleum-export dependent in the world; many people live in poverty; and the non-oil economy is neglected. However, oil and gas revenues will end soon, and the sovereign wealth fund may only carry the country for another decade.
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