<item><hi format=bold>International disputes:</hi> sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor Province) disputed with Portugal and not recognized by the UN; two islands in dispute with Malaysia
<item><hi format=bold>Climate:</hi> tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
<item><hi format=bold>Terrain:</hi> mostly coastal lowlands; larger islands have interior mountains
<item>• <hi format=ital>meadows and pastures:</hi> 7%
<item>• <hi format=ital>forest and woodland:</hi> 67%
<item>• <hi format=ital>other:</hi> 15%
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<item><hi format=bold>Irrigated land:</hi> 75,500 sq km (1989 est.)
<item><hi format=bold>Environment:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>current issues:</hi> deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes, sewage; air pollution in urban areas
<item>• <hi format=ital>natural hazards:</hi> occasional floods, severe droughts, and tsunamis
<item>• <hi format=ital>international agreements:</hi> party to—Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber; signed, but not ratified—Biodiversity, Climate Change, Marine Life Conservation
</list>
<item><hi format=bold>Note:</hi> archipelago of 13,500 islands (6,000 inhabited); straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean