Country Foundations

Timor-Leste

Constitution in force since 2002, 15,307 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
91%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
69%
mean across compared rights
Gap
−22%
delivers less than promised
Executive respects constitution
68%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 89%, gap −11%Right to life100%89%−11%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 80%, gap −20%Freedom from torture100%80%−20%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Freedom from slavery and forced labour100%78%−22%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 56%, gap −44%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%56%−44%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 33%, practiced 61%, gap +28%Right to a fair and public trial33%61%+28%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure100%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 62%, gap −38%Due process of law100%62%−38%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 69%, gap −31%Freedom of expression100%69%−31%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 62%, gap −38%Freedom of the press100%62%−38%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 74%, gap −26%Freedom of thought and conscience100%74%−26%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 80%, gap −20%Freedom of religion100%80%−20%Separation of religion and state — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure100%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 74%, gap +74%Academic freedom0%74%+74%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 62%, gap −38%Freedom of assembly100%62%−38%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 80%, gap −20%Freedom of association100%80%−20%Right to petition government — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure100%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Right to form and join trade unions100%78%−22%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 91%, gap +41%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%91%+41%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 81%, gap −19%Right to privacy100%81%−19%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 82%, gap −18%Freedom of movement100%82%−18%Right to asylum — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure100%——Right to own property — declared 100%, practiced 71%, gap −29%Right to own property100%71%−29%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 71%, gap −29%Equality before the law100%71%−29%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 37%, gap −63%Right to education100%37%−63%Right to health care — declared 100%, practiced 41%, gap −59%Right to health care100%41%−59%Right to shelter or housing — declared 100%, practiced 37%, gap −63%Right to shelter or housing100%37%−63%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 63%, gap −37%Independent judiciary100%63%−37%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
05010020102020

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 2002–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour −22%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −44%
  • Due process of law −38%
  • Freedom of expression −31%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Academic freedom +74%

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.