Is prostitution legal in Timor-Leste?
Decriminalized / unregulated
Selling sex is legal in Timor-Leste, but soliciting and third-party facilitation are forbidden.
Timor-Leste is one of 38 countries classified “Decriminalized / unregulated” for sex work — 17% of the 219 with data. (Also searched as prostitution.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Prostitution in Asia
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Indonesia
- Illegal Prostitution is legally considered a crime against morality in Indonesia, though widely tolerated.
- Malaysia
- Varies by region Prostitution is legal in most Malaysian states but illegal in Kelantan.
- Australia
- Varies by region Prostitution laws vary significantly by state and territory across Australia.
- Brunei
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in Brunei and punishable by imprisonment and fines.
- Palau
- Illegal Selling and buying sex are criminalized under the Anti-Prostitution Act.
- Papua New Guinea
- Illegal Prostitution is effectively illegal in Papua New Guinea due to court interpretations of existing laws.
Other laws in Timor-Leste
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Not recognized
- Same-Sex Activity
- Legal
- Age of Consent
- 14–15
- Divorce
- Legal
- Same-Sex Adoption
- Not permitted
- Incest Laws
- Legal between adults
- Marriage Age
- 16–17
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.