Ermera Municipality

Ermera (Portuguese: Município Ermera, Tetum: Munisípiu Ermera) is one of the municipalities (formerly districts) of Timor-Leste, located in the west-central part of the country. It has a population of 117,064 (Census 2010) and an area of 756.5 km².

This article is about the municipality. For the city, see Ermera. For the administrative post, see Ermera Administrative Post.

Ermera
Municipality of Timor-Leste
Município Ermera (Portuguese) Munisípiu Ermera (Tetum)
Ermera
Official map
Ermera in     Timor-Leste
OpenStreetMap
Coordinates: 8°50′S 125°23′E
Country	Timor-Leste
Capital	Gleno
Administrative posts	Atsabe Ermera Hatulia Hatulia B Letefoho Railaco
Area
• Total	756.5 km2 (292.1 sq mi)
• Rank	10th
Population  (2015 census)
• Total	125,702
• Rank	2nd
• Density	170/km2 (430/sq mi)
• Rank	2nd
Households (2015 census)
• Total	20,671
• Rank	3rd
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (TLT)
ISO 3166 code	TL-ER
HDI (2017)	0.562[1] medium · 11th
Website	Ermera Municipality

Etymology

The word Ermera means 'red water' in the local Mambai language.^[2] It is said that the ancestors of today's inhabitants of the municipality originated from three mountains, namely Cailitlau, Lalimlau, and Hituria, and that the name Ermera refers to the red waters flowing from those mountains.^[3]

Geography

Hot springs of Marobo

Ermera is one of only two land-locked municipalities in East Timor, the other being Aileu. It borders Liquiçá to the north, Dili to the northeast, Alieu to the east, Ainaro to the southeast, and Bobonaro to the west.

The boundaries of the municipality are identical to those of the district of the same name in Portuguese Timor. Its capital is Gleno, which is located 30 km to the southwest of the national capital, Dili. The city of Ermera, also known as Vila Ermera, lies 58 km from the capital along the same road. In Marobo (Atsabe Administrative Post) are the remains of a hot springs bath from colonial times. The pool is still in use.^[4]

Subdivisions of Ermera

Cities of Ermera

Administrative posts

The municipality's administrative posts (formerly sub-districts) are:^[5][6]

• Atsabe Administrative Post
• Ermera Administrative Post
• Hatulia Administrative Post
• Hatulia B Administrative Post
• Letefoho Administrative Post
• Railaco Administrative Post

The administrative posts are divided into 52 sucos ("villages") in total.