Portuguese spoken by 20% of the population in East Timor, and "is here to stay"

From an article here in Portuguese. 20% of the population translates into a total of about 225,000 speakers. Here's part of the article:

Cite of Praia, 19 November - The Portuguese language, "as a matter of identity, is here to stay" in East Timor, where around 20% of the population speaks the language, said the new East Timorese Ambassador to Cape Verde (Natália Carrascalão) on Thursday.

...

At present, she said, children learn Portuguese in schools and adults over 40 years of age generally speak the language. "Very rudimentarily, but they speak it."

View Larger Map