Guide to Ecuador Introduction Background: The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Seven presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996.
Geography Location: Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Geographic coordinates: 2 00 S, 77 30 W
Map references: South America
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Nevada
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 2,237 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
Terrain: coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 8,650 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world
People Population: 13,363,593 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 1.24% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 22.67 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 2.72 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 21,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,700 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
Languages: Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
Literacy: definition
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: republic
Capital: Quito
Administrative divisions: 22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe
Independence: 24 May 1822 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809)
Constitution: 10 August 1998
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are popularly elected by province to serve four-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (according to the Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; in December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution)
Political parties and leaders: Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Guillermo LANDAZURI]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Movement [Gilberto TALAHUA]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democracy or DP [Dr. Juan Manuel FUERTES]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Gustavo TERAN Acosta]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Leon FEBRES CORDERO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Victor GRANDA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Luis MACAS, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president]; Popular Front or FP [Luis VILLACIS]
International organization participation: CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms
Economy Economy - overview: Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of central government budget revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ - January 2003 to April 2005 - Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on economic reforms necessary to reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $49.51 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.8% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 4.53 million (urban) (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 8%, industry 24%, services 68% (2001)
Unemployment rate: 11.1%; note - underemployment of 47% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: 45% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 42 note
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 20.6% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 49.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp
Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals
Industrial production growth rate: 10% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: 11.54 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 10.79 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 57 million kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 523,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption: 129,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: 387,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - imports: NA
Oil - proved reserves: 4.408 billion bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production: 160 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 160 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 106.5 billion cu m (2004)
Current account balance: $261.1 million (2004 est.)
Exports: $7.56 billion (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp
Exports - partners: US 42.9%, Panama 14.3%, Peru 7.9%, Italy 4.6% (2004)
Imports: $7.65 billion (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: vehicles, medicinal products, telecommunications equipment, electricity
Imports - partners: US 16.5%, Colombia 14.1%, China 9.2%, Venezuela 7.1%, Brazil 6.5%, Chile 4.6%, Japan 4.5%, Mexico 4.3% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.436 billion (December 2004 est.)
Debt - external: $16.81 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $216 million (2002)
Currency (code): US dollar (USD)
Currency code: USD
Exchange rates: 25,000 (2004), 25,000 (2003), 25,000 (2002), 25,000 (2001), 24,988 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 1.549 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,394,400 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001)
Radios: 5 million (2001)
Television broadcast stations: 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2001)
Televisions: 2.5 million (2001)
Internet country code: .ec
Internet hosts: 3,188 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 31 (2001)
Internet users: 569,700 (2003)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2003)
Pipelines: extra heavy crude 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,386 km; refined products 1,185 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 205 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Heliports: 1 (2004 est.)
Military Military branches: Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE)
Military service age and obligation: 20 years of age for conscript military service; 12-month service obligation (2004)
Manpower available for military service: males age 20-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 20-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $655 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.2% (2004)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border and caused over 20,000 refugees to flee into Ecuador in 2004
Illicit drugs: significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime, especially vulnerable along the border with Colombia; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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