Ecuador

republicIndependence 24 May 1822 (from Spain

Ecuador as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 73 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalQuito

Area283,560 km2

Populationas each edition published it

10.51 million July 1990 · 18.48m in 2025

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 2.07% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 22.5 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 69.61 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.8 children per woman 1990 · 2.17 in 2025

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

61 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 11.2 in 2025

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $1,100 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 3% in 1993

Geography

13 fields

Land useshare of 283,560 km2

arable land 6%permanent crops 3%meadows and pastures 17%forest and woodland 51%other 23%includes 2% irrigated

Total area

283,560km2

land area: 276,840 km2; includes Galapagos IslandsComparative area: slightly smaller than Nevada

Coastline

2,237km

Territorial sea: 200 nm

Land boundaries

2,010km total

Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km

Disputes

two sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute

Climate

tropical along coast becoming cooler inland

Terrain

coastal plain (Costa), inter-Andean central highlands (Sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (Oriente)

Environment

subject to frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity;
deforestation;
desertification;
soil erosion;
periodic droughts

Note

Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world

People

14 fields

Population

10,506,668

(July 1990), growth rate 2.3% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

30Death

7Net migration

Ethnic divisions

mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish) 55%Indian 25%Spanish 10%black 10%

Literacy

85%

(1981)

Nationality

noun--Ecuadorian(s); adjective--Ecuadorian

Language

Spanish (official); Indian languages, especially Quechua

Labor force

2,800,000; 35% agriculture, 21% manufacturing, 16% commerce, 28% services and other activities (1982)

Government

Republic

17 fields

Chamber of Representatives, 71 seats, elected 31 January 1988one dot, one seat

ID 30PRE 8PSC 8DP 7CFP 6PSE 4FADI 2MPD 2FRA 2PCE 1PLR 1

Percent of vote

ID 42%PSC 11%PRE 11%DP 9%others 27%

Administrative divisions

21 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia);
Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe

Independence

24 May 1822 (from Spain; Battle of Pichincha)

Legal system

based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday

Independence Day, 10 August (1809, independence of Quito)

Legislative branch

unicameral Chamber of Representatives (Camara de Representantes)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema) Chief of State and Head of Government--President Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos (since 10 August 1988);
Vice President Luis PARODI Valverde (since 10 August 1988)

Right to center parties--Social Christian Party (PSC), Camilio Ponce, president; Conservative Party (PC), Jose Teran Varea, director; Radical Liberal Party (PLR), Blasco Penaherrera, director; Centrist parties--Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Averroes Bucaram Saxida, director;

Radical Alfarist Front (FRA), Cecilia Calderon de Castro, leader; People, Change, and Democracy (PCD), Aquiles Rigail Santistevan, director; Revolutionary Nationalist Party (PNR), Carlos Julio Arosemena Monroy, leader; Center-left parties--Democratic Left (ID), President Rodrigo Borja, leader;

Roldosist Party of Ecuador (PRE), Abdala Bucaram, director; Popular Democracy (DP), Vladimiro Alvarez, leader; Christian Democratic (CD), Julio Cesar Trujillo; Democratic Party (PD), Francisco Huerta Montalvo, leader; Far-left parties--Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Rene Mauge Mosquera, director;

Socialist Party (PSE), Victor Granda Aguilar, secretary general; Democratic Popular Movement (MPD), Jaime Hurtado Gonzalez, leader; Ecuadorian National Liberation (LN), Alfredo Castillo; Popular Revolutionary Action Party (APRE), Lt. Gen. Frank Vargas Pazzos, leader

Suffrage

universal at age 18;
compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters President--first round held 31 January 1988 and second round on 8 May 1988 (next first round to be held January 1992 and second round May 1992);
results--Rodrigo Borja Cevallos (ID) 54%, Abdala Bucaram Ortiz (PRE) 46%;
Chamber of Representatives--last held 31 January 1988 (next to be held June 1990);
results--ID 42%, PSC 11%, PRE 11%, DP 9%, others 27%;
seats--(71 total) ID 30, PRE 8, PSC 8, DP 7, CFP 6, PSE 4, FADI 2, MPD 2, FRA 2, PCE 1, PLR 1;
note--with the addition of the new province of Sucumbios there will be 72 seats in the August 1990 election

Communists

Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-Moscow), Rene Mauge Mosquera, secretary general, 5,000 members;
Communist Party of Ecuador/Marxist Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), 3,000 members;
Socialist Party of Ecuador (PSE, pro-Cuba), 5,000 members (est.);
National Liberation Party (PLN, Communist), 5,000 members (est.)

Member of

Andean Pact, ECOSOC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPEC, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Jaime MONCAYO;
Chancery at 2535 15th Street NW, Washington DC 20009;
telephone (202) 234-7200;
there are Ecuadorian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, and a Consulate in San Diego;
US--Ambassador-designate Paul C. LAMBERT;
Embassy at Avenida Patria 120, on the corner of Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito (mailing address is P. O. Box 538, Quito, or APO Miami 34039);
telephone [593] (2) 562-890;
there is a US Consulate General in Guayaquil

Flag

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

17 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$9.8billion

per capita $935; real growth rate 0.5% (1989)

Inflation, consumer prices

54%

(1989)

Unemployment rate

14.3%

(1988)

External debt

$10.9billion

(1989)

Budget

Revenues

$2.2 billionExpenditures

$2.7 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $601 million (1988 est.)

Overview

Ecuador continues to recover from a 1986 drop in international oil prices and a major earthquake in 1987 that interrupted oil exports for six months and forced Ecuador to suspend foreign debt payments. In 1988-89 oil exports recovered--accounting for nearly half of Ecuador's total export revenues--and Quito resumed full interest payments on its official debt, and partial payments on its commercial debt.

The Borja administration has pursued austere economic policies that have helped reduce inflation and restore international reserves. Ecuador was granted an IMF standby agreement worth $135 million in 1989, and Quito will seek to reschedule its foreign commercial debt in 1990.

Exports

$2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--petroleum 47%, coffee, bananas, cocoa products, shrimp, fish products;
partners--US 58%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries

Imports

$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemical, petroleum;
partners--US 28%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC, Japan

Industrial production

growth rate 0.7% (1988)

Electricity

1,953,000 kW capacity; 5,725 million kWh produced, 560 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

food processing, textiles, chemicals, fishing, timber, petroleum

Agriculture

accounts for 18% of GDP and 35% of labor force (including fishing and forestry);
leading producer and exporter of bananas and balsawood;
other exports--coffee, cocoa, fish, shrimp;
crop production--rice, potatoes, manioc, plantains, sugarcane;
livestock sector--cattle, sheep, hogs, beef, pork, dairy products;
net importer of foodgrain, dairy products, and sugar

Illicit drugs

relatively small producer of coca following the successful eradication campaign of 1985-87;
significant transit country, however, for derivatives of coca originating in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $457 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.4 billion;
Communist countries (1970-88), $64 million

Currency

sucre (plural--sucres); 1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

sucres (S/) per US$1--526.35 (1989), 301.61 (1988), 170.46 (1987), 122.78 (1986), 69.56 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 47 ships by typeone square, one ship

passenger 1cargo 7refrigerated cargo 17container 2roll-on/roll-off cargo 1petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 16chemical tanker 1liquefied gas 1bulk 147 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 340,446 GRT/492,670 DWT

Airports, 179 total, 178 usable

permanent-surface runways

43runways over 3,659 m

1runways 2,440-3,659 m

6runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

28,000Railroads

965Inland waterways

1,500

Highways: ; 3,600 km paved, 17,400 km gravel and improved earth, 7,000 km unimproved earth · Railroads: ; all 1.067-meter-gauge single track