Ecuador

republicIndependence 24 May 1822 (from Spain)

Ecuador as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 124 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
LocationWestern South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator
1994

Every edition of Ecuador

Populationas each edition published it
10.68 million July 1994 est. · 10.51m in 1990
Population growth% a year
2.01% 1994 est. · 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
3.08 children per woman 1994 est. · 3.8 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
39.3 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 61 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$4,000 1993 est. · $1,100 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
2% 1993 est. · 3% in 1993

Geography

Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator | between Colombia and Peru

24 fields
Coastline
2,237km
Land boundaries
2,010km
total · Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km
Irrigated land
5,500sq km
(1989 est.)

Location

Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator between Colombia and Peru

Map references

South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

283,560 sq km

land area

276,840 sq km

comparative area

slightly smaller than Nevada

note

includes Galapagos Islands

continental shelf

claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands

territorial sea

200 nm

International disputes

three 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)

Natural resources

petroleum, fish, timber

arable land

6%

permanent crops

3%

meadows and pastures

17%

forest and woodland

51%

other

23%

current issues

  • deforestation;
  • soil erosion;
  • desertification;
  • water pollution

natural hazards

subject to frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; periodic droughts

international agreements

party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands

Note

Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world

People

21 fields
Population
10,677,067
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 2.01% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
25.82Death
5.67Net migration
0

Ethnic divisions

mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish) 55%Indian 25%Spanish 10%black 10%
Labor force
2.8million
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1990)

Infant mortality rate

39.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

69.98 years

male

67.46 years

female

72.62 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.08 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Ecuadorian(s)

adjective

Ecuadorian

Religions

Roman Catholic 95%

Languages

Spanish (official), Indian languages (especially Quechua)

total population

88%

male

90%

female

86%

by occupation

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

Government

Republic

35 fields

Legislature, 77 seatsone dot, one seat

PSC 20PRE 15PUR 12ID 7PC 6DP 5PSE 3MPD 3PLRE 2CFP 2FRA 1APRE 1

conventional long form

Republic of Ecuador

conventional short form

Ecuador

local long form

Republica del Ecuador

local short form

Ecuador

Type

republic

Capital

Quito

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)

National holiday

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

Constitution

10 August 1979

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters

chief of state and head of government

  • President Sixto DURAN BALLEN Cordovez (since 10 August 1992);
  • Vice President Alberto DAHIK Garzoni (since 10 August 1992);
  • election runoff election held 5 July 1992 (next to be held NA 1996);
  • results - Sixto DURAN BALLEN elected as president and Alberto DAHIK elected as vice president

cabinet

Cabinet; appointed by the president

National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

  • elections last held 17 May 1992 (next to be held 1 May 1994);
  • results - percent of vote by party NA;
  • seats - (77 total) PSC 20, PRE 15, PUR 12, ID 7, PC 6, DP 5, PSE 3, MPD 3, PLRE 2, CFP 2, FRA 1, APRE 1

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Center-Right parties

  • Social Christian Party (PSC), Jaime NEBOT Saadi, president;
  • Republican Unity Party (PUR), President Sixto DURAN BALLEN, leader;
  • Conservative Party (PC), Vice President Alberto DAHIK, president

Center-Left parties

  • Democratic Left (ID), Andres VALLEJO Arcos, Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos, leaders;
  • Popular Democracy (DP), Jamil MANUAD Witt, president;
  • Ecuadorian Radical Liberal Party (PLRE), Carlos Luis PLAZA Aray, director;
  • Radical Alfarista Front (FRA), Jaime ASPIAZU Seminario, director

Populist parties

  • Roldista Party (PRE), Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director;
  • Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Rafael SANTELICES, director;
  • Popular Revolutionary Action (APRE), Frank VARGAS Passos, leader;
  • Assad Bucaram Party (PAB), Avicena BUCARAM, leader;
  • People, Change, and Democracy (PCD), Raul AULESTIA, director

Far-Left parties

  • Popular Democratic Movement (MPD), Jorge Fausto MORENO, director;
  • Ecuadorian Socialist Party (PSE), Leon ROLDOS, leader;
  • Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Jose Xavier GARAYCOA, president;
  • Ecuadorian National Liberation (LN), Alfredo CASTILLO, director

Communists

  • Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-North Korea), Rene Leon Mague MOSWUERRA, secretary general (5,000 members);
  • Communist Party of Ecuador/Marxist-Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), leader NA (3,000 members)

Member of

AG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador Edgar TERAN

chancery

2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone

(202) 234-7200

consulate(s) general

Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Diego, and San Francisco

chief of mission

Ambassador Peter F. ROMERO

embassy

Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito

mailing address

P. O. Box 538, Unit 5309, Quito, or APO AA 34039-3420

telephone

[593] (2) 562-890, 561-623 or 624

FAX

[593] (2) 502-052

consulate(s) general

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 that is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms

Economy

26 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$4,000
(1993 est.)
Real growth rate
2%
(1993 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 3.9% (1991); accounts for almost 30% of GDP, including petroleum

Overview

Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich agricultural areas. Growth has been uneven because of natural disasters, fluctuations in global oil prices, and government policies designed to curb inflation. Banana exports, second only to oil, have suffered as a result of import quotas of the European Union and banana blight.

The new President Sixto DURAN-BALLEN, has a much more favorable attitude toward foreign investment than did his predecessor. Ecuador has implemented trade agreements with Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela and has applied for GATT membership. At the end of 1991, Ecuador received a standby IMF loan of $105 million, which will permit the country to proceed with the rescheduling of Paris Club debt.

In September 1992, the government launched a new, macroeconomic program that gives more play to market forces. In 1993, the DURAN-BALLEN administration adopted a rigorous austerity program that resulted in economic stabilization, with inflation cut in half and international reserves boosted to a record $1.3 billion. Growth in 1993 was perhaps only 2% due to falling export prices, notably oil, and slow progress on privatization.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $41.8 billion

revenues

$1.9 billion

expenditures

$1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)

Exports

$3 billion (f.o.b., 1992)

commodities

petroleum 42%, bananas, shrimp, cocoa, coffee

partners

US 53.4%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries

Imports

$2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992)

commodities

transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemicals

partners

US 32.7%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries, Japan

External debt

$12.7 billion (1992)

capacity

2,921,000 kW

production

7.676 billion kWh

consumption per capita

700 kWh (1992)

Industries

petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal works, paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, timber

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 foodgrains, dairy products, and sugar

Illicit drugs

  • significant transit country for derivatives of coca originating in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru;
  • minor illicit producer of coca;
  • importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics;
  • important money-laundering hub

recipient

  • US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $498 million;
  • Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.15 billion;
  • Communist countries (1970-89), $64 million

Currency

1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

sucres (S/) per US$1 - 1,947.1 (October 1993), 1,534.0 (1992), 1,046.25 (1991), 767.8 (1990), 767.78 (1990), 526.35 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

15 fields

Networkskm

Railroads
965Inland waterways
1,500
Railroads: ; all 1.067-meter-gauge single track

Railroads

965 km total; all 1.067-meter-gauge single track

total

28,000 km

paved

3,600 km

unpaved

gravel or improved earth 17,400 km; unimproved earth 7,000 km

Pipelines

crude oil 800 km; petroleum products 1,358 km

Ports

Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas

Merchant marine

40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 263,752 GRT/378,675 DWT, bulk 1, cargo 3, container 2, liquefied gas 1, oil tanker 14, passenger 3, refrigerated cargo 15, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

total

211

usable

208

with permanent-surface runways

56

with runway over 3,659 m

1

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

7

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

21

Telecommunications

  • domestic facilities generally adequate;
  • 318,000 telephones;
  • telephone density - 30 per 1,000 persons;
  • broadcast stations - 272 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 39 shortwave;
  • 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana), Air Force | (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), National Police

3 fields

Branches

Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), National Police

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 2,734,988;
  • fit for military service 1,850,989;
  • reach military age (20) annually 111,707 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Central Intelligence Agency. “Ecuador.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/ecuador/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →