Ecuador
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Ecuador is a country in western South America bordering the Pacific Ocean at the equator between Columbia and Peru. The equator, which gives the country its name (which means "Republic of the Equator"), passes through Ecuador just north of the capitol city, Quito. The biodiversity-rich and environmentally-sensitive Galápagos Islands are part of the country and lie 972 km (604 miles) east of the mainland in the Pacific Ocean. Cotopaxi in the Andes is highest active volcano in world.
Its major environmental issues include deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, water pollution, and pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands.
What is now Ecuador formed part of the northern Inca Empire until the Spanish conquest in 1533. Quito became a seat of Spanish colonial government in 1563 and part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717. The territories of the Viceroyalty - New Granada (Colombia), Venezuela, and Quito - gained their independence between 1819 and 1822 and formed a federation known as Gran Colombia. When Quito withdrew in 1830, the traditional name was changed in favor of the "Republic of the Equator." 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. Protests in Quito have contributed to the mid-term ouster of Ecuador's last three democratically elected Presidents. In September 2008, voters approved a new constitution; Ecuador's twentieth since gaining independence. General elections, under the new constitutional framework, are expected in April 2009.
Geography
Geographic Coordinates: 2 00 S, 77 30 W
Area: 283,560 km2 (276,840 km2 land and 6,720 km2 water). This includes the Galapagos Islands.
Land Boundaries: 2,010 km. Border countries are Colombia 590 km and Peru 1,420 km
Coastline: 2,237 km
Maritime Claims: Territorial sea to 200 nautical miles and the continental shelf, 100 nautical miles from 2,500-meter isobath
Natural Hazards: Frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts
Terrain: Coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
Climate: Tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
Capital: Quito
Ecology and Biodiversity
The richest and most diverse region on Earth, the Tropical Andes passes through central Ecuador. Along the coast lies the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena biodiversity hotspot, which includes a wide variety of habitats and South America's only remaining coastal dry forests. There are a number of diverse terrestrial ecoregions throughout Ecuador:
- Cordillera Central páramo
- Eastern Cordillera real montane forests
- Ecuadorian dry forests
- Galápagos Islands xeric scrub
- Napo moist forests
- Western Ecuador moist forests
Ecuador's marine and coastal areas are also rich in biodiversity:
Protected areas
Ecuador is home to two major protected areas. The Galápagos National Park & Galápagos Marine Resources Reserve consists of the largest, most diverse almost pristine archipelago remaining in the world. It is made up of volcanic islands and the surrounding seas located west of Ecuador at the confluence of several ocean currents. The largest area of unaltered wild land in the country's eastern Cordilleras is known as Sangay National Park. It includes a wide range of ecosystems, from the tropical rainforests of the Amazon basin to mountain glaciers.
International Environmental Agreements
Ecuador is party to international agreements on: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, and Wetlands.
People and Society
Population: 14,573,101 (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 31.1% (male 2,312,610/female 2,220,378)
15-64 years: 62.7% (male 4,506,908/female 4,636,703)
65 years and over: 6.2% (male 432,144/female 464,358) (2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 1.497% (2009 est.)
Birthrate: 21.54 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -0.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 75.3 years
Total Fertility Rate: 2.51 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Languages: Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
Literacy: 91% (2001 census)
The Human Development Index for Ecuador is 0.765, which gives Ecuador a rank of 83rd out of 177 countries with data. See Ecuador's Human Development Index for 2004.
Energy
The oil sector dominates the Ecuadorian economy, accounting for 40 percent of export earnings and one-third of all tax revenues. According to Oil and Gas Journal, Ecuador held proven oil reserves of 4.6 billion barrels, the third largest in South America, and 345 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas reserves as of January 2006. There is negligible domestic demand or support infrastructure for natural gas. Ecuador produced 14.84 billion kilowatt-hours (Bkwh) of electricity and consumed 12.9 Bkwh in 2006. About 63 percent of Ecuador's electricity production comes from hydroelectricity, with the balance supplied by conventional thermal plants.
See Energy profile of Ecuador.
Conflict
International Disputes: organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border, which thousands of Colombians also cross to escape the violence in their home country
Economy
Ecuador is substantially dependent on its petroleum resources, which have accounted for more than half of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years. In 1999/2000, Ecuador suffered a severe economic crisis, with GDP contracting by more than 6%. Poverty increased significantly, the banking system collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and positive growth returned in the years that followed, helped by high oil prices, remittances, and increased non-traditional exports. From 2002-06 the economy grew 5.5%, the highest five-year average in 25 years. The poverty rate declined but remained high at 38% in 2006. In 2006 the government imposed a windfall revenue tax on foreign oil companies, leading to the suspension of free trade negotiations with the US. These measures led to a drop in petroleum production in 2007. President Rafael CORREA raised the specter of debt default and followed through on those threats in December 2008 by defaulting on some commercial bond obligations. He also decreed a higher windfall revenue tax on private oil companies, then renegotiated their contracts to overcome the debilitating effect of the tax. This generated economic uncertainty; private investment has dropped and economic growth has slowed.
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $107.1 billion (2008 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 5.9% (2008 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $7,500 (2008 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 6.6%
industry: 33.9%
services: 59.5% (2008 est.)
Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals
Natural Resources: Bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp
Currency: United States Dollar
Further Reading
Return to Ecuador's country profile
Return to the Latin America and the Caribbean Collection