Facts About Ecuador

Geography Facts

• Location: north western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia (North) and Peru (South)
• Area: 256,370 sq. km.
• Coastline: 2,237 kilometers
• Highest Point: Chimborazo Volcano, 6,310 meters
• Climate: tropical along the coast and in the Amazon region, and spring time weather in the highlands (all year round)
• Natural Resources: oil, fish, timber, and various minerals
• Forests and Woodlands: 56%
• Volcanic History: Ecuador has many active volcanoes, as well as one of the greatest densities of volcanoes in the world.

  Active volcanoes include Cotopaxi, Sangay, Reventador, Tungurahua and Guagua Pichincha.

Updated Facts About Ecuador (2010)

• Official Name: Republic of Ecuador
• Independence Day: 24 May, 1822 (from Spain)
• Type of Government: This country is a Democratic Republic
• Total Area: 256,370 sq. kilometers
• Population: 13,927,650
• Capital City: Quito (population 1.5 million)
• Main Ecuador Cities: Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca
• Official Language: Spanish. But Quichua is the main language spoken among the indigenous people.
• Ethnic Groups: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and Spanish) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3%
• Religions: Roman Catholic 95%
• Actual Currency: U.S. Dollar

The Government

• Government

• Type of Government: Democratic Republic
• Current President: Rafael Correa Delgado (since 15 January 2007)
• Vice President: Lenin Moreno Garces
• Ecuador Provinces: 24 provinces: Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos Islands, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Sucumbios, Tungurahua and Zamora Chinchipe
• Suffrage Age: 16 years of age
• 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.

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Ecuador Economy

Ecuador joined the World Trade Organization in 1996, but has failed to comply with many of its accession commitments. In recent years, growth has been uneven due to ill-conceived fiscal stabilization measures.

The aftermath of El Nino and depressed oil market of 1997-98 drove Ecuador's economy into a free-fall in 1999. The beginning of 1999 saw the banking sector collapse, which helped precipitate an unprecedented default on external loans later that year.

Continued economic instability drove a 70% depreciation of the currency throughout 1999, which eventually forced a desperate government to dollarize the currency regime in 2000.

Since then, Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed.

From 2002-06 Ecuador economy grew 5.5%, the highest five-year average in 25 years. The poverty rate declined during this period but remained high at 38% in 2006.

After moderate growth in 2007, the economy reached a growth rate of 6.5% in 2008, in large part due to high global petroleum prices.

Ecology and Environment

For example: in the Ecuadorian Amazon, which represents just two percent of the whole basin, live one-third of all the bird species in the entire Amazon region, and 10 percent of all the tree species on earth.

Over 24 tropical life zones are found in Ecuador including: mangrove swamp, dry tropical forest, tropical cloud forest, paramo, and tropical lowland rain forest.

Due to its great variety of life zones, Ecuador boasts one the highest levels of bio-diversity in the world.

For example one hectare of lowland rain forest can contain as many frog species as in all of North America, one tree can contain more ant species than in all of the British Islands combined.

Ecuador also has one of the greatest levels of endemism anywhere in the world.

More Facts About Ecuador

Geography of Ecuador

Ecuador Provinces

Ecuador Real Estate

Affordable Galapagos Trips

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