|
| World Fact Book
| Mark H. Solsman
| Documentation Training and Publications, Center for Academic Computing
| mhs108@psu.edu  10/19/93
I
 
_@_Ecuador Geography
 
Total area:
    283,560 km2
Land area:
    276,840 km2; includes Galapagos Islands
Comparative area:
    slightly smaller than Nevada
Land boundaries:
    2,010 km; Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km
Coastline:
    2,237 km
Maritime claims:
  Continental shelf:
    claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands
  Territorial sea:
    200 nm
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
Land use:
    arable land 6%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 17%; forest and
    woodland 51%; other 23%; includes irrigated 2%
Environment:
    subject to frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity;
    deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; periodic droughts
Note:
    Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world
 
:Ecuador People
 
Population:
    10,933,143 (July 1992), growth rate 2.2% (1992)
Birth rate:
    28 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    6 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    42 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    67 years male, 72 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    3.5 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Ecuadorian(s); adjective - Ecuadorian
Ethnic divisions:
    mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish) 55%, Indian 25%, Spanish 10%, black 10%
Religions:
    Roman Catholic 95%
Languages:
    Spanish (official); Indian languages, especially Quechua
Literacy:
    86% (male 88%, female 84%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
    2,800,000; agriculture 35%, manufacturing 21%, commerce 16%, services and
    other activities 28% (1982)
Organized labor:
    less than 15% of labor force
 
:Ecuador Government
 
Long-form name:
    Republic of 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; Battle of Pichincha)
Constitution:
    10 August 1979
Legal system:
    based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
    Independence Day, 10 August (1809, independence of Quito)
Executive branch:
    president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
    unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
Judicial branch:
    Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders:
  Chief of State and Head of Government:
    President Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos (since 10 August 1988); Vice President Luis
    PARODI Valverde (since 10 August 1988)
Suffrage:
    universal at age 18; compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional
    for other eligible voters
Elections:
  National Congress:
    last held 17 June 1990 (next to be held 17 May 1992); results - percent of
    vote by party NA; seats - (72 total) PSC 16, ID 14, PRE 13, PSE 8, DP 7, CFP
    3, PC 3, PLR 3, FADI 2, FRA 2, MPD 1
  President:
    runoff election held 5 July 1992; results - Sixto DURAN elected as president
    and Alberto DAHIK elected as vice president
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), less than 5,000
    members (est.)
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, OPANAL, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU,
    WHO, WIPO, 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
 
:Ecuador Government
 
  US:
    Ambassador vacant; Embassy at Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria; Quito
    (mailing address is P. O. Box 538, Quito, or APO AA 34039); telephone [593]
    (2) 562-890; FAX [593] (2) 502-052; 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 that is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms
 
:Ecuador Economy
 
Overview:
    Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich agricultural areas. Growth
    has been uneven because of natural disasters (for example, a major
    earthquake in 1987), fluctuations in global oil prices, and government
    policies designed to curb inflation. The government has not taken a
    supportive attitude toward either domestic or foreign investment, although
    its agreement to enter the Andean free trade zone is an encouraging move. As
    1991 ended, Ecuador received a standby IMF loan of $105 million, which will
    permit the country to proceed with the rescheduling of Paris Club debt.
GDP:
    exchange rate conversion - $11.5 billion, per capita $1,070; real growth
    rate 2.5% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    49% (1991)
Unemployment rate:
    8.0% (1990)
Budget:
    revenues $2.2 billion; expenditures $2.2 billion, including capital
    expenditures of $375 million (1991)
Exports:
    $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
  commodities:
    petroleum 47%, coffee, bananas, cocoa products, shrimp, fish products
  partners:
    US 60%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries
Imports:
    $1.95 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
  commodities:
    transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemicals
  partners:
    US 34%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC, Japan
External debt:
    $12.4 billion (December 1991)
Industrial production:
    growth rate -3.8% (1989); accounts for almost 40% of GDP, including
    petroleum
Electricity:
    2,344,000 kW capacity; 6,430 million kWh produced, 598 kWh per capita (1991)
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:
    minor illicit 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
Economic aid:
    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:
    sucre (plural - sucres); 1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos
 
:Ecuador Economy
 
Exchange rates:
    sucres (S/) per US$1 - 1,046.25 (1991), 869.54 (December 1990), 767.75
    (1990), 526.35 (1989), 301.61 (1988), 170.46 (1987)
Fiscal year:
    calendar year
 
:Ecuador Communications
 
Railroads:
    965 km total; all 1.067-meter-gauge single track
Highways:
    28,000 km total; 3,600 km paved, 17,400 km gravel and improved earth, 7,000
    km unimproved earth
Inland waterways:
    1,500 km
Pipelines:
    crude oil 800 km; petroleum products 1,358 km
Ports:
    Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas
Merchant marine:
    46 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 337,999 GRT/491,996 DWT; includes 2
    passenger, 4 cargo, 17 refrigerated cargo, 4 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off,
    15 petroleum tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 2 bulk
Civil air:
    23 major transport aircraft
Airports:
    143 total, 142 usable; 43 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runway over
    3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 23 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    domestic facilities generally adequate; 318,000 telephones; broadcast
    stations - 272 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 39 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
    earth station
 
:Ecuador Defense Forces
 
Branches:
    Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana), Air Force (Fuerza
    Aerea Ecuatoriana), National Police
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 2,804,260; 1,898,401 fit for military service; 115,139 reach
    military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP
 
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