Ecuador

Airports

153 total, 151 usable; 46 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 23 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

44 major transport aircraft

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

Merchant marine

47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 342,411 GRT/495,482 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 8 cargo, 17 refrigerated cargo, 2 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 16 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 bulk

Pipelines

crude oil, 800 km; refined products, 1,358 km

Ports

Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas

Railroads

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

Telecommunications

domestic facilities generally adequate; 318,000 telephones; stations--272 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 39 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Branches

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

Defense expenditures

$176 million, 1.6% of GDP (1990 est.)

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 2,716,919; 1,840,296 fit for military service; 117,113 reach military age (20) annually

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

Budget

revenues $2.2 billion; expenditures $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $375 million (1991)

Currency

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

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $498 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.7 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $64 million

Electricity

1,983,000 kW capacity; 6,011 million kWh produced, 570 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

sucres (S/) per US$1--869.54 (December 1990), 767.75 (1990), 526.35 (1989), 301.61 (1988), 170.46 (1987), 122.78 (1986), 69.56 (1985)

Exports

$2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990); commodities--petroleum 47%, coffee, bananas, cocoa products, shrimp, fish products; partners--US 60%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries

External debt

$11.8 billion (December 1990)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$10.6 billion, per capita $1,010; real growth rate 1.5% (1990)

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

Imports

$1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990); commodities--transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemicals; partners--US 34%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC, Japan

Industrial production

growth rate - 3.8% (1989); accounts for almost 40% of GDP, including petroleum

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

49.5% (1990)

Overview

Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich agricultural areas. Growth has been uneven because of natural disasters (e.g., 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.

Unemployment rate

8.0% (1990)

Climate

tropical along coast becoming cooler inland

Coastline

2,237 km Continental shelf: claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands; Territorial sea: 200 nm

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Nevada

Disputes

two sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute

Environment

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

Land boundaries

2,010 km total; Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km

Land use

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

Natural resources

petroleum, fish, timber

Note

Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world

Terrain

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

Total area

283,560 km2; land area: 276,840 km2; includes Galapagos Islands

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

Capital

Quito

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.)

Constitution

10 August 1979

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 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

Executive branch

president, vice president, Cabinet

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

Independence

24 May 1822 (from Spain; Battle of Pichincha)

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), former President Leon FEBRES Cordero Rivadeneira; Conservative Party (PC), Alberto DAHIK, leader; Radical Liberal Party (PLR), Blasco Manuel PENAHERRERA Padilla, 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 Cevallos, leader; Roldosist Party of Ecuador (PRE), Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director; Popular Democracy (DP), Vladimiro ALVAREZ, president; 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, president; Popular Revolutionary Action Party (APRE), Lt. Gen. Frank VARGAS Pazzos, leader

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

Long-form name

Republic of Ecuador

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

National holiday

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

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 May 1992 and second round June 1992); results--Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos (ID) 54%, Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz (PRE) 46%; Chamber of Representatives--last held 17 June 1990 (next to be held June 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

Type

republic

Birth rate

30 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate

7 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

60 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force

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

Language

Spanish (official); Indian languages, especially Quechua

Life expectancy at birth

64 years male, 68 years female (1991)

Literacy

86% (male 88%, female 84%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality

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

Net migration rate

0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor

less than 15% of labor force

Population

10,751,648 (July 1991), growth rate 2.3% (1991)

Religion

Roman Catholic 95%

Total fertility rate

3.7 children born/woman (1991)