Ecuador

Airports

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

Highways

total: 28,000 km paved: 3,600 km unpaved: gravel or improved earth 17,400 km; unimproved earth 7,000 km

Inland waterways

1,500 km

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

Pipelines

crude oil 800 km; petroleum 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; telephone density - 30 per 1,000 persons; broadcast 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

$NA, NA% of GDP

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.)

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

Currency

1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos

Economic aid

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

Electricity

capacity: 2,921,000 kW production: 7.676 billion kWh consumption per capita: 700 kWh (1992)

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)

Exports

$3 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: petroleum 42%, bananas, shrimp, cocoa, coffee partners: US 53.4%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries

External debt

$12.7 billion (1992)

Fiscal year

calendar year

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

Imports

$2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemicals partners: US 32.7%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries, Japan

Industrial production

growth rate 3.9% (1991); accounts for almost 30% of GDP, including petroleum

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

31% (1993)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $41.8 billion

National product per capita

$4,000 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

2% (1993 est.)

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.

Unemployment rate

8% (1992)

Area

total area: 283,560 sq km land area: 276,840 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Nevada note: includes Galapagos Islands

Climate

tropical along coast becoming cooler inland

Coastline

2,237 km

Environment

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

International disputes

three sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute

Irrigated land

5,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 2,010 km, 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%

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

Maritime claims

continental shelf: claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands territorial sea: 200 nm

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)

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

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

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

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)

Constitution

10 August 1979

Digraph

EC

Diplomatic representation in US

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

Executive branch

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

FAX

[593] (2) 502-052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil

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

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

Independence

24 May 1822 (from Spain)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

unicameral

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

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador

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

National holiday

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

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

Suffrage

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

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

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

Birth rate

25.82 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

5.67 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

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

Labor force

2.8 million by occupation: agriculture 35%, manufacturing 21%, commerce 16%, services and other activities 28% (1982)

Languages

Spanish (official), Indian languages (especially Quechua)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 69.98 years male: 67.46 years female: 72.62 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 88% male: 90% female: 86%

Nationality

noun: Ecuadorian(s) adjective: Ecuadorian

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

10,677,067 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

2.01% (1994 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 95%

Total fertility rate

3.08 children born/woman (1994 est.)