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 30 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period was marred by political instability. Protests in Quito contributed to the mid-term ouster of three of Ecuador's last four democratically elected Presidents. In September 2008, voters approved a new constitution, Ecuador's 20th since gaining independence. General elections, under the new constitutional framework, were held in April 2009, and voters re-elected President Rafael CORREA.

Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru

2 00 S, 77 30 W

South America

slightly smaller than Nevada

2,237 km

tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands

coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)

petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower

8,650 sq km (2008)

432 cu km (2000)

frequent earthquakes; landslides; volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts

deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands

Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world

mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3%

Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)

Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%

15,007,343 (July 2011 est.)

1.443% (2011 est.)

19.96 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

5 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

-0.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

Guayaquil 2.634 million; QUITO (capital) 1.801 million (2009)

140 deaths/100,000 live births (2008)

2.42 children born/woman (2011 est.)

5% of GDP (2009)

1.48 physicians/1,000 population (2000)

1.5 beds/1,000 population (2008)

urban: 97% of population

rural: 88% of population

total: 94% of population

urban: 3% of population

rural: 12% of population

total: 6% of population (2008)

urban: 96% of population

rural: 84% of population

total: 92% of population

urban: 4% of population

rural: 16% of population

total: 8% of population (2008)

0.4% (2009 est.)

37,000 (2009 est.)

2,200 (2009 est.)

6.2% (2004)

NA

republic

24 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe

24 May 1822 (from Spain)

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

20 October 2008

civil law based on the Chilean civil code with modifications

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

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

unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (124 seats; members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve four-year terms)

National Court of Justice or Corte Nacional de Justicia (according to the Constitution, justices are elected through a procedure overseen by the Judiciary Council); Constitutional Court or Corte Constitucional (Constitutional Court justices are appointed by a commission composed of two delegates each from the Executive, Legislative, and Transparency branches of government)

Alianza PAIS movement [Rafael Vicente CORREA Delgado]; Democratic Left or ID [Dalton BACIGALUPO]; Ethical and Democratic Network or RED [Martha ROLDOS]; Institutional Renewal and National Action Party or PRIAN [Vicente TAIANO]; Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement - New Country or MUPP-NP [Rafael ANTUNI]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Luis VILLACIS]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Pulley, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Pascual DEL CIOPPO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Rafael QUINTERO]; Warrior's Spirit Movement [Jaime NEBOT]

Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Marlon SANTI, president]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Manuel CHUGCHILAN, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Luis Alberto ANDRANGO Cadena, president]; National Teacher's Union or UNE [Mariana PALLASCO]

CAN, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMID, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; the flag retains the three main colors of the banner of Gran Columbia, the South American republic that broke up in 1830; the yellow color represents sunshine, grain, and mineral wealth, blue the sky, sea, and rivers, and red the blood of patriots spilled in the struggle for freedom and justice

Andean condor

Ecuador is substantially dependent on its petroleum resources, which have accounted for more than half of the country's export earnings and approximately one-third of public sector revenues in recent years. In 1999/2000, Ecuador suffered a severe economic crisis, with GDP contracting by 5.3%. Poverty increased significantly, the banking system collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt. In March 2000, the 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 an average of 5.2% per year, the highest five-year average in 25 years. After moderate growth in 2007, the economy reached a growth rate of 7.2% in 2008, in large part due to high global petroleum prices and increased public sector investment. President Rafael CORREA, who took office in January 2007, defaulted in December 2008 on Ecuador's sovereign debt, which, with a total face value of approximately US$3.2 billion, represented about 80% of Ecuador's private external debt. In May 2009, Ecuador bought back 91% of its "defaulted" bonds via an international auction. Economic policies under the CORREA administration - including an announcement in late 2009 of its intention to terminate 13 bilateral investment treaties, including one with the United States - have generated economic uncertainty and discouraged private investment. The Ecuadorian economy contracted 0.4% in 2009 due to the global financial crisis and to the sharp decline in world oil prices and remittance flows. Growth picked up to a 3.7% rate in 2010, according to Ecuadorian government estimates.

$115 billion (2010 est.)

$111.4 billion (2009 est.)

$111 billion (2008 est.)

$58.91 billion (2010 est.)

3.2% (2010 est.)

0.4% (2009 est.)

7.2% (2008 est.)

$7,800 (2010 est.)

$7,600 (2009 est.)

$7,700 (2008 est.)

4.645 million (urban) (2010 est.)

7.6% (2010 est.)

8.5% (2009 est.)

33.1% (June 2010)

46.9 (June 2010)

50.5 (2006)

25.2% of GDP (2010 est.)

36.5% of GDP (2011 est.)

-3.7% of GDP (2011 est.)

23.2% of GDP (2010 est.)

19.9% of GDP (2009 est.)

3.6% (2010 est.)

5.2% (2009 est.)

8.68% (31 December 2010)

9.19% (31 December 2009)

9% (31 December 2010 est.)

9.203% (31 December 2009 est.)

$6.421 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$5.201 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$21.22 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$18.83 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$16.62 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$12.31 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$5.263 billion (31 December 2010)

$4.248 billion (31 December 2009)

$4.562 billion (31 December 2008)

bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp

petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals

3.1% (2010 est.)

18.06 billion kWh (2008 est.)

14.75 billion kWh (2008 est.)

21 million kWh (2008 est.)

1.099 billion kWh (2008 est.)

485,600 bbl/day (2010 est.)

201,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)

364,500 bbl/day (2009 est.)

80,430 bbl/day (2009 est.)

6.51 billion bbl (1 January 2011 est.)

296 million cu m (2009 est.)

296 million cu m (2009 est.)

0 cu m (2009 est.)

0 cu m (2009 est.)

7.985 billion cu m (1 January 2011 est.)

-$1.917 billion (2010 est.)

-$179.8 million (2009 est.)

$18.06 billion (2010 est.)

$14.41 billion (2009 est.)

petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, wood, fish

US 37.3%, Panama 13%, Peru 6.2%, Colombia 4.5%, Russia 4.2%, Chile 4.2% (2010)

$19.64 billion (2010 est.)

$14.27 billion (2009 est.)

industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods

US 29.6%, Colombia 9.3%, China 8.1%, Venezuela 5.9%, Brazil 5.3% (2010)

$2.622 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$3.792 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$14.32 billion (30 June 2011 est.)

$14.73 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$12.11 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$11.95 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$6.848 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$7.962 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

the US dollar became Ecuador's currency in 2001

2.086 million (2010)

14.781 million (2010)

many TV and radio stations are privately-owned; the government owns and runs one national television station and controls two others, as well as multiple radio stations; Ecuador has multiple television networks and TV channels, and a large number of local channels; more than 400 radio stations; broadcast media required by law to give the government free air time to broadcast programs produced by the state (2007)

.ec

67,975 (2010)

3.352 million (2009)

428 (2010)

2 (2010)

extra heavy crude 434 km; gas 5 km; oil 1,378 km; refined products 1,262 km (2010)

1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2010)

Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar

Ecuadorian Armed Forces: Ecuadorian Land Force (Fuerza Terrestre Ecuatoriana, FTE), Ecuadorian Navy (Fuerza Naval del Ecuador (FNE), includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Ecuadorian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) (2011)

20 years of age for selective conscript military service; 12-month service obligation (2008)

0.9% of GDP (2009)

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

significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru, with much of the US-bound cocaine passing through Ecuadorian Pacific waters; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents (2011)