Ecuador Facts & Statistics

People

• Population: 15,223,680 (July 2012 est.)
  • 0-14 years: 30.1% (male 2,301,840 / female 2,209,971)
  • 15-64 years: (male 4,699,548 / female 4,831,521)
• 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 463,481 / female 500,982) (2011 est.)
• Population density: 58.24 people per sq. km (one of the highest in South America)
• Population growth rate: 1.419% (2012 est.)
• Birth rate: 19.6 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)
• Death rate: 5.01 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)
• Ethnic Division:
  • Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and White) 65%
  • Indigenous: 25%
  • Spanish and other European: 7%
  • Black: 3%
• Indigenous groups: over 40 indigenous nations including the Quichua, Huaorani, Shuar (Jívaro), Achuar, Cofan, Siona, Secoya, Otavaleño, Tcháchila (Colorados), Zaparo, Salasaca, Canari, Saraguro & Chachi
• Languages: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous tongues. Quichua, the language of the Incas, is the most widely spoken indigenous language and now recognized as an official language. English is commonly spoken among professionals and tourism providers.
• Religion:
  • 95% Roman Catholic (however most mestizos and indigenous converts combine Catholicism with animistic practices and beliefs)
  • 5% Other.

Social Welfare

• Net migration rate: -0.39 migrant(s) / 1,000 population (2012 est.)
• Infant mortality rate: 19.06 deaths / 1,000 live births
• Life expectancy at birth: 75.94 (male: 73; female: 79.04)
• Total fertility rate: 2.38 children born / woman (2012 est.)
• HIV/AIDS (adult prevalence rate): 0.4% (2009 est.)
• Poverty (% of population below national poverty line): 28.6% (2011).
• Child malnutrition (% of children under 5): 19% (2011)
• Access to improved water source: 95% (2011)
• Literacy: 91% of the population over 15 years of age (male: 92.3%; female: 89.7%)

Geography

• Location: north western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
• Border countries: Colombia 590 km., Peru 1,420 km.
• Area: 256,370 sq. km. – roughly the size of the U.S. State of Colorado
• Coastline: 2,237 km.
• Elevation extremes:
• Lowest point: Pacific Ocean, 0 meters
• Highest point: Chimborazo Volcano, 6,310 meters
• (note: Cotopaxi Volcano in the Andes is the highest active volcano in world)
• Climate: tropical along the coast and in the Amazon region, and cooler in the highlands
• Terrain: coastal plain (Costa), inter-Andean highlands (Sierra), rolling eastern rainforest plain (Oriente) & the Galapagos Island Archipelago
• Natural resources: oil, fish, timber, and various minerals
• Land use:
  • Arable land: 6%
  • Permanent crops: 5%
  • Permanent pastures: 18%
  • Forests and woodlands: 56%
  • Other: 15% (2005)
• Natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, and periodic droughts
• Volcanic history: Ecuador has many active volcanoes, as well as one of the greatest volcanic densities of volcanoes in the world. Active volcanoes include Cotopaxi, Sangay, Reventador, Tungurahua and Guagua Pichincha. Tungurahua has been one of the most active volcanoes on the planet for the last several years.

Ecology & Environment

Overview: 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 (according to the Holdridge Life Zone system) including: mangrove swamp, dry tropical forest, tropical cloud forest, páramo, and tropical lowland rainforest. 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 rainforest 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 Isles combined; and of the world’s known bird species (about 9,000), pint-sized Ecuador is home to over 1,500. Ecuador also has one of the greatest levels of endemism anywhere in the world.

Species:
mammals: 302
plants: 18,250
birds: 1,559
reptiles: 374
amphibians: 402
freshwater fish: 706

Threatened species:
mammals: 20
plants: 375
birds: 50
reptiles: 12
amphibians: 0
freshwater fish: 0

% of habitat remaining:
forests: 96.3
grasslands: 75.9
wetlands: no data

• Total area protected (ha): 11,114 (2001)
• % of land area protected: 39.3 (2001)
• No. of areas protected over 100,000 ha in size: 46.7 (2001)
• No. of areas protected over 1 million ha in size: 6.7 (2001)

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

International environmental agreements: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

Government

• Type of government: Democratic Republic
• Capital: Quito
• Current President: President Rafael Correa Delgado (since 15 January 2007)
• Vice President: Lenin Moreno Garces (since 15 January 2007)
• Administrative division: 24 provinces: Azuay, Bolívar, Cañar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galápagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Ríos, Manabí, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Sucumbíos, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe
• Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal, compulsory for literate people ages 18-65

Infrastructure

• Internet Service Providers: 31
• Internet dial-up accounts: 39,700 (2001)
• Internet users: 1,840,678, 12.6% of the population (2009)
• PC ownership: 30 per 1,000 (2010)
• Cable TV subscribers: 78,200 (2001)
• Main phones lines: 2.211 million (2011)
• Cellphone subscribers: 15.333 million (2011 est.)
• Roads paved: 18.9% (20011)

 Economic Indicators

• GDP: 134.7 Billion USD (in 2012)
• GDP real growth rate: 7.8% (2011 est.)
• GDP per capita: USD 8,600 (2011 est.)
• Gross domestic investment/GDP: 29.6% (2011 est.)
• Exports of goods and services/GDP: 37.3 (1999)
• Gross domestic savings/GDP: 24.9 (1999)
• Gross national savings/GDP: 24.8 (1999)
• Trade – Current account balance/GDP: 5.0 (1999)
• Debt – external 10.05 (2011)
• GDP composition by sector (2010):
• Agriculture: 11%
• Industry: 33%
• Services: 56%
• Economic Aid – recipient: 120 million
• Labor force: 4.682 million (urban)
• Population distribution by occupation:
• Agriculture: 27.6%
• Industry: 18.8%
• Services and other activities: 53.6% (2010)
• Inflation rate: 4.5% (2011 est.)
• Unemployment rate: 4.2% with widespread underemployment (2011 est.)
• Poverty (% of population below national poverty line): 28.6% (2011)
• Main industries: oil, mining, food processing, textiles, metal work, paper products, wood products, chemical production, plastics, fishing, lumber, tourism
• Main agriculture products: bananas, coffee, cacao, rice, potatoes, manioc, plantains, sugarcane, cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy, balsa wood, fish, shrimp

 

Trade (USD billion)

• Total exports: 22.29 (2011)
• Export commodities: petroleum, bananas, shrimp, coffee, cocoa, cut flowers, fish
• Total imports: 23.23 (2011 est.)
• Import commodities: industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods