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Communications

Airports [time series]

total: 174 usable: 173 with permanent-surface runways: 52 with runway over 3,659 m: 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 21

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

1,500 km

Merchant marine [time series]

45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 333,380 GRT/483,862 DWT; includes 2 passenger, 4 cargo, 17 refrigerated cargo, 4 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off, 15 oil tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 1 bulk

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil 800 km; petroleum products 1,358 km

Ports [time series]

Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

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

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 2,655,520; fit for military service 1,798,122; reach military age (20) annually 109,413 (1993 est.)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos

Economic aid [time series]

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 [time series]

2,921,000 kW capacity; 7,676 million kWh produced, 700 kWh per capita (1992)

Exchange rates [time series]

sucres (S/) per US$1 - 1,453.8 (August 1992), 1,046.25 (1991), 869.54 (December 1990), 767.75 (1990), 526.35 (1989), 301.61 (1988)

Exports [time series]

$3.0 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: petroleum 42%, bananas, shrimp, cocoa, coffee partners: US 53.4%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$12.7 billion (1992)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Illicit drugs [time series]

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; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; important money-laundering hub

Imports [time series]

$2.4 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 (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 3.9% (1991); accounts for almost 40% of GDP, including petroleum

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

70% (1992)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (National product) [time series]

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $11.8 billion (1992)

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$1,100 (1992)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

3% (1992)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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 EC import quotas 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; as of March 1993, the program seemed to be paying off.

Unemployment rate [time series]

8% (1992)

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 283,560 km2 land area: 276,840 km2 comparative area: slightly smaller than Nevada note: includes Galapagos Islands

Climate [time series]

tropical along coast becoming cooler inland

Coastline [time series]

2,237 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

three sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute

Irrigated land [time series]

5,500 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

arable land: 6% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 17% forest and woodland: 51% other: 23%

Location [time series]

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

Map references [time series]

South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims [time series]

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

Natural resources [time series]

petroleum, fish, timber

Note [time series]

Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world

Terrain [time series]

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

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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 [time series]

Quito

Constitution [time series]

10 August 1979

Digraph [time series]

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation in US) [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Edgar TERAN chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (202) 234-7200 consulates general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco consulate: San Diego

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

President: 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 National Congress: last held 17 May 1992 (next to be held NA 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

Executive branch [time series]

president, vice president, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

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 [time series]

24 May 1822 (from Spain)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State and Head of Government: President Sixto DURAN-BALLEN (since 10 August 1992); Vice President Alberto DAHIK (since 10 August 1992)

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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

Country name (Names) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

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

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Center-Right parties: Social Christian Party (PSC), Jaime NEBOT Saadi, president; Republican Unity Party (PUR), President Sixto DURAN-BALLEN, leader; Conservative Party (CE), Vice President Alberto DAHIK, president 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 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 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 Communists: Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-North Korea), Rene Leon Mague MOSWUERRA, secretary general (5,00 members); Communist Party of Ecuador/Marxist-Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), leader NA (3,000 members)

Suffrage [time series]

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

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James F. MACK embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: P. O. Box 538, Quito, or APO AA 34039-3420 telephone: [593] (2) 562-890 FAX: [593] (2) 502-052 consulate general: Guayaquil

People

Birth rate [time series]

26.54 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate [time series]

5.8 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

40.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages [time series]

Spanish (official), Indian languages (especially Quechua)

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 69.61 years male: 67.09 years female: 72.25 years (1993 est.)

Literacy [time series]

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 86% male: 88% female: 84%

Nationality [time series]

noun: Ecuadorian(s) adjective: Ecuadorian

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population [time series]

10,461,072 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

2.07% (1993 est.)

Religions [time series]

Roman Catholic 95%

Total fertility rate [time series]

3.19 children born/woman (1993 est.)