Ecuador




                                 Geography


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
Area:
total area:
     283,560 sq km
land area:
     276,840 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly smaller than Nevada
note:
     includes Galapagos Islands
Land boundaries:
     total 2,010 km, Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km
Coastline:
     2,237 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
     claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands
territorial sea:
     200 nm
International disputes:
     three sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute
Climate:
     tropical along coast becoming cooler inland
Terrain:
     coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and
     flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
Natural resources:
     petroleum, fish, timber
Land use:
arable land:
     6%
permanent crops:
     3%
meadows and pastures:
     17%
forest and woodland:
     51%
other:
     23%
Irrigated land:
     5,500 sq km (1989 est.)
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
Note:
     Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world


                                  People


Population:
     10,677,067 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.01% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     25.82 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     5.67 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     39.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     69.98 years
male:
     67.46 years
female:
     72.62 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     3.08 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Ecuadorian(s)
adjective:
     Ecuadorian
Ethnic divisions:
     mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish) 55%, Indian 25%, Spanish 10%, black
     10%
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 95%
Languages:
     Spanish (official), Indian languages (especially Quechua)
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population:
     88%
male:
     90%
female:
     86%
Labor force:
     2.8 million




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


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republica del Ecuador
local short form:
Digraph:
     EC
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Quito
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
Independence:
     24 May 1822 (from Spain)
National holiday:
     Independence Day, 10 August (1809) (independence of Quito)
Constitution:
     10 August 1979
Legal system:
     based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
     jurisdiction
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages
     18-65, optional for other eligible voters
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
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
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
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)




Political parties and leaders:
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
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 (5,000 members); Communist Party of
     Ecuador/Marxist-Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), leader NA (3,000 members)
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
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
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
FAX:
     [593] (2) 502-052
consulate(s) general:
     Guayaquil




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


                                  Economy


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.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $41.8 billion
National product real growth rate:
     2% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $4,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     31% (1993)
Unemployment rate:
     8% (1992)
Budget:
revenues:
     $1.9 billion
expenditures:
     $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)
Exports:
     $3 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
     petroleum 42%, bananas, shrimp, cocoa, coffee
partners:
     US 53.4%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries
Imports:
     $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
     transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemicals
partners:
     US 32.7%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries, Japan




External debt:
     $12.7 billion (1992)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 3.9% (1991); accounts for almost 30% of GDP, including
     petroleum
Electricity:
capacity:
     2,921,000 kW
production:
     7.676 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     700 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal works, paper products,
     wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, timber
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
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
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
Currency:
     1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos
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)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     965 km total; all 1.067-meter-gauge single track
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
Pipelines:
     crude oil 800 km; petroleum products 1,358 km




Ports:
     Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas
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
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
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


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana), Air Force
     (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), National Police
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.)
Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GDP