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 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Protests in Quito have contributed to the mid-term ouster of Ecuador's last three democratically elected Presidents. In September 2008, voters approved a new constitution; Ecuador's twentieth since gaining independence. General elections, under the new constitutional framework, were held in April 2009.

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 (2003)

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

14,790,608 (July 2010 est.)

1.466% (2010 est.)

20.32 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

5 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

-0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

2.46 children born/woman (2010 est.)

0.3% (2007 est.)

26,000 (2007 est.)

1,400 (2007 est.)

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

Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%

Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)

1% of GDP (2001)

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

based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ 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]; Christian Democratic Union or UDC [Luis ACOSTA Moreta]; 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 [Jorge GUAMAN Coronel]; 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 [Silvia SALGADO]

Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Marlon SANTI, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SALTOS]; 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]

CAN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, 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, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, 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; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms

Ecuador is substantially dependent on its petroleum resources, which have accounted for more than half of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years. In 1999/2000, Ecuador suffered a severe economic crisis, with GDP contracting by more than 6%. Poverty increased significantly, the banking system collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. In March 2000, 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 5.5%, the highest five-year average in 25 years. The poverty rate declined during this period but remained high at 38% in 2006. After moderate growth in 2007, the economy reached a growth rate of 6.5% in 2008, in large part due to high global petroleum prices. Poverty levels declined to about 35% by the end of 2008. President Rafael CORREA, who took office in January 2007, raised the specter of a sovereign debt default and followed through on those threats in December 2008, defaulting on $3.2 billion in international bonds, representing over 80% of Ecuador's private external debt. Economic policies under the CORREA administration - including an announcement in late 2009 terminating 13 bilateral investment treaties, one with the US - have generated economic uncertainty and discouraged both domestic and foreign private investment. The Ecuadorian economy contracted in 2009, mainly due to the global financial crisis, and also the sharp decline in world oil prices and remittance flows.

$108.2 billion (2009 est.)

$109.3 billion (2008 est.)

$102.6 billion (2007 est.)

$56.27 billion (2009 est.)

-1% (2009 est.)

6.5% (2008 est.)

2.5% (2007 est.)

$7,400 (2009 est.)

$7,600 (2008 est.)

$7,300 (2007 est.)

4.43 million (urban) (2009 est.)

7.9% (2009 est.)

7.3% (2008 est.)

35.1% (2008)

47.9 (2009)

50.5 (2006)

27.5% of GDP (2009 est.)

20.2% of GDP (November 2009 est.)

25.1% of GDP (2008)

4.3% (2009 est.)

8.4% (2008 est.)

19% (31 December 2009)

9.14% (31 December 2008)

$9.215 billion (31 December 2009)

$8.88 billion (31 December 2008)

$9.79 billion (31 December 2009)

$8.594 billion (31 December 2008)

$14.56 billion (31 December 2009)

$14.3 billion (31 December 2008)

$4.247 billion (31 December 2009)

$4.562 billion (31 December 2008)

$4.266 billion (31 December 2007)

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

-1.7% (2009 est.)

16.42 billion kWh (2007 est.)

15.81 billion kWh (2007 est.)

20.68 million kWh (2007 est.)

1.12 billion kWh (2007 est.)

486,100 bbl/day (2009 est.)

191,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

327,600 bbl/day (2009 est.)

54,190 bbl/day (2007 est.)

4.66 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

260 million cu m (2008 est.)

260 million cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

8.919 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$1.031 billion (2009 est.)

$1.12 billion (2008 est.)

$13.76 billion (2009 est.)

$18.51 billion (2008)

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

US 33.5%, Peru 6.8%, Chile 6.5%, Columbia 4.9% (2009 est.)

$14.09 billion (2009 est.)

$17.6 billion (2008 est.)

industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods

US 25.4%, Columbia 10.6%, Venezuela 6.5%, Brazil 4.5% (2009 est.)

$3.792 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$4.473 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$13.28 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$16.82 billion (31 December 2008)

$17.14 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$16.99 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$NA (31 December 2009 est.)

$8.487 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

1 (2009)

1.91 million (2008)

11.595 million (2008)

AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001)

7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2000)

.ec

57,785 (2009)

1.31 million (2008)

420 (2009)

2 (2009)

extra heavy crude 435 km; gas 5 km; oil 1,374 km; refined products 1,301 km (2009)

1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2008)

Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar

Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) (2007)

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 (2008)