1981 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1981 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
274,540 km2 (including Galapagos Islands); 11% cultivated, 8% meadows and pastures, 55% forested, 26% waste, urban, or other (excludes the Oriente and the Galapagos Islands, for which information is not available)
Coastline
2,237 km (includes Galapagos Islands)
Land boundaries
1,931 km
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
200 nm
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
40% mestizo, 40% Indian, 10% white, 5% Negro, 5% Oriental, and other
Labor force
2 million, of which 56% agriculture, 13% manufacturing, 4% construction, 7% commerce, 4% public administration, 16% other services and activities
Language
Spanish, Quechua
Literacy
57%
Nationality
noun — Ecuadorean(s); adjective — Ecuadorean
Organized labor
less than 15% of labor force
Population
8,537,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.1%
Religion
95% Roman Catholic (majority nonpracticing)
Government
Branches
executive; Chamber of Representatives; independent judiciary
Capital
Quito
Communists
Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, proMoscow, Rene Mauge — secretary-general), 500 members plus an estimated 3,000 sympathizers; Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE/ML, pro-Peking), 100 members; Revolutionary Socialist Party of Ecuador (PSRE), 200 members
Elections
presidential and parliamentary elections held April 1979; a presidential election is scheduled for 1984 Political parties and leaders: Popular Democracy Party, Julio Trujillo (the party of Pres. Hurtado); Concentration of Popular Forces, party leader position vacant, populist; Radical Liberal Party, Ignacio Hidalgo, center right; Conservative Party, Jose Teran, center right; People, Change, and Democracy, Aguiles Rigail, center left; Democratic Left, Rodrigo Borja, center left; Democratic Party, Francisco Huerta, progressive liberal
Government leader
President Osvaldo HURTADO Larrea assumed office in May 1981 following the death of President Jaime Roldos in an airplane crash
Legal system
based on civil law system; progressive new constitution passed in January, 1978 referendum came into effect following the installation of a new civilian government in August 1979; legal education at four state and two private universities; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Member of
ECOSOC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ITU, LAFTA and Andean Sub-Regional Group (formed in May 1969 within LAFTA), OAS, OPEC, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 10 August
Official name
Republic of Ecuador
Political subdivisions
20 provinces including Galapagos Islands
Suffrage
universal over age 18
Type
republic
Voting strength
results of April 1979 presidential election— Jaime Roldos, Concentration of Popular Forces 62%; Sixto Duran-Ballen, center-right coalition 28%
Economy
Agriculture
main crops — bananas, coffee, cocoa, sugarcane, fruits, corn, potatoes, rice; caloric intake, 2,104 calories per day per capita (1977)
Electric power
1,200,000 kW capacity (1981); 3.0 billion kWh produced (1981), 340 kWh per capita
Exports
$2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1980); petroleum, bananas, coffee, cocoa, fish products
Fishing
catch 475,000 metric tons (1977); exports $165.6 million (1980), imports negligible
GNP
$11.0 billion (1980), $1,320 per capita; 63% private consumption, 14% public consumption, 25% gross investment, —2% foreign; average annual real growth rate 1975-80, 6.3%
Imports
$2.2 billion (c.i.f., 1980); agricultural and industrial machinery, industrial raw materials, building supplies, chemical products, transportation and communication equipment
Major industries
food processing, textiles, chemicals, fishing, petroleum
Major trade partners
exports (1980)— 31% US, 19% LAIA, 8% EC, 13% Japan; imports (1980)— 38% US, 18% EC, 14% Japan, 13% LAIA