1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
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
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
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
Area
total area: 283,560 sq km land area: 276,840 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Nevada note: includes Galapagos Islands
Birth rate
25.82 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Branches
Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), National Police
Budget
revenues: $1.9 billion expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)
Capital
Quito
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
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
Climate
tropical along coast becoming cooler inland
Coastline
2,237 km
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)
Constitution
10 August 1979
Currency
1 sucre (S/) = 100 centavos
Death rate
5.67 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
$NA, NA% of GDP
Digraph
EC
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
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
Electricity
capacity: 2,921,000 kW production: 7.676 billion kWh consumption per capita: 700 kWh (1992)
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
Ethnic divisions
mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish) 55%, Indian 25%, Spanish 10%, black 10%
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)
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
Exports
$3 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: petroleum 42%, bananas, shrimp, cocoa, coffee partners: US 53.4%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries
External debt
$12.7 billion (1992)
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
FAX
[593] (2) 502-052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil
Fiscal year
calendar year
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
Highways
total: 28,000 km paved: 3,600 km unpaved: gravel or improved earth 17,400 km; unimproved earth 7,000 km
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
Imports
$2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemicals partners: US 32.7%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries, Japan
Independence
24 May 1822 (from Spain)
Industrial production
growth rate 3.9% (1991); accounts for almost 30% of GDP, including petroleum
Industries
petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal works, paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, timber
Infant mortality rate
39.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
31% (1993)
Inland waterways
1,500 km
International disputes
three sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute
Irrigated land
5,500 sq km (1989 est.)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Labor force
2.8 million by occupation: agriculture 35%, manufacturing 21%, commerce 16%, services and other activities 28% (1982)
Land boundaries
total 2,010 km, Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km
Land use
arable land: 6% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 17% forest and woodland: 51% other: 23%
Languages
Spanish (official), Indian languages (especially Quechua)
Legal system
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 69.98 years male: 67.46 years female: 72.62 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 88% male: 90% female: 86%
Location
Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator between Colombia and Peru
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.)
Map references
South America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
continental shelf: claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands territorial sea: 200 nm
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
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
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador
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
National holiday
Independence Day, 10 August (1809) (independence of Quito)
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $41.8 billion
National product per capita
$4,000 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
2% (1993 est.)
Nationality
noun: Ecuadorian(s) adjective: Ecuadorian
Natural resources
petroleum, fish, timber
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Note
Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world
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.
Pipelines
crude oil 800 km; petroleum products 1,358 km
Population
10,677,067 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
2.01% (1994 est.)
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
Ports
Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Esmeraldas
Railroads
965 km total; all 1.067-meter-gauge single track
Religions
Roman Catholic 95%
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters
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
Terrain
coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
Total fertility rate
3.08 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
republic
Unemployment rate
8% (1992)
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