Geography Ecuador has a total area of 283,520 km 2 (109,468 sq mi), includinthe !al"#aos$slands% &f this, 283,520 km 2 (109,468 sq mi) is land and 6,'20 km 2 (2,595 sq mi) ater% Ecuador is ier than *ruua+, urinam, !u+ana and -rench !u+ana in outh .merica% /himoraoolcano, the fart he st #oint from the centre of the Earth Ecuador lies eteen latitudes2and 5, ounded on the est + the acific &cean, and has 2,33' km (1,452 mi) of coastline% $t has 2,010 km (1,250 mi) of land oundaries, ith /olomiain the north (590 km, or 3'0 mi, order) and eru in the east and south (1,420 km, or 882 mi, order)% he countr+ has four main eora#hic reions• La Costa, or 7the coast7, com#rises the lol+inland in the estern #art of the countr+, includinthe acific coastline% • La Sierra, or 7the hihlands7, is the hihaltitude elt runninnorthsouth alonthe centre of the countr+, its mountainous terrain dominated + the .ndesmountain rane% • La Amazon ía, also knon asEl Oriente, or 7the east7, com#rises the .maonrainforestareas in the eastern #art of the countr+, accountinfor :ust under half of the countr+;s total surface area, thouh #o#ulated + less than 5< of the #o#ulation% • La Región Insularis the reion com#risinthe !al"#a os $slands , some 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) est of the mainland in the acific &cean% Ecuador;s ca#ital is =uito, hich is in the #roince of ichinchain the ierra reion% $ts larest cit+ is !ua+aquil, in the !ua+as roince% /oto#a>i, hich is :ust south of =uito, feat ur es one of th e orld;s hi hest act i e olcanoes % he to# of ?ount/himorao(6,268 m, or 20,560 ft, aoe sea leel) is considered to e the most distant
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Ecuador has the first constitution to reconie the rihts of nature% he #rotection of
the nation;s iodiersit+ is an e>#licit national #riorit+ as stated in the ational lan of
7Buen Jiir7, or ood liin, &:ectie 4, 7!uarantee the rihts of nature7, olic+ 1
7ustainal+ consere and manae the natural heritae, includin its land and marine
iodiersit+, hich is considered a strateic sector7% .s of the ritin of the lan in 2008,
19< of Ecuador;s land area as in a #rotected areaK hoeer, the lan also states that
32< of the land must e #rotected in order to trul+ #resere the nation;s iodiersit+%
/urrent #rotected areas include eleen national #arks, ten ildlife refues, nine
ecoloical reseres, and other areas%. #roram eun in 2008, ocioosque, is #reserin
another 2%3< of total land area (6,295 kmL, or 629,500 ha) + #a+in #riate landoners
or communit+ landoners (such as indienous tries) incenties to maintain their land as
natie ecos+stems such as natie forests or rasslands% Eliiilit+ and susid+ rates forthis #roram are determined ased on the #oert+ in the reion, the numer of hectares
that ill e #rotected, and the t+#e of ecos+stem of the land to e #rotected, amon other
factors%
Fes#ite ein on the *E/& list, the !al"#aos are endanered + a rane of
neatie enironmental effects, threatenin the e>istence of this e>otic ecos+stem%
.dditionall+, oil e>#loitation of the .maon rainforest has led to the release of illions of
allons of untreated astes, as, and crude oil into the enironment, contaminatin
ecos+stems and causin detrimental health effects to indienous #eo#les%
Eonomy
Ecuador;s econom+ is the eihth larest in atin .merica and e>#erienced an aerae
roth of 4%6< eteen 2000 and 2006% -rom 200' to 2012 Ecuador;s !F re at an
annual aerae of 4%3 #ercent, aoe the aerae for atin .merica and the /ariean,
hich as 3%5 #ercent, accordin to the *nited ations; Economic /ommission for atin
.merican and the /ariean (E/./)% Ecuador as ale to maintain relatiel+ su#erior
roth durin the crisis% $n Danuar+ 2009 the /entral Bank of Ecuador (B/E) #ut the
2010 roth forecast at 6%88<% $n 2011 its !F re at '%8 #ercent and ranked third
hihest in atin .merica, ehind .rentina (2nd) and anama (1st)% Beteen 1999 and
200', !F douled, reachin M65,490 million accordin to B/E%@46A $nflation rate u# to
Danuar+ 2008 as located aout 1%14<, the hihest recorded in the last +ear, accordin to
countr+, like eucal+#tus and manroes% ines and cedars are #lanted in the reion of a
ierra and alnuts, rosemar+, and alsa ood in the !ua+as Cier Basin% he industr+ is
concentrated mainl+ in !ua+aquil, the larest industrial center, and in =uito, here in
recent +ears the industr+ has ron consideral+% his cit+ is also the larest usiness
center of the countr+% $ndustrial #roduction is directed #rimaril+ to the domestic market%
Fes#ite this, there is limited e>#ort of #roducts #roduced or #rocessed industriall+% hese
include canned foods, liquor, :eelr+, furniture, and more% . minor industrial actiit+ is
also concentrated in /uenca%
Horld rade /enter headquarters in
!ua+aquil
Ecuador has neotiated ilateral treaties ith other countries, esides elonin tothe .ndean /ommunit+ of ations, and an associate memer of ?ercosur% $t also seres
on the Horld rade &raniation (H&), in addition to the $nteramerican Feelo#ment
Bank ($FB), Horld Bank, $nternational ?onetar+ -und ($?-), /or#oraciNn .ndina de
-omento (/.-,) and other multilateral aencies% $n .#ril 200', Ecuador #aid off its det
to the $?-, thus endin an era of interentionism of the .enc+ in the countr+% he #ulic
finance of Ecuador consists of the /entral Bank of Ecuador (B/E), the ational
Feelo#ment Bank (B-), the tate Bank, the ational -inance /or#oration, the
Ecuadorian Iousin Bank (BEJ,) and the Ecuadorian Educational oans and !rants%
Beteen 2006 and 2009, the oernment increased social s#endin on social elfare
and education from 2%6< to 5%2< of its !F% tartin in 200', ith an econom+
sur#assed + the economic crisis, Ecuador as su:ect to a numer of economic #olic+
reforms + the oernment that hae hel#ed steer the Ecuadorian econom+ to a sustained,
sustantial, and focused financial stailit+ and social #olic+% uch #olicies ere
e>#ansionar+ fiscal #olicies, of access to housin finance, stimulus #acks, and limitin
the amount of mone+ reseres anks could kee# aroad% he Ecuadorian !oernment has
made hue inestments in education and infrastructure throuhout the nation, hich hae
im#roed the lies of the #oor% $n 2000, Ecuador chaned its currenc+ from the sucre to
the * dollar folloin a ankin crisis%
&n 12 Fecemer 2008, #resident /orrea announced that Ecuador ould not #a+
M30%6 million in interest to lenders of a M510million loan, claimin that the+ ere
monsters% $n addition, it claimed that M3%8 illion in forein det neotiated + #reious
administrations as illeitimate ecause it as authorised ithout e>ecutie decree% .t
the time of the announcement, the countr+ had M5%65 illion in cash reseres%
Industry
he countr+ has #otential for the industr+ in a ariet+ of sectors, includin domestic
#roduction of ra materials and manufactured te>tiles, minin, chemical, #etrochemical,
and oil refinement% oer eneration is also a #otential sector that is startin to e
deelo#ed due to Ecuador;s hih ater #otential in arious sectors of the countr+K the
deelo#ment of #roducts ased on the meltin or lass materials, #roduction and aro
#rocessed foods, and #harmaceutical #roduction, amon others% he most releant #ro:ectcurrentl+ under deelo#ment is the acific refiner+, located in ?anta, hich ill e one
of the larest in the reion%
Curreny
/incuenta (50) centaos,
resident Elo+ .lfaro
he *%% dollar , current
currenc+ of the Ce#ulic
of Ecuador%
$n its infanc+, Ecuador
as #art of !ran /olomia
until 1830 as
Fe#artamento del ur%
!ran /olomia;s monetar+ reulations retained the old #anish colonial s+stem% Ecuador
officiall+ ean its on monetar+ unit on Dune 28, 1835, hen the inscri#tion (re%) 7E
E/*.F&C E /&&?B$.7 as chaned to 7CEOB$/. FE E/*.F&C7% ?an+
reional coins from neihorin eru, /olomia, Boliia, etc%, as ell as international
units, ere in circulation and acce#ted hile =uito fouht counterfeitin and tried to
unif+ its currenc+% /ounterfeitin had reached alarmin #ro#ortions durin 1842% .t this
time, Ecuador as on the ere of ankru#tc+, and, since leitimate coins had such
im#erfections, it as im#ossile to tell them from the ad coins%
&n Fecemer 29, 1845, resident Jicente CamNn Coca authoried a coin to com#ete
ith the fuertes (fullodied coin) of other countries% his as the #eso fuerte% he
standard of 903 fineness for siler, hoeer, resulted in a hea+ e>#ort of the coin% $t
disa##eared as soon as it entered circulation (!resham;s la), raed u# + the
merchants of !ua+aquil%
B+ the 1850s, the =uito mint as not receiin enouh #recious metals to :ustif+ itso#eration% $t had to coin a minimum of 6,000 #esos a +ear :ust to meet oerhead% he
mint as shut don tem#oraril+ durin 1853 hile the oernment considered the
o#tions of kee#in it o#en or shuttin it don #ermanentl+% he mint equi#ment as
orn and could not #roduce coins in sufficient quantit+ to com#ete ith the forein coin
that entered Ecuador%
/onress #assed a ne monetar+ la on Fecemer 5, 1856, ado#tin the -rench
decimal s+stem, a standard of 0%900 for siler, and the Ecuadorian -ranco% he #eso
remained a unit of account equal to 5 francos% a#er mone+ as first issued in 1859 +
the Banco de Circulación y Descuento de Manuel Antonio de Luzarraga in !ua+aquil,
ith anknote denominations of 1, 4, 5, 10, and 20 #esos%
Ecuador;s monetar+ unit, the #eso, as renamed sucre (decree of ?arch 22, 1884,
effectie .#ril 1)% he 1884 monetar+ la #ermitted free circulation of the old coins of
-rance, $tal+, iterland, /olomia, etc% .s for siler, the la #ermitted the im#ort of 5
franc #ieces of -rance, $tal+, Belium, and iterland etc% o##er (vellón) as made leal
tender to 5 dPcimos% Bank reseres ere in siler coins, and anknotes ere conertile
solel+ into siler% Ecuador as on a de facto siler standard and did not coin an+ old
eteen 1884 and 1892% resident .ntonio -lores Di:Nn announced that from .uust 15,
1890, onl+ national coins ere alloed to circulate in Ecuador, and Ecuador;s monetar+
s+stem as unified% -olloin the financial ankin crisis of 1999, the * dollar ecame
air terminal, once considered the est in outh .merica and the est in atin .merica and
in =uito here an entire ne air#ort has een uilt in aaela and as inauurated in
-eruar+ 2013, ith /anadian assistance% Ioeer, the main road leadin from =uito
cit+ centre to the ne air#ort ill onl+ e finished in late 2014, makin current traellin
from the air#ort to donton =uito as lon as to hours durin rush hour% =uito;s old
cit+centre air#ort is ein turned into #arkland, ith some liht industrial use%
"emographis
Ecuador;s #o#ulation is ethnicall+ dierse and the 2011 estimates #ut Ecuador;s
#o#ulation at 15,00',343% he larest ethnic rou# (as of 2010) is the Mestizos, ho are
the descendants of #anish colonists that interred ith indienous #eo#les, and
constitute aout '1< of the #o#ulation% he Hhite Ecuadorians (Hhite atin .merican)account for 6%1< of the #o#ulation of Ecuador and can e found throuhout all of
Ecuador #rimaril+ around the uran areas% Een thouh Ecuador;s hite #o#ulation
durin its colonial era ere mainl+ descendants from #ain, toda+ Ecuador;s hite
#o#ulation is a result of a mi>ture of Euro#ean immirants, #redominantl+ from #ain
ith #eo#le from $tal+, -rance, !erman+, and iterland ho hae settled in the earl+
20th centur+% Ecuador also has #eo#le of middle eastern e>traction that hae also :oined
the ranks of the hite minorit+% hese include economicall+ ell off immirants of
eanese and alestinian descent, ho are either /hristian or ?uslim ( $slam in Ecuador )%
$n addition, there is a small Euro#ean Deish (Ecuadorian :es) #o#ulation, hich is
ased mainl+ in !ua+aquil and to a lesser e>tent in =uito% .merindians account for 13<
of the current #o#ulation% he mostl+ rural ?ontuio #o#ulation of the coastal #roinces
of Ecuador, ho miht e classified as ardo account for '%4< of the #o#ulation% he
.froEcuadorians is a minorit+ #o#ulation ('<) in Ecuador, that includes the ?ulattos
and zambos, and are larel+ ased in the Esmeraldas #roince and to a lesser deree in
the #redominantel+ ?estio #roinces of /oastal Ecuador !ua+as and ?anai%
Language
?ost Ecuadorians s#eak #anish, thouh man+ s#eak .merindian lanuae, such as
Richa (also knon as =uichua), hich is one of the =uechuan lanuaes and is s#oken
+ a##ro>imatel+ 2%5 million #eo#le in Ecuador, /olomia, and eru% @8'A &ther
.merindian lanuaes s#oken in Ecuador include .a#it (s#oken + the ."), .;inae
(s#oken + the /ofan), huar /hicham (s#oken + the huar), .chuarhiiar (s#oken
+ the .chuar and the hiiar), /ha;#alaachi (s#oken + the /hachi), sa;fiki (s#oken +
the s"chila), aicoca (s#oken + the iona and eco+a), and Hao ededeo (s#oken +
the Haorani)% houh most features of Ecuadorian #anish are those uniersal to the
#anishs#eakin orld, there are seeral idios+ncrasies%
#usi
Dulio Daramillois an icon of music%he music of Ecuador has a lon
histor+% asillo is a enre of indienous atin music% $n Ecuador it is the 7national enre
of music7% hrouh the +ears, man+ cultures hae rouht their influences toether to
create ne t+#es of music% here are also different kinds of traditional music like alao,
#asacalle, fo> incaico, tonada, ca#ishca, Boma (hihl+ estalished in afroEcuadorian
societies), and so on% ecnocumia and Cockola are clear e>am#les of the influence of
forein cultures% &ne of the most traditional forms of dancin in Ecuador is an:uanito%$t;s oriinall+ from northern Ecuador (&taalo$maura)% an:uanito is a danceale
music used in the festiities of the mestio and indienous cultures% .ccordin to the
Ecuadorian musicoloist eundo uis ?oreno, an:uanito as danced + indienous
#eo#le durin an Duan Bautista;s irthda+% his im#ortant date as estalished + the
#aniards on Dune 24, coincidentall+ the same date hen indienous #eo#le celerated
$ts est knon #rofessional teams include Barcelona and Emelec from !ua+aquilK F*
=uito, Fe#ortio =uito, and El acional from =uitoK &lmedo from CioamaK and
Fe#ortio /uenca from /uenca% /urrentl+ the most successful soccer team in Ecuador is
F* =uito, and it is the onl+ Ecuadorian team that has on the Coa Libertadores, theCoa !udamericana, and the "ecoa !udamericanaK the+ ere also runnersu# in the
2008 -$-. /lu Horld /u#% he matches of the Ecuadorian national team are the most
atched s#ortin eents in the countr+% Ecuador has qualified for the final rounds of the
2002, the 2006, S the 2014 -$-. Horld /u#s% he 2002 -$-. Horld /u# qualif+in
cam#ain as considered a hue success for the countr+ and its inhaitants% Ecuador
finished in 2nd #lace on the qualifiers ehind .rentina and aoe the team that ould
Ios#itals, or ?aternities, /hildren Ios#itals, !eriatric Ios#itals, and &ncolo+
$nstitutes%
.lthouh ellequi##ed eneral hos#itals are found in the ma:or cities or ca#itals of
#roinces, there are asic hos#itals in the smaller tons and canton cities for famil+ care
consultation and treatments in #ediatrics, +necolo+, clinical medicine, and surer+%
/ommunit+ health care centers (/entros de alud) are found inside metro#olitan
areas of cities and in rural areas% hese are da+ hos#itals that #roide treatment to #atients
hose hos#italiation is under 24 hours% he doctors assined to rural communities,
here the #o#ulation of indienous #eo#le can e sustantial, hae small clinics under
their res#onsiilit+ for the treatment of #atients in the same fashion as the da+ hos#itals in
the ma:or cities% he treatment in this case res#ects the culture of the communit+%
he #ulic healthcare s+stem should not e confused ith the Ecuadorian ocialecurit+ healthcare serice, hich is dedicated to indiiduals ith formal em#lo+ment
and ho are affiliated oliatoril+ throuh their em#lo+ers% /itiens ith no formal
em#lo+ment ma+ still contriute to the social securit+ s+stem oluntaril+ and hae access
to the medical serices rendered + the social securit+ s+stem% he Ecuadorian $nstitute
of ocial ecurit+ ($E) has seeral ma:or hos#itals and medical sucenters under its
administration across the nation%
Ecuador currentl+ ranks 20, in most efficient health care countries, com#ared to 111
ack in the +ear 2000% Ecuadorians hae a life e>#ectanc+ of '5%6 +ears% he infant
mortalit+ rate is 13 #er 1,000 lie irths, a ma:or im#roement from a##ro>imatel+ '6 in
the earl+ 1980s and 140 in 1950% 23< of children under fie are chronicall+
malnourished% o#ulation in some rural areas hae no access to #otale ater, and its
su##l+ is #roided + mean of ater tankers% here are 686 malaria cases #er 100,000
#eo#le% Basic health care, includin doctor;s isits, asic sureries, and asic medications,
has een #roided free since 2008%Ioeer, some #ulic hos#itals are in #oor condition
and often lack necessar+ su##lies to attend the hih demand of #atients% riate hos#itals
and clinics are ell equi##ed ut still e>#ensie for the ma:orit+ of the #o#ulation%
Eduation
he Ecuadorian /onstitution requires that all children attend school until the+
achiee a 7asic leel of education7, hich is estimated at nine school +ears% $n 1996, the
net #rimar+ enrollment rate as 96%9<, and '1%8< of children sta+ed in school until the
fifth rade% he cost of #rimar+ and secondar+ education is orne + the oernment, ut
families often face sinificant additional e>#enses such as fees and trans#ortation costs%
roision of #ulic schools falls far elo the leels needed, and class sies are often
er+ lare, and families of limited means often find it necessar+ to #a+ for education% $n
rural areas, onl+ 10< of the children o on to hih school% he ?inistr+ of Education
states that the mean numer of +ears com#leted is 6%'%
Ecuador has 61 uniersities, man+ of hich still confer terminal derees accordin to
the traditional #anish education s+stem, honorin a lon tradition of hain some of the
oldest uniersities in the .mericas *niersit+ of an -ulencio, founded in 1586 + the
.uustinesK an !reorio ?ano *niersit+, founded in 1651 + the DesuitsK and
*niersit+ of anto om"s of .quino, founded in 1681 + the Fominican order%
.mon the traditional conferred terminal derees can e noted the doctorate for
medicine and la schools or enineerin, #h+sics, chemistr+, or mathematics for
#ol+technic or technolo+ institutes% hese terminal derees, as in the case of the hF in
other countries, ere the main requirement for an indiidual to e acce#ted in academia
as a #rofessor or researcher% $n the #rofessional realm, a terminal deree ranted + an
accredited institution automaticall+ #roides a #rofessional license to the indiidual%Ioeer, in 2004, the ational /ouncil of Iiher Education (/&E*), started
the reoraniation of all the dereerantin schemes of the accredited uniersities in
order to #air them ith forein counter#arts% he ne structure of some careers caused
the dro##in of su:ects, credits, or een the name of the #reiousl+ conferred di#lomas%
he terminal deree in la, #reiousl+ knon as DF Duris Foctor (Foctor en
Duris#rudencia) as re#laced + the one of abogado (attorne+) ith the e>ce#tion of the
modification of the numer of credits to equate it to an underraduate deree% $n the samefashion for medical school, the required time of education as consideral+ reduced from
nine +ears (the minimum needed to otain the title of ?F in ?edicine and urer+) to
almost fie, ith the #roision that the di#loma is not terminal an+more, and it is ien
ith the title of m&dico (medic)% herefore, an ?F or hF in medicine is onl+ to e
otained oerseas until the uniersities ad:ust themseles to rantin schemes and
curriculum as in forein counter#arts% onetheless, a 7mPdico7 can start a career as
famil+ #ractitioner or eneral medicine #h+sician%
his ne reoraniation, althouh er+ amitious, lacked the #ro#er #ath to the
homoloation of di#lomas for hihl+ educated #rofessionals raduated in the countr+ or
een for the ones raduated in forein institutions% &ne of the #oints of conflict as the
im#osition of otainin forein derees to current academicians% .s toda+, a ?aster;s
deree is a requirement to kee# an academic #osition and at least a forein hF to attain
or retain the status of rector (#resident of a uniersit+) or d&cano (dean)% -or Ecuadorian
researchers and man+ academicians trained in the countr+, these reulations sounded
illoical, disa##ointin, and unlaful since it a##eared a question of a title name conflict
rather than s#ecialiation or science adancement%
. deate to modif+ this and other reforms, s#eciall+ the one hich ranted control ofthe Iiher Education +stem + the oernment, as #racticall+ #assed ith consensus
+ the multi#artisan ational .sseml+ on .uust 4, 2010, ut etoed + resident
Cafael /orrea, ho anted to kee# the la strictl+ as it as oriinall+ redacted + his
#olitical #art+ and E.FE (ational ecretar+ of lannin and Feelo#ment)% Fue
to this chane, there are man+ hihl+ educated #rofessionals and academicians under the
old structure ut estimated that onl+ 8'< of the facult+ in #ulic uniersities hae
alread+ otained a ?aster;s deree, and feer than 5< hae a hF (althouh man+ of
them alread+ hae Ecuadorianranted doctorate derees)%
.out 300 institutes of hiher education offer to to three +ears of #ostsecondar+