Country Profile: Ecuador

Last reviewed: 4 November 2008

Country information

Map of Ecuador

ECUADOR TODAY

Country Facts

Area: 283,560 sq km (109,000 sq miles) including the Galapagos Islands
Population: 13.2 million (2005 - WHO)
Capital City: Quito (population: 1.8 million)
People: Mestizo (60%), Indigenous (20%), Caucasian (15%), Black (5%)
Language(s): Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
Religion(s): Roman Catholic (95%)
Currency: US Dollar (since early 2000)
Major political parties: Alianza País (Government Party), Partido Sociedad Patriótica (PSP), PRIAN, Movimiento Popular Democrático (MPD), Partido Social Cristiano (PSC)
Government: The 2008 constitution provides for a presidential system of democracy with presidential elections held every 4 years and an executive and a legislature consisting of a unicameral National Assembly.
Head of State: Rafael Correa Delgado
Vice-President: Lenin Moreno Garcés
Foreign Minister: María Isabel Salvador Crespo
Membership of international groupings/organisations: The UN; WTO; G-11; G77; Organisation of American States (OAS); Andean Community (CAN); Latin American Integration Association (ALADI); Rio Group; Inter-American Developmental Bank (IADB), OLADE. On the Human Rights Committee of the UN. Associate member of Mercosur.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Galapagos Islands, famous for their connection with Charles Darwin and his work on the “Origin of the Species” are part of Ecuador.
Yasuni National Park, located in Ecuador's Amazon region, is the most biologically diverse forest on the planet. UNESCO named Yasuni a biosphere reserve in 1989. A small part of the park, known as Ishpingo-Tiputini-Tambococha (ITT), is home to at least two indigenous tribes, the Tagaeri and Taromenane, who maintain their traditional lifestyles in voluntary isolation. ITT also contains nearly a billion barrels of oil. The Ecuadorian government has proposed that the international community compensate the Ecuadorians for keeping this oil in the ground, thereby protecting the uniqueness of its biodiversity and contributing to global initiatives to protect the environment.

HEALTH

Ecuador's population growth rate is around 2.1%, with a birth rate of 25.99 births and 5.44 deaths per 1,000 people. It has an infant mortality rate of 34.08 deaths for every 1,000 live births. The total fertility average rate was 3.12 children born per woman with a total overall life expectancy of 71.33 years (68.52 for males and 74.28 for females).

The prevalence of HIV in adults aged 15 and over is 246 per 100,000 population (2005). Most are concentrated in the coastal region. Dengue fever, tuberculosis and malaria are present in certain parts of the country. Pollution in the capital, Quito, is above desirable levels (for more details see www.paho.org).

ENVIRONMENT

Ecuador is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world. Destruction of natural ecosystems is threats this biodiversity. According to USAID, Ecuador has one of the highest deforestation rates in South America. The Galapagos Islands and surrounding waters are both World Heritage Sites and have been recognised as of vital ecological importance. But these too have come under threat, prompting UNESCO in June 2007 to include the Galapagos in the list of World Heritage Sites at risk. The government has undertaken to address problems caused by immigration, excess fishing, increased tourism and invasive species.

Podacarpus in the south of the country and Yasuni in Ecuador’s Amazon region are also important bio-diversity areas. The government is promoting an initiative to conserve the environment by voluntarily desisting from exploiting recently discovered oil fields in Yasuní National Park (ITT) in exchange for international financial compensation of US$350 million each year for ten years. This figure is reckoned by the government to represent half of what it could expect to earn annually from the 900 million barrels of oil under ground. The government will take a decision over whether to exploit the oil towards the end of 2008 once the level of international interest has been evaluated. So far, several European countries and the UN have expressed interest in the initiative.

Ecuador has supported of the Kyoto Protocol and other environmental forums. There has been investment in mangrove restoration in the shrimp sector and the government is making efforts to slow deforestation. In July 2007, the President signed a controversial decree legalising incidental shark fishing generating criticism particularly from environmentalists. Shark finning (removing the fin and disposing of the carcass) is still illegal but continues because of weak enforcement. The practice has proved harmful to the marine ecosystem in the Galapagos and mainland coastal waters.

The UK’s environmental objective in Ecuador is to support efforts at a local level to tackle global environmental problems. In 2005 the UK financed two projects worth over £300,000 under the Darwin Initiative (www.darwin.gov.uk) to protect the Galapagos coral reefs and associated biodiversity, and to develop a sustainable conservation network for primates in the north west of Ecuador. Two further Darwin Initiative projects worth £360,000 started in 2006 and 2007. One will contribute to the conservation of the critically endangered Mangrove Finch on the Galapagos Islands. The other will create an orchid seed bank and establish Ecuador as a regional centre for scientific research and training.

The British Embassy in Quito has in the past supported various environmental education projects in communities located in sensitive areas. In 2005, through the Global Opportunities Fund, we also supported three projects aimed at promoting public participation and access to information on environmental issues. One of these projects resulted in the President approving in 2006 a regulation requiring public participation and previous consultation on environmental matters. In forthcoming years, the Embassy will continue to play a part in raising awareness in Ecuador about climate change, and will work with local and regional partners in this important area.

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