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South America and South Atlantic Islands
Ecuador |
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Country information
ECUADOR TODAY
Country Facts
Full country name: Republic of Ecuador
Area: 283,560 sq km (109,000 sq miles) including the Galapagos Islands
Population: 15 million
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); Pachakutik; Madera de Guerrero
Government: The 2008 constitution provides for a presidential system of democracy with presidential elections every four 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: Ricardo Armando Patiño Aroca
Membership of international groupings/organisations: The UN; WTO; G-11; G77; Organisation of American States (OAS); Andean Community (CAN); Latin American Integration Association (ALADI); ALBA; UNASUR; 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 one of the most biologically diverse areas on earth. UNESCO named Yasuni a biosphere reserve in 1989.
- A small part of the Yasuni National 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.
HEALTH
Ecuador's population growth rate is around 1.4%, with birth and death rates of 19.6 and 5.01 respectively per 1,000. The country has an infant mortality rate of 19.06 deaths for every 1,000 live births. The total fertility average rate is 2.38 children born per female and the life expectancy at birth is of 75 years.
ENVIRONMENT
Ecuador has supported the Kyoto Protocol and other environmental forums. For its size Ecuador has one of the highest concentrations of diversity in the world, though this is threatened by destruction of natural ecosystems. According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Ecuador has one of the highest deforestation rates in South America despite government efforts to slow the damage.
The Galapagos Islands and surrounding waters are World Heritage Sites and have been recognised as areas of vital ecological importance. In June 2007, they were added to the list of World Heritage Sites at Risk. The government undertook to address the problems caused by immigration, excess fishing, invasive species and increased tourism and in 2010 UNESCO took the Islands off their ‘at risk’ list.
In July 2007, the President signed a decree legalising incidental shark fishing, generating criticism particularly from environmentalists. Shark finning (removing the fin and throwing the carcass overboard) is still illegal but continues owing to strong demand.
The UK’s environmental objective in Ecuador is to support efforts at a local level to tackle environmental problems and to maintain a dialogue with the Ecuadorean government over a post-Kyoto agreement on climate change.
