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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: 14 million (2010 census unofficial figures)
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. Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited the islands in March 2009.
- 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 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 about 850 million barrels of unexploited oil, about 20% of Ecuador's total reserves. The Ecuadorean government has asked the international community to compensate Ecuador for keeping this oil in the ground, thereby protecting the uniqueness of the diversity and contributing to global initiatives on climate change. Ecuador wants to receive USD100 million by December 2011 but so far only has contributions of around USD40 million.
HEALTH
Ecuador's population growth rate is around 2.1%, with birth and death rates of 25.99 and 5.44 respectively per 1,000. The country has an infant mortality rate of 34.08 deaths for every 1,000 live births. The total fertility average rate is 3.12 children born per female with a total overall life expectancy of 73 years (72 for men and 74 for women).
The first cases of HIV were detected in Ecuador in 1984 and as of 2010 HIV/Aids affects less than 1% of the population. Since 1984 the Ministry of Health has detected 19,945 case of HIV/Aids of which 5,599 have died. The biggest increases have taken place since 2004 and the vast majority of cases have been contracted through sexual contact. 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 and http://www.msp.gov.ec/ and www.paho.org).
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 both World Heritage Sites and have been recognised as of vital ecological importance. 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 undertook to address problems caused by immigration, excess fishing, invasive species and increased tourism, and in 2010 UNESCO took the Galapagos Islands off their at risk list, for many a premature move. 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 because of weak enforcement and a strong demand, particularly from Asia. According to experts, 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 environmental problems and to maintain a dialogue with the Ecuadorean government over a post-Kyoto agreement on climate change. 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 contributes to the conservation of the critically endangered Mangrove Finch on the Galapagos Islands. The other is creating an orchid seed bank and establishing Ecuador as a regional centre for scientific research and training. In March 2009 Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall paid a brief visit to the Galapagos Islands to witness first hand the challenges faced in preserving the islands’ unique biodiversity.
The Embassy also launched in 2009 its campaign “Vuélvete Verde” (Become Green) to try to raise awareness amongst the population in general of the need to tackle climate change. Various projects have been implemented under this campaign including workshops with children; a campaign in conjunction with Quito City to reduce use of plastic bags; organising two waste management seminars; using the Residence to show the value of composting and recycling; and showing the film “Age of Stupid” in cities, schools and colleges across Ecuador.
The Embassy has also supported a series of seminars and workshops with the media on reporting climate change issues. Our aim is to get such articles off the environment pages and into mainstream issues, such as politics, economics and security.
