| |
Republic of the equator is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordering Colombia on the north, by the Pacific Ocean to the west and by Peru on the east and south. The country also comprises the Galapagos Island in the Pacific, about 965 kilometers west of the mainland. The total land boundary stretches upto 2,010 km and the coastline stretches upto 2,237 km.
It claims a territorial sea upto 200 nm and continental shelf stretching upto 100 nm from 2,500-m isobath. Te geographical terrain has coastal plain known as the costa, inter-Andean central highlands known as the sierra and flat to rolling eastern jungle also known as the oriente. The highest point in Ecuador is the Chimborazo at 6,267 m. The key natural resources to be found in Ecuador are petroleum, fish, timber and hydropower.
|
| |
| |
| Climate |
| |
The climate varies, predominantly with altitude. It is generally tropical along Pacific coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations and tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands. The climate in the Andean highlands is temperate and relatively dry. As it is at the equator, Ecuador experiences little variation in daylight hours during the course of a year.
|
| |
| People |
| |
The total population is estimated to be around 13,927,650. The inhabitants are ethnically diverse. Majority is Mestizos constituting 65% of the population, they are the mixed descendants of Spanish colonists and indigenous Indians. Amerindians accounts for around 25 percent of the existing population, Spanish and other ethnic groups constitute 7% and 3% of the inhabitants are black. The tropical forest region to the east of the mountains, the El Oriente remains sparsely populated and consists only about three percent of the population.
About 95% of the inhabitants are Roman Catholic, the rest 5% include the Protestants, Muslims and Jewish of German and Italian origin.Spanish is the official language and people also use Amerindian languages especially Quechua. |
| |
| Government |
| |
Republic of Ecuador operates under the framework of republic type of government. Wherein, the president is both chief of the state and head of the government. The Cabinet is appointed by the president. The president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a four-year term and may not serve consecutive terms.
Ecuador is administratively divided into 24 provinces Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Sucumbios, Tungurahua and Zamora-Chinchipe
Capital: Quito
Independence: 24 May 1822
President: Rafael Correa Delgado
Vice President: Lenin Moreno Garces |
| |
| Economy |
| |
Ecuador is significantly dependent on its petroleum resources, accounting for more than half of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years. Ecuador suffered a severe economic crisis in 1999-2000, with GDP constricted by more than 6%, substantially increasing in poverty and distorting the banking system. Congress permitted a series of structural reforms in March 2000 that also provided for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender.
The economy was stabilized by Dollarization, and positive growth returned in the years that followed, contributed by high oil prices, remittance, and increased non-traditional exports. From 2002-06 the economy grew 5.5%, the highest five-year average in 25 years. The poverty rate declined but remained high at 38% in 2006. In 2006, the government of Alfredo Palacio who ruled from 2005-07 seized the resources of Occidental Petroleum for alleged contract violations and imposed a windfall revenue tax on foreign oil companies, leading to the deferment of free trade negotiations with the US.
These actions, combined with chronic underinvestment in the state oil company, Petroecuador, led to a fall in petroleum production in 2007. Palacio's successor, Rafael Correa, raised the specter of debt default - but Ecuador has paid its debt on time. He also decreed a higher windfall revenue tax on private oil companies, and then sought to renegotiate their contracts to overcome the devastating effect of the tax. This generated economic insecurity, private investment has dropped and economic growth has slowed drastically.
The 54% of the labour population is concentrated in the service industry, 24% in the industrial sector and only 8% in the agricultural sector. The chief agricultural produce is bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane, cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products, balsa wood, fish and shrimp. The key industrial produce and services are petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products and chemicals.
|
| |
| |
|
