Ecuador

Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru

2 00 S, 77 30 W

South America

283,561 sq km

276,841 sq km

6,720 sq km

Slightly smaller than Nevada

2,237 km

Colombia 708 km; Peru 1529 km

2,237 km

12 nm

200 nm

200 nm

Tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands

Coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)

Chimborazo 6,267

Pacific Ocean 0 m

1,117 m

Petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower

21.5% (2023 est.)

Arable land: 4.1% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops: 5.6% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture: 11.8% (2023 est.)

49.8% (2023 est.)

28.6% (2023 est.)

12,520 sq km (2022)

Amazon (6,145,186 sq km)

Nearly half of the population is concentrated in the interior, with large concentrations also found along the western coastal strip; the rainforests of the east remain sparsely populated

Frequent earthquakes; landslides; volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts volcanism: volcanic activity concentrated along the Andes Mountains; Sangay (5,230 m) is mainland Ecuador's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes in the Andes include Antisana, Cayambe, Chacana, Cotopaxi, Guagua Pichincha, Reventador, Sumaco, and Tungurahua; Fernandina (1,476 m), a shield volcano, is the most active of the many Galapagos volcanoes; other historically active Galapagos volcanoes include Wolf, Sierra Negra, Cerro Azul, Pinta, Marchena, and Santiago

Cotopaxi in the Andes is highest active volcano in world

18,479,841 (2025 est.)

9,097,614

9,382,227

Ecuadorian(s)

Ecuadorian

Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and White) 77.5%, Montubio 7.7%, Indigenous 7.7%, White 2.2%, Afroecuadorian 2%, Mulatto 1.4%, Black 1.3%, other 0.1% (2022 est.)

Spanish (Castilian; official) 98.6%, indigenous 3.9% (Quechua 3.2%, other indigenous 0.7%), foreign 2.8%, other 0.6% (includes Ecuadorian sign language) (2022 est.)

La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Roman Catholic 68.2%, Protestant 19% (Evangelical 18.3%, Adventist 0.6%, other Protestant 0.2%), Jehovah's Witness 1.4%, other 2.3%, none 8.2% don't know/no response 1% (2023 est.)

26.8% (male 2,505,729/female 2,395,198)

64.1% (male 5,771,234/female 5,972,938)

9.1% (2024 est.) (male 746,207/female 918,678)

55.3 (2025 est.)

41 (2025 est.)

14.3 (2025 est.)

7 (2025 est.)

28.2 years (2025 est.)

27 years

28.9 years

0.91% (2025 est.)

17.42 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

7.12 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Nearly half of the population is concentrated in the interior, with large concentrations also found along the western coastal strip; the rainforests of the east remain sparsely populated

64.8% of total population (2023)

1.62% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

3.142 million Guayaquil, 1.957 million QUITO (capital) (2023)

1.05 male(s)/female

1.05 male(s)/female

0.97 male(s)/female

0.81 male(s)/female

0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

55 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

12.2 deaths/1,000 live births

10.2 deaths/1,000 live births

74.9 years (2024 est.)

69.7 years

80.4 years

2.17 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.06 (2025 est.)

Urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 87.9% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 95.7% of population (2022 est.)

Urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 12.1% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 4.3% of population (2022 est.)

8.3% of GDP (2021)

11.9% of national budget (2022 est.)

2.31 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

1.3 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 98.2% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 99.4% of population (2022 est.)

Urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 1.8% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 0.6% of population (2022 est.)

19.9% (2016)

3.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

2.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

9.7% (2025 est.)

17.2% (2025 est.)

2.4% (2025 est.)

4.9% (2024 est.)

45.3% (2022 est.)

3.8% (2018)

22.2% (2018)

3.9% of GDP (2023 est.)

15.5% national budget (2025 est.)

96.3% (2022 est.)

96.8% (2022 est.)

95.7% (2022 est.)

15 years (2022 est.)

14 years (2022 est.)

15 years (2022 est.)

Deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands

Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

None of the selected agreements

Tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands

21.5% (2023 est.)

Arable land: 4.1% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops: 5.6% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture: 11.8% (2023 est.)

49.8% (2023 est.)

28.6% (2023 est.)

64.8% of total population (2023)

1.62% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

38.286 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

39,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

37.711 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

536,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

17.3 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

454.3 kt (2022-2024 est.)

346.3 kt (2019-2021 est.)

210.1 kt (2019-2021 est.)

2.6 kt (2019-2021 est.)

5.297 million tons (2024 est.)

28% (2022 est.)

1.293 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

549 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

8.076 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

442.4 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

3 (2025)

Imbabura: Napo Sumaco; Tungurahua (2025)

Republic of Ecuador

Ecuador

República del Ecuador

Ecuador

Quito

The name is the Spanish word for "equator," referring to its geographic position

Presidential republic

Quito

0 13 S, 78 30 W

UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Ecuador has two time zones, including the Galapagos Islands (UTC-6)

Named after the Quitu, a Pre-Columbian people who lived in the area; the meaning of their name is unknown

24 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Cañar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabí, Morona Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora Chinchipe

Civil law based on the Chilean civil code with modifications; traditional law in ethnic communities

Many previous; latest approved 20 October 2008

Proposed by the president of the republic through a referendum, by public petition of at least 1% of registered voters, or by agreement of at least one-third membership of the National Assembly; passage requires two separate readings a year apart and approval by at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly, and approval by absolute majority in a referendum; amendments such as changes to the structure of the state, constraints on personal rights and guarantees, or constitutional amendment procedures are not allowed

Has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Yes

Yes

No

3 years

18-65 years of age; universal and compulsory; voluntary for 16-18, over 65, and other eligible voters

President Daniel NOBOA Azin (since 23 November 2023)

President Daniel NOBOA Azin (since 23 November 2023)

Cabinet appointed by the president

President and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term)

9 February 2025, with a runoff on 13 April 2025

2025: Daniel NOBOA Azin reelected president; percent of vote in the first round - Daniel NOBOA Azin (ADN) 44.2%, Luisa GONZÁLEZ Alcivar (MRC) 44%, Leonidas IZA (MUPP) 5.3%, other 6.5%; percent of vote in the second round - Daniel NOBOA Azin 55.6%, Luisa GONZÁLEZ Alcivar 44.4% 2023: Daniel NOBOA Azin elected president; percent of vote in the first round - Luisa GONZÁLEZ Alcivar (MRC) 33.6%, Daniel NOBOA Azin (ADN) 23.5%, Christian Gustavo ZURITA Ron (Construye) 16.4%, Jan Tomislav TOPIĆ Feraud (Por Un País Sin Miedo) 14.7%, Otto Ramón SONNENHOLZNER Sper (Avanza) 7.1%, other 4.7%; percent of vote in the second round - Daniel NOBOA Azin 51.8%, Luisa GONZÁLEZ Alcivar 48.2% 2021: Guillermo LASSO Mendoza elected president; percent of vote in the first round - Andres ARAUZ (UNES) 32.7%, Guillermo LASSO Mendoza (CREO) 19.7%, Yaku PEREZ Guartambel (MUPP) 19.4%, Xavier HERVAS Mora (ID) 15.7%, other 12.5%; percent of vote in the second round - Guillermo LASSO Mendoza (CREO) 52.5%, Andres ARAUZ (UNES) 47.5%

28 February 2029

National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional)

Unicameral

151 (all directly elected)

Proportional representation

Full renewal

4 years

2/9/2025

Citizen Revolution Movement (RC) - Renewal Movement (RETO) (67); National Democratic Action (ADN) (66); Pachakutik (9); Other (9)

45%

February 2029

National Court of Justice or Corte Nacional de Justicia (consists of 21 judges, including the chief justice and organized into 5 specialized chambers); Constitutional Court or Corte Constitucional (consists of the court president and 8 judges)

Candidates for the National Court of Justice evaluated and appointed justices by the Judicial Council, a 9-member independent body of law professionals; justices elected for 9-year, non-renewable terms, with one third of the membership renewed every 3 years; candidates for the Constitutional Court evaluated and appointed judges by a 6-member independent body of law professionals; judges appointed for 4-year renewable terms

Provincial courts (one for each province except Galapagos); fiscal, criminal, and administrative tribunals; Election Dispute Settlement Courts; cantonal courts

Actuemos Ecuador or Actuemos AMIGO movement, Independent Mobilizing Action Generating Opportunities (Movimiento AMIGO (Acción Movilizadora Independiente Generando Oportunidades)) or AM16O Avanza Party or AVANZA Central Democratic Movement or CD Citizen Revolution Movement or MRC or RC5 Creating Opportunities Movement or CREO Democratic Left or ID Democracy Yes Movement (Movimiento Democracia Si) For A Country Without Fear (Por Un País Sin Miedo) (an alliance including PSC, CD, and PSP) Green Movement (Movimiento Verde) Movimiento Construye or Construye National Democratic Action (Acción Democrática Nacional) or ADN Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement or MUPP Patriotic Society Party or PSP People, Equality, and Democracy Party (Partido Pueblo, Igualdad y Democracia) or PID Popular Unity Party (Partido Unidad Popular) or UP Revolutionary and Democratic Ethical Green Movement (Movimiento Verde Ético Revolucionario y Democrático) or MOVER Social Christian Party or PSC Socialist Party Society United for More Action or SUMA Total Renovation Movement (Movimiento Renovacion Total) or RETO

Ambassador Pablo Agustín ZAMBRANO Albuja (since 24 July 2025)

2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

[1] (202) 234-7200

[1] (202) 333-2893

Eecuusanotifications@mmrree.gob.ec Contact – Washington (cancilleria.gob.ec)

Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis (MN), New Haven (CT), New York, Newark (NJ), Phoenix, San Juan (PR)

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Lawrence PETRONI (since 17 April 2025)

E12-170 Avenida Avigiras y Avenida Eloy Alfaro, Quito

3420 Quito Place, Washington DC 20521-3420

[593] (2) 398-5000

ACSQuito@state.gov https://ec.usembassy.gov/

Guayaquil

CAN, CD, CELAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, PROSUR, SICA (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

24 May 1822 (from Spain)

Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809)

Description: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red, with the coat of arms at the center of the flag meaning: yellow stands for sunshine, grain, and mineral wealth; blue for the sky, sea, and rivers; red for patriots' blood spilled in the struggle for freedom and justice

Andean condor

Yellow, blue, red

"Salve, O Patria!" (We Salute You, Our Homeland)

Juan Leon MERA/Antonio NEUMANE

Adopted 1948; MERA wrote the lyrics in 1865; only the chorus and second verse are sung

5 (3 cultural, 2 natural)

Historic Quito (c); Galápagos Islands (n); Historic Cuenca (c); Qhapaq Ñan/Andean Road System (c); Sangay National Park (n)

Highly informal South American economy; USD currency user; major banana exporter; hard hit by COVID-19; macroeconomic fragility from oil dependency; successful debt restructuring; China funding budget deficits; social unrest hampering economic activity

$252.728 billion (2024 est.)

$257.889 billion (2023 est.)

$252.861 billion (2022 est.)

-2% (2024 est.)

2% (2023 est.)

5.9% (2022 est.)

$13,900 (2024 est.)

$14,300 (2023 est.)

$14,200 (2022 est.)

$124.676 billion (2024 est.)

1.5% (2024 est.)

2.2% (2023 est.)

3.5% (2022 est.)

9.5% (2024 est.)

26.5% (2024 est.)

57.2% (2024 est.)

64.9% (2024 est.)

13.3% (2024 est.)

18.4% (2024 est.)

0.1% (2024 est.)

30.3% (2024 est.)

-26.9% (2024 est.)

Bananas, sugarcane, milk, oil palm fruit, maize, rice, plantains, chicken, pineapples, cocoa beans (2023)

Petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals

-3.7% (2024 est.)

8.821 million (2024 est.)

4.8% (2024 est.)

3.6% (2023 est.)

3.8% (2022 est.)

10.1% (2024 est.)

8.3% (2024 est.)

13% (2024 est.)

26% (2023 est.)

44.6 (2023 est.)

25.9% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

0.9% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

1.6% (2023 est.)

33.2% (2023 est.)

5.2% of GDP (2024 est.)

4.5% of GDP (2023 est.)

4.1% of GDP (2022 est.)

$35.962 billion (2022 est.)

$35.969 billion (2022 est.)

43.2% of GDP (2016 est.)

13.1% (of GDP) (2022 est.)

$7.082 billion (2024 est.)

$2.217 billion (2023 est.)

$2.136 billion (2022 est.)

$38.468 billion (2024 est.)

$35.687 billion (2023 est.)

$36.588 billion (2022 est.)

USA 22%, China 21%, Panama 12%, Japan 3%, Peru 3% (2023)

Crude petroleum, shellfish, bananas, fish, gold (2023)

$33.97 billion (2024 est.)

$35.421 billion (2023 est.)

$36.644 billion (2022 est.)

USA 27%, China 20%, Colombia 7%, Brazil 4%, Peru 4% (2023)

Refined petroleum, coal tar oil, cars, packaged medicine, plastics (2023)

$6.908 billion (2024 est.)

$4.442 billion (2023 est.)

$8.459 billion (2022 est.)

$39.658 billion (2023 est.)

The US dollar became Ecuador's currency in 2001

100% (2022 est.)

8.438 million kW (2023 est.)

29.305 billion kWh (2023 est.)

192 million kWh (2023 est.)

466 million kWh (2023 est.)

5.119 billion kWh (2023 est.)

23.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

0.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

0.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

75.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

1.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

14,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

200 metric tons (2023 est.)

14,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

24 million metric tons (2023 est.)

480,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

272,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

8.273 billion barrels (2021 est.)

271.053 million cubic meters (2023 est.)

271.053 million cubic meters (2023 est.)

10.902 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

35.7 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

1.22 million (2024 est.)

7 (2024 est.)

18.4 million (2024 est.)

102 (2024 est.)

956 media outlets, of which 89% are private, 5% are public, and 6% belong to small communities; government controls most of the 44 public media stations, including national media and multiple local radio stations; most media outlets are concentrated in Guayas and Pichincha (2022)

.ec

77% (2024 est.)

2.89 million (2023 est.)

16 (2023 est.)

HC

317 (2025)

28 (2025)

965 km (2022)

965 km (2022) 1.067-m gauge

154 (2023)

Container ship 1, general cargo 8, oil tanker 28, other 117

6 (2024)

0

0

2

4

5

Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, Puerto Maritimo de Guayaquil

Ecuadorian Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas del Ecuador): Ground Force (Fuerza Terrestre), Naval Force (Fuerza Naval; includes naval infantry, naval aviation, coast guard), Ecuadorian Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana) (2025)

2.2% of GDP (2024 est.)

2.3% of GDP (2023 est.)

2.2% of GDP (2022 est.)

2.4% of GDP (2021 est.)

2.3% of GDP (2020 est.)

Approximately 40,000 active Ecuadorian Armed Forces (2025)

The military's inventory includes a mix of mostly older and limited quantities of more modern equipment from a variety of sources such as Brazil, Chile, China, France, Italy, Germany, Russia/Soviet-Union, Spain, Turkey, the UK, and the US (2025)

18-22 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; 12-month service obligation; conscription abolished in 2008 (2025)

The military is responsible for preserving Ecuador’s national sovereignty and defending the integrity of the state; it also has some domestic security responsibilities and may complement police operations in maintaining public order if required; the military shares responsibility for border enforcement with the National Police; it participates in bilateral and multinational training exercises and has sent troops on UN peacekeeping missions; the military has defense ties to regional countries, such as Chile, Colombia, and Peru border conflicts with Peru dominated the military’s focus until the late 1990s and border security remains a priority, but in more recent years, security challenges have included counterinsurgency and counternarcotics operations, particularly in the northern border area where violence and other criminal activity related to terrorism, insurgency, and narco-trafficking in Colombia, as well as refugees from Venezuela, have spilled over the border; the military has established a joint service task force for counterinsurgency and counternarcotics operations and boosted troop deployments along those borders; other missions include countering illegal mining, smuggling, and maritime piracy; since 2012, the Ecuadorian Government has expanded the military’s role in general public security and domestic crime operations, in part due to rising violence, police corruption, and police ineffectiveness; in 2024, Ecuador passed a constitutional amendment formally authorizing the military to participate in complementary security roles such as supporting law enforcement in high-risk areas, conducting joint operations against organized crime, and providing logistical assistance in maintaining public order the military ruled the country from 1963-1966 and 1972-1979, and supported a dictatorship in 1970-1972; during the 1980s, the military remained loyal to the civilian government, but civilian-military relations were at times tenuous, and the military had considerable autonomy from civilian oversight; it was involved in coup attempts in 2000 and 2010 (2025)

Ecuadorian Civilian Space Agency (EXA; a civilian independent research and development institution in charge of the administration and execution of Ecuador’s space program, established 2007) (2025)

Has a small program focused on acquiring and manufacturing satellites; builds scientific satellites; conducts research and develops some space-related technologies; has relationships with China and Russia's space agencies and industries, as well as the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency and its member states (2025)

2007 - an Ecuadorian completed a suborbital astronaut training program provided by Russia 2013 - first two domestically designed and built scientific/technology demonstrator satellites (NEE-01/Pegasus, NEE-02/Krysaor) launched by China and Russia 2021 - signed accords for the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency 2023 - signed US-led Artemis Accords for space exploration

Los Choneros; Los Lobos

30,241 (2024 est.)

57,402 (2024 est.)

Major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit country major precursor-chemical producer (2025)