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Ecuador definitions

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CIA World Factbook, 2008

Background
What is now Ecuador formed part of the northern Inca Empire until the Spanish conquest in 1533. Quito became a seat of Spanish colonial government in 1563 and part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717. The territories of the Viceroyalty - New Granada (Colombia), Venezuela, and Quito - gained their independence between 1819 and 1822 and formed a federation known as Gran Colombia. When Quito withdrew in 1830, the traditional name was changed in favor of the "Republic of the Equator." Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Protests in Quito have contributed to the mid-term ouster of Ecuador's last three democratically elected Presidents.

Location
total: 283,560 sq km land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands

Area - comparative
total: 2,010 km border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km

Coastline
territorial sea: 200 nm continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath

Climate
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m

Natural resources
arable land: 5.71% permanent crops: 4.81% other: 89.48% (2005)

Irrigated land
Total: 16.98 cu km/yr (12%/5%/82%) Per capita: 1,283 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note
0-14 years: 32.6% (male 2,282,319/female 2,196,685) 15-64 years: 62.3% (male 4,271,848/female 4,301,149) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 330,302/female 373,377) (2007 est.)

Median age
total: 23.9 years male: 23.4 years female: 24.3 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.993 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.885 male(s)/female total population: 1.002 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
total: 22.1 deaths/1,000 live births male: 26.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 76.62 years male: 73.74 years female: 79.63 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate
noun: Ecuadorian(s) adjective: Ecuadorian

Ethnic groups
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91% male: 92.3% female: 89.7% (2001 census)

Country name
conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador

Government type
name: Quito geographic coordinates: 0 13 S, 78 30 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions
chief of state: President Rafael CORREA Delgado (since 15 January 2007); Vice President Lenin MORENO Garces (since 15 January 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Rafael CORREA Delgado (since 15 January 2007); Vice President Lenin MORENO Garces (since 15 January 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a four-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 15 October 2006 with a runoff election on 26 November 2006 (next to be held in October 2010) election results: Rafael CORREA Delgado elected president; percent of vote - Rafael CORREA Delgado 56.7%; Alvaro NOBOA 43.3%

Legislative branch
elections: last held 15 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRIAN 28; PSP 24; PSC 13; ID 7; PRE 6; MUPP-NP 6; RED 5; UDC 5; other 6; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties; as of 29 November 2007, Congress is on indefinite recess

Judicial branch
chief of mission: Ambassador Luis Benigno GALLEGOS Chiriboga chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Jersey City (New Jersey), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Linda L. JEWELL embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039 telephone: [593] (2) 256-2890 FAX: [593] (2) 250-2052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil

Flag description
agriculture: 10% industry: 35% services: 54% (2007 est.)

Labor force
agriculture: 8% industry: 24% services: 68% (2001)

Unemployment rate
lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 35% note: data for urban households only (October 2006)

Distribution of family income - Gini index
note: data are for urban households (2006)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)
revenues: $13.1 billion expenditures: planned $11.3 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt
general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded domestic: fixed-line services provided by three state-owned enterprises; plans to transfer the state-owned operators to private ownership have repeatedly failed; fixed-line density stands at about 13 per 100 persons; mobile cellular use has surged and has a subscribership of nearly 65 per 100 persons international: country code - 593; landing point for the PAN-AM submarine telecommunications cable that provides links to the west coast of South America, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and extending onward to Aruba and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)

Radio broadcast stations
total: 104 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 54 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 302 914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 268 (2007)

Heliports
total: 966 km narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)

Roadways
total: 43,197 km paved: 6,467 km unpaved: 36,730 km (2004)

Waterways
total: 33 ships (1000 GRT or over) 190,931 GRT/306,280 DWT by type: chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 22, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 2 (Philippines 1, US 1) registered in other countries: 3 (China 1, Panama 2) (2007)

Ports and terminals
males age 20-49: 2,792,770 females age 20-49: 2,849,519 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service
males age 20-49: 2,338,428 females age 20-49: 2,380,327 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49: 133,922 females age 20-49: 129,758 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP
refugees (country of origin): 9,851 (Colombia); note - UNHCR estimates as many as 250,000 Columbians are seeking asylum in Ecuador, many of whom do not register as refugees for fear of deportation (2006)

Illicit drugs
significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru, with over half of the US-bound cocaine passing through Ecuadorian Pacific waters; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a republic in northwestern South America; became independent from Spain in 1822; the landscape is dominated by the Andes [syn: Ecuador, Republic of Ecuador]

Merriam Webster's

geographical name country W South America bordering on the Pacific; a republic capital Quito area 109,483 square miles (283,561 square kilometers), population 10,985,000 • Ecuadoran adjective or noun • Ecuadorean or Ecuadorian adjective or noun