1989 Edition

Climate

tropical along coast becoming cooler inland

Coastline

2,237 km

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Nevada

Continental shelf

200 m

Disputes

two sections of the boundary with Peru are in dispute

Environment

subject to frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; periodic droughts

Land boundaries

2,010 km total; Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km

Land use

6% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 17% meadows and pastures; 51% forest and woodland; 23% other; includes 2% irrigated

Natural resources

petroleum, fish, timber

Note

Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world

Terrain

coastal plain (Costa), inter-Andean central highlands (Sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (Oriente)

Territorial sea

200 nm

Total area

283,560 km2; land area: 276,840 km2; includes Galapagos Islands

Birth rate

26 births/ 1,000 population (1990)

30 births/ 1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

7 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)

7 deaths/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, black, Amerindian; 55% white, 38% mixed, 6% black, 1% other

55% mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish), 25% Indian, 10% Spanish, 10% black

Infant mortality rate

69 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

61 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

57,000,000 (1989 est.); 42% services, 31% agriculture, 27% industry Organized labor 13,000,000 dues paying members (1989 est.)

2,800,000; 35% agriculture, 21% manufacturing, 16% commerce, 28% services and other activities (1982)

Language

Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French

Spanish (official); Indian languages, especially Quechua

Life expectancy at birth

62 years male, 68 years female (1990)

64 years male, 68 years female (1990)

Literacy

76%

85% (1981)

Nationality

noun — Brazilian(s); adjective— Brazilian

noun — Ecuadorian(s); adjective— Ecuadorian

Net migration rate

0 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

0 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

less than 1 5% of labor force

Population

152,505,077 (July 1990), growth rate 1.9% (1990)

10,506,668 (July 1990), growth rate 2.3% (1990)

Religion

90% Roman Catholic (nominal)

95% Roman Catholic

Total fertility rate

3.1 children born/ woman (1990)

3.8 children born/ woman (1990)

Administrative divisions

21 provinces (provincias, singular — provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Cafiar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe

Capital

Quito

Communists

Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-Moscow), Rene Mauge Mosquera, secretary general, 5,000 members; Communist Party of Ecuador/ Marxist Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), 3,000 members; Socialist Party of Ecuador (PSE, pro-Cuba), 5,000 members (est.); National Liberation Party (PLN, Communist), 5,000 members (est.)

Constitution

10 August 1979

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Jaime MONCAYO; Chancery at 2535 15th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-7200; there are Ecuadorian Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, and a Consulate in San Diego; US — Ambassador-designate Paul C. LAMBERT; Embassy at Avenida Patria 1 20, on the corner of Avenida 1 2 de Octubre, Quito (mailing address is P. O. Box 538, Quito, or APO Miami 34039); telephone [593] (2) 562-890; there is a US Consulate General in Guayaquil

Elections

President — first round held 31 January 1988 and second round on 8 May 1988 (next first round to be held January 1992 and second round May 1992); results—Rodrigo Borja Cevallos (ID) 54%, Abdala Bucaram Ortiz (PRE) 46%; Chamber of Representatives — last held 3 1 January 1988 (next to be held June 1990); results— ID 42%, PSC 1 1%, PRE 1 1%, DP 9%, others 27%; seats— <71 total) ID 30, PRE 8, PSC 8, DP 7, CFP 6, PSE 4, FADI 2, MPD 2, FRA 2, PCE 1, PLR 1; note — with the addition of the new province of Sucumbios there will be 72 seats in the August 1990 election

Executive branch

president, vice president, Cabinet

Independence

24 May 1822 (from Spain; Battle of Pichincha)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government— President Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos (since 10 August 1988); Vice President Luis PARODI Valverde (since 10 August 1988) Political parties and leaders: Right to center parties — Social Christian Party (PSC), Camilio Ponce, president; Conservative Party (PC), Jose Teran Varea, director; Radical Liberal Party (PLR), Blasco Penaherrera, director; Centrist parties — Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Averroes Bucaram Saxida, director; Radical Alfarist Front (FRA), Cecilia Calderon de Castro, leader; People, Change, and Democracy (PCD), Aquiles Rigail Santistevan, director; Revolutionary Nationalist Party (PNR), Carlos Julio Arosemena Monroy, leader; Center-left parties — Democratic Left (ID), President Rodrigo Borja, leader; Roldosist Party of Ecuador (PRE), Abdala Bucaram, director; Popular Democracy (DP), Vladimiro Alvarez, leader; Christian Democratic (CD), Julio Cesar Trujillo; Democratic Party (PD), Francisco Huerta Montalvo, leader; Far-left parties — Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Rene Mauge Mosquera, director; Socialist Party (PSE), Victor Granda Aguilar, secretary general; Democratic Popular Movement (MPD), Jaime Hurtado Gonzalez, leader; Ecuadorian National Liberation (LN), Alfredo Castillo; Popular Revolutionary Action Party (APRE), Lt. Gen. Frank Vargas Pazzos, leader

Legal system

based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral Chamber of Representatives (Camara de Representantes)

Long-form name

Federative Republic of

Republic of Ecuador

Member of

Andean Pact, ECOSOC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, I DB— InterAmerican Development Bank, I FAD, IFC, I HO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPEC, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

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

Suffrage

universal at age 18; compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters

Type

republic