Ecuador

Geography

Ecuador is a country in the west of South America on the equator. The land has a total area of 256,370 km² (98,985 mi²) and a total coastline of 2,237 km (1,390.0 mi). This land area is approximately 64% of the area of California. Ecuador is thus one of the largest countries in the Americas and the 78th biggest in the world. More than half of all residents (64%) live within cities. Every seventh resident lives in Guayaquil alone.

Ecuador is comparatively high at an average elevation of 1117 meters above sea level. The highest mountain peak (Chimborazo) is at 6,267 meters. The country has about 60 islands. There are direct national borders with the two neighboring countries Colombia and Peru. The distance between New York City and the Capital Quito is about 4,580 km (2,846 mi).

The climate in Ecuador

Ecuador is located (as the name suggests) on the equator and thus in the tropical and year-round hot climate zone. Despite its relatively small size, the Andes Mountains give rise to regions with diverse climates. The northern coast has a warm monsoon climate even in winter, with marked rainfall. In the mountainous regions, on the other hand, it is much cooler and at altitudes of 3,000 meters and above, there is even snowfall, while in the lowlands near the coast it is between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius and also dry for most of the year. At night, the temperatures there drop only slightly.

• Detailed climate data for Ecuador and 4 individual regions
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes
• Tsunamis

Languages

Mother tongue	Distribution
Spanish	93.0 %
Quechua	4.1 %
other	2.9 %

Religions

Religion	Distribution
Lutherans	10.4%
Roman Catholics	74.0%
Jehovah's Witnesses	1.2%
nondenominational	7.9%
other	6.5%

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Economy

GDP:	106.17 bn $
Exportations:	29,351.3 M $
Importations:	28,512.2 M $
› Tourism receipts:	705.00 M $
› Debt rate:	49.84 %
› Unemployment rate:	4.0 %
› Inflation rate:	3.47 %
› Corruption index:	36 (bad)
› Energy consumption:	26.4 bn kWh

According to the definition from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ecuador is a developing country because of its lower economic performance.

In terms of revenues, Ecuador still ranks 112nd in the world and, with an average annual income of 5,960 USD is one of the upper middle-income countries.

Land use

4% Urban areas:	10,906 km²
23% Agricultural areas:	59,760 km²
50% Forest:	129,005 km²
3% Water areas:	8,010 km²
22% Others:	56,699 km²

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Transport

Roadways:	43,950 km
Railways:	965 km
Waterways:	1,500 km
Commercial harbors:	145
› Airports:	12