Ecuador (2005) | Swaziland (2003) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.5% (male 2,282,252/female 2,195,942)
15-64 years: 61.5% (male 4,094,146/female 4,130,096) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 310,336/female 350,821) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.4% (male 242,762; female 238,141)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 317,526; female 321,709) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 18,040; female 23,041) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 205 (2004 est.) | 18 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 62
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 143
914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 113 (2004 est.) |
total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Nevada | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Colombia and Venezuela). 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. Seven presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996. | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s have pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. |
Birth rate | 22.67 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 29.37 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $7.9 billion
expenditures: planned $7.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $448 million
expenditures: $506.9 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (FY 01/02) |
Capital | Quito | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
Climate | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 2,237 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 10 August 1998 | none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), but so far none have been accepted |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
Currency | - | lilangeni (SZL) |
Death rate | 4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 21.08 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $16.81 billion (2004 est.) | $320 million (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Kristie Anne KENNEY
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador James D. McGEE
embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
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, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA
chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683 FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059 |
Disputes - international | organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border and caused over 20,000 refugees to flee into Ecuador in 2004 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $216 million (2002) | $104 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of central government budget revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ - January 2003 to April 2005 - Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on economic reforms necessary to reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises. | In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends more than two-thirds of its exports. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2002 because of drought, and more than one-third of the adult population was infected by HIV/AIDS. |
Electricity - consumption | 10.79 billion kWh (2002) | 962.9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 57 million kWh (2002) | 639 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
Electricity - production | 11.54 billion kWh (2002) | 348.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 58%
hydro: 42% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | 25,000 (2004), 25,000 (2003), 25,000 (2002), 25,000 (2001), 24,988 (2000) | emalangeni per US dollar - 10.54 (2002), 8.61 (2001), 6.94 (2000), 6.11 (1999), 5.53 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; former President Lucio GUTIERREZ was removed from office by congress effective 20 April 2005
head of government: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government 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 (no immediate reelection); election last held 20 October 2002; runoff election held 24 November 2002 (next to be held October 2006) election results: results of the 24 November 2002 runoff election - Lucio GUTIERREZ elected president; percent of vote - Lucio GUTIERREZ 54.3%; Alvaro NOBOA 45.7%; note - Vice President Alfredo PALACIO assumed the presidency on 20 April 2005 after congress removed Lucio GUTIERREZ from office |
chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Themba DLAMINI (since 14 November 2003) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | 387,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | US 42.9%, Panama 14.3%, Peru 7.9%, Italy 4.6% (2004) | South Africa 72%, EU 14.2%, Mozambique 3.7%, US 3.5%, UK (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $5.542 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 30.5% services: 60.9% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 44% services: 39% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.8% (2004 est.) | 1.6% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 77 30 W | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
Geography - note | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 43,197 km
paved: 8,164 km unpaved: 35,033 km (2002) |
total: 3,247 km
paved: NA unpaved: NA (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32% note: data for urban households only (October 2003) |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru; 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, especially vulnerable along the border with Colombia; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents | - |
Imports | NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | vehicles, medicinal products, telecommunications equipment, electricity | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 16.5%, Colombia 14.1%, China 9.2%, Venezuela 7.1%, Brazil 6.5%, Chile 4.6%, Japan 4.5%, Mexico 4.3% (2004) | South Africa 88.8%, EU 5.6%, Japan 0.6%, Singapore 0.4% (1999) |
Independence | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 10% (2004 est.) | 3.7% (FY 95/96) |
Industries | petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals | mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
Infant mortality rate | total: 23.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 67.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 70.79 deaths/1,000 live births female: 63.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2004 est.) | 11.8% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 5 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 8,650 sq km (1998 est.) | 690 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (according to the Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; in December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution) | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 4.53 million (urban) (2004 est.) | 383,200 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 24%, services 68% (2001) | NA |
Land boundaries | total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.85%
permanent crops: 4.93% other: 89.22% (2001) |
arable land: 9.77%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 89.53% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are popularly elected by province to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2002 (next to be held October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSC 25, PRE 15, ID 16, PRIAN 10, PSP 9, Pachakutik Movement 6, MPD 5, DP 4, PS-FA 3, independents 7; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties |
bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held NA October 2008) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.21 years
male: 73.35 years female: 79.22 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 39.47 years
male: 41.02 years female: 37.87 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5% male: 94% female: 91% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | South America | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 241,403 GRT/391,898 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 2, liquefied gas 1, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 20 foreign-owned: 3 (Germany 1, Greece 1, Paraguay 1) (2005) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $655 million (2004) | $20 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (2004) | 4.75% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 284,530 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 165,005 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts | drought |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | extra heavy crude 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,386 km; refined products 1,185 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Guillermo LANDAZURI]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Movement [Gilberto TALAHUA]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democracy or DP [Dr. Juan Manuel FUERTES]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Gustavo TERAN Acosta]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Leon FEBRES CORDERO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Victor GRANDA] | political parties are banned by the constitution - the following are considered political associations; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Luis MACAS, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president]; Popular Front or FP [Luis VILLACIS] | NA |
Population | 13,363,593 (July 2005 est.) | 1,161,219
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (2001 est.) | 40% (1995) |
Population growth rate | 1.24% (2005 est.) | 0.83% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Railways | total: 966 km
narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters | 18 years of age |
Telephone system | general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded
domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable international: country code - 593; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.549 million (2003) | 38,500 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,394,400 (2003) | 45,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2001) | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001) |
Terrain | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.72 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.92 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.1%; note - underemployment of 47% (2004 est.) | 34% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2003) | none |