Ecuador (2008) | Nauru (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 24 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, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe | 14 districts; Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, Yaren |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 36.9% (male 2,507/female 2,391)
15-64 years: 61.2% (male 4,004/female 4,123) 65 years and over: 2% (male 139/female 123) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp | coconuts |
Airports | 406 (2007) | 1 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 302
914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 268 (2007) |
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Area | total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Nevada | about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | The exact origins of the Nauruans are unclear, since their language does not resemble any other in the Pacific. The island was annexed by Germany in 1888 and its phosphate deposits began to be mined early in the 20th century by a German-British consortium. Nauru was occupied by Australian forces in World War I and subsequently became a League of Nations mandate. After the Second World War - and a brutal occupation by Japan - Nauru became a UN trust territory. It achieved its independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999 as the world's smallest independent republic. |
Birth rate | 21.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 24.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.1 billion
expenditures: planned $11.3 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $13.5 million
expenditures: $13.5 million (2005) |
Capital | name: Quito
geographic coordinates: 0 13 S, 78 30 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands | tropical with a monsoonal pattern; rainy season (November to February) |
Coastline | 2,237 km | 30 km |
Constitution | 10 August 1998 | 29 January 1968; amended 17 May 1968 (Constitution Day) |
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: Republic of Nauru
conventional short form: Nauru local long form: Republic of Nauru local short form: Nauru former: Pleasant Island |
Death rate | 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $17.56 billion (31 October 2007) | $33.3 million (2002) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Nauru; the US Ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Nauru |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Vinci Niel CLODUMAR
chancery: 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400 D, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 937-0074 FAX: [1] (212) 937-0079 consulate(s): Agana (Guam) |
Disputes - international | organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border, which thousands of Colombians also cross to escape the violence in their home country | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $209.5 million (2005) | $20 million mostly from Australia |
Economy - overview | Ecuador is substantially dependent on its petroleum resources, which have accounted for more than half of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years. In 1999/2000, Ecuador suffered a severe economic crisis, with GDP contracted by more than 6%, with a significant increase in poverty. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and positive growth returned in the years that followed, helped by high oil prices, remittances, and increased non-traditional exports. From 2002-2006 the economy grew 5.5%, the highest five-year average in 25 years. The poverty rate declined but remained high at 38% in 2006. In 2006 the government of Alfredo PALACIO (2005-07) seized the assets of Occidental Petroleum for alleged contract violations and imposed a windfall revenue tax on foreign oil companies, leading to the suspension of free trade negotiations with the US. These measures, combined with chronic underinvestment in the state oil company, Petroecuador, led to a drop in petroleum production in 2007. PALACIO's successor, Rafael CORREA, raised the specter of debt default - but Ecuador has paid its debt on time. He also decreed a higher windfall revenue tax on private oil companies, then sought to renegotiate their contracts to overcome the debilitating effect of the tax. This generated economic uncertainty; private investment has dropped and economic growth has slowed significantly. | Revenues of this tiny island have traditionally come from exports of phosphates, now significantly depleted. An Australian company in 2005 entered into an agreement intended to exploit remaining supplies. Few other resources exist with most necessities being imported, mainly from Australia, its former occupier and later major source of support. The rehabilitation of mined land and the replacement of income from phosphates are serious long-term problems. In anticipation of the exhaustion of Nauru's phosphate deposits, substantial amounts of phosphate income were invested in trust funds to help cushion the transition and provide for Nauru's economic future. As a result of heavy spending from the trust funds, the government faces virtual bankruptcy. To cut costs the government has frozen wages and reduced overstaffed public service departments. In 2005, the deterioration in housing, hospitals, and other capital plant continued, and the cost to Australia of keeping the government and economy afloat continued to climb. Few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Nauru's GDP varying widely. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.855 billion kWh (2005) | 21.39 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 16 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 1.723 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 12.94 billion kWh (2005) | 23 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location along plateau rim 61 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 natural fresh water resources, roof storage tanks collect rainwater, but mostly dependent on a single, aging desalination plant; intensive phosphate mining during the past 90 years - mainly by a UK, Australia, and NZ consortium - has left the central 90% of Nauru a wasteland and threatens limited remaining land resources |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% | Nauruan 58%, other Pacific Islander 26%, Chinese 8%, European 8% |
Exchange rates | 1 the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000 | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 22 June 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ludwig SCOTTY (since 22 June 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a three-year term; election last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: Ludwig SCOTTY was unopposed in the parliamentary elections for president |
Exports | 420,600 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish | phosphates |
Exports - partners | US 53.6%, Peru 8.2%, Colombia 5.6%, Chile 4.4% (2006) | South Africa 63.7%, South Korea 7.6%, Canada 6.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | blue with a narrow, horizontal, yellow stripe across the center and a large white 12-pointed star below the stripe on the hoist side; the star indicates the country's location in relation to the Equator (the yellow stripe) and the 12 points symbolize the 12 original tribes of Nauru |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 35% services: 54% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 77 30 W | 0 32 S, 166 55 E |
Geography - note | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world | Nauru is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Makatea in French Polynesia; only 53 km south of Equator |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 35% note: data for urban households only (October 2006) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 | - |
Imports | 44,680 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods | food, fuel, manufactures, building materials, machinery |
Imports - partners | US 23.1%, Colombia 13.3%, Brazil 7.3%, Panama 4% (2006) | South Korea 43.8%, Australia 36.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.3% (2005) |
Independence | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) | 31 January 1968 (from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.4% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals | phosphate mining, offshore banking, coconut products |
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.) |
total: 9.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2007 est.) | -3.6% (1993) |
International organization participation | CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, ICAO, ICCt, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Irrigated land | 8,650 sq km (2003) | NA |
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) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 4.55 million (urban) (2007 est.) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 8%
industry: 24% services: 68% (2001) |
note: 0.1% employed in mining phosphates, public administration, education, and transportation |
Land boundaries | total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.71%
permanent crops: 4.81% other: 89.48% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes |
Legal system | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | acts of the Nauru Parliament and British common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve four-year terms)
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 |
unicameral Parliament (18 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 23 October 2004 (next to be held not later than 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - Nauru First Party 3, independents 15 note: the president dissolved parliament on 30 September 2004 and set new elections for 23 October 2004 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.62 years
male: 73.74 years female: 79.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 63.08 years
male: 59.5 years female: 66.84 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91% male: 92.3% female: 89.7% (2001 census) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands |
Map references | South America | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | 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) |
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Military - note | - | Nauru maintains no defense forces; under an informal agreement, defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) (2007) | no regular military forces; Nauru Police Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (2006) | NA |
National holiday | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) | Independence Day, 31 January (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
noun: Nauruan(s)
adjective: Nauruan |
Natural hazards | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower | phosphates, fish |
Net migration rate | -2.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | extra heavy crude oil 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,389 km; refined products 1,185 km (2007) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Alianza PAIS Movement [Rafael Vicente CORREA Delgado]; Christian Democratic Union or UDC [Diego ORDONEZ Guerrero]; Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP; Democratic Left or ID [Andres PAEZ Benalcazar]; Ethical and Democratic Network or RED [Leon ROLDOS]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement - New Country or MUPP-NP [Gilberto TALAHUA]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Ciro GUZMAN Aldaz]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Pascual DEL CIOPPO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Gustavo AYALA Cruz] | loose multiparty system; Democratic Party [Kennan ADEANG]; Nauru Party (informal); Nauru First (Naoero Amo) Party |
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] | NA |
Population | 13,755,680 (July 2007 est.) | 13,287 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 38.3% (2006) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.554% (2007 est.) | 1.81% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 966 km
narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
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Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% | Christian (two-thirds Protestant, one-third Roman Catholic) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters | 20 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: adequate local and international radiotelephone communication provided via Australian facilities
domestic: NA international: country code - 674; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.754 million (2006) | 1,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8.485 million (2006) | 1,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2000) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) | sandy beach rises to fertile ring around raised coral reefs with phosphate plateau in center |
Total fertility rate | 2.63 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.8% (2007 est.) | 90% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2006) | - |