Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare Ecuador (2008) - Southern Ocean (2003)

Compare Ecuador (2008) z Southern Ocean (2003)

 Ecuador (2008)Southern Ocean (2003)
 EcuadorSouthern Ocean
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 -
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.)
-
Agriculture - products bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp -
Airports 406 (2007) -
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)
-
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 302


914 to 1,523 m: 34


under 914 m: 268 (2007)
-
Area total: 283,560 sq km


land: 276,840 sq km


water: 6,720 sq km


note: includes Galapagos Islands
total: 20.327 million sq km


note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Nevada slightly more than twice the size of the US
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. A decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 delimited a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - from the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit. The Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean).
Birth rate 21.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) -
Budget revenues: $13.1 billion


expenditures: planned $11.3 billion (2007 est.)
-
Capital name: Quito


geographic coordinates: 0 13 S, 78 30 W


time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
-
Climate tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter
Coastline 2,237 km 17,968 km
Constitution 10 August 1998 -
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador


conventional short form: Ecuador


local long form: Republica del Ecuador


local short form: Ecuador
-
Death rate 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) -
Debt - external $17.56 billion (31 October 2007) -
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
-
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
-
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 Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Economic aid - recipient $209.5 million (2005) -
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. Fisheries in 2000-01 (1 July to 30 June) landed 112,934 metric tons, of which 87% was krill and 11% Patagonian toothfish. International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and antarctic toothfish. In the 2000-01 antarctic summer 12,248 tourists, most of them seaborne, visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 the previous year.
Electricity - consumption 8.855 billion kWh (2005) -
Electricity - exports 16 million kWh (2005) -
Electricity - imports 1.723 billion kWh (2005) -
Electricity - production 12.94 billion kWh (2005) -
Elevation extremes lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m


highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m
lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench


highest point: sea level 0 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 increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish


note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
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
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)


note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north
Ethnic groups mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% -
Exchange rates 1 the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000 -
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%
-
Exports 420,600 bbl/day (2004 est.) -
Exports - commodities petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish -
Exports - partners US 53.6%, Peru 8.2%, Colombia 5.6%, Chile 4.4% (2006) -
Fiscal year calendar year -
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 -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 10%


industry: 35%


services: 54% (2007 est.)
-
GDP - real growth rate 2.6% (2007 est.) -
Geographic coordinates 2 00 S, 77 30 W 65 00 S, 0 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude
Geography - note Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds
Heliports 1 (2007) -
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2%


highest 10%: 35%


note: data for urban households only (October 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 -
Imports 44,680 bbl/day (2004) -
Imports - commodities industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods -
Imports - partners US 23.1%, Colombia 13.3%, Brazil 7.3%, Panama 4% (2006) -
Independence 24 May 1822 (from Spain) -
Industrial production growth rate 1.4% (2007 est.) -
Industries petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals -
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.)
-
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.3% (2007 est.) -
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 -
Irrigated land 8,650 sq km (2003) -
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) -
Labor force 4.55 million (urban) (2007 est.) -
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 8%


industry: 24%


services: 68% (2001)
-
Land boundaries total: 2,010 km


border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km
-
Land use arable land: 5.71%


permanent crops: 4.81%


other: 89.48% (2005)
-
Languages Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) -
Legal system based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction -
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
-
Life expectancy at birth total population: 76.62 years


male: 73.74 years


female: 79.63 years (2007 est.)
-
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 91%


male: 92.3%


female: 89.7% (2001 census)
-
Location Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica
Map references South America Antarctic Region
Maritime claims territorial sea: 200 nm


continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath
-
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)
-
Military branches Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) (2007) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.8% (2006) -
National holiday Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) -
Nationality noun: Ecuadorian(s)


adjective: Ecuadorian
-
Natural hazards frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 meter thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue
Natural resources petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fishes
Net migration rate -2.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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] -
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] -
Population 13,755,680 (July 2007 est.) -
Population below poverty line 38.3% (2006) -
Population growth rate 1.554% (2007 est.) -
Ports and harbors - McMurdo, Palmer, and offshore anchorages in Antarctica


note: few ports or harbors exist on the southern side of the Southern Ocean; ice conditions limit use of most of them to short periods in midsummer; even then some cannot be entered without icebreaker escort; most antarctic ports are operated by government research stations and, except in an emergency, are not open to commercial or private vessels; vessels in any port south of 60 degrees south are subject to inspection by Antarctic Treaty observers (see Article 7)
Radio broadcast stations AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) -
Railways total: 966 km


narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)
-
Religions Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% -
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.)
-
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters -
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)
-
Telephones - main lines in use 1.754 million (2006) -
Telephones - mobile cellular 8.485 million (2006) -
Television broadcast stations 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2000) -
Terrain coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers
Total fertility rate 2.63 children born/woman (2007 est.) -
Transportation - note - Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal
Unemployment rate 9.8% (2007 est.) -
Waterways 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2006) -
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.