Compare Japan (2008) - Ecuador (2008)

Compare Japan (2008) z Ecuador (2008)

	Japan (2008)	Ecuador (2008)

Administrative divisions	47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi	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: 13.8% (male 9,024,344/female 8,553,700) 15-64 years: 65.2% (male 41,841,760/female 41,253,968) 65 years and over: 21% (male 11,312,492/female 15,447,230) (2007 est.)	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	rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish	bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp
Airports	176 (2007)	406 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 145 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 41 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 29 (2007)	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: 31 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 27 (2007)	total: 302 914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 268 (2007)
Area	total: 377,835 sq km land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto)	total: 283,560 sq km land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than California	slightly smaller than Nevada
Background	In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians - with heavy input from bureaucrats and business executives - wield actual decisionmaking power. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally.	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.
Birth rate	8.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	21.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.463 trillion expenditures: $1.575 trillion (2007 est.)	revenues: $13.1 billion expenditures: planned $11.3 billion (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Tokyo geographic coordinates: 35 41 N, 139 45 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Quito geographic coordinates: 0 13 S, 78 30 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north	tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
Coastline	29,751 km	2,237 km
Constitution	3 May 1947	10 August 1998
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Japan local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku local short form: Nihon/Nippon	conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador
Death rate	8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.492 trillion (30 June 2007)	$17.56 billion (31 October 2007)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya	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 Ryozo KATO chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Agana (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, Seattle	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	the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril Islands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting	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
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $7.5 billion (2007)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	$209.5 million (2005)
Economy - overview	Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. One notable characteristic of the economy has been how manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors have worked together in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features have now eroded. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 55% of its food on a caloric basis. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades, overall real economic growth had been spectacular - a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of overinvestment and an asset price bubble during the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time for firms to reduce excess debt, capital, and labor. From 2000 to 2001, government efforts to revive economic growth proved short lived and were hampered by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. In 2002-07, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices and economic activity lessened, leading the central bank to raise interest rates to 0.25% in July 2006, up from the near 0% rate of the six years prior, and to 0.50% in February 2007. In addition, the ten-year privatization of Japan Post, which has functioned not only as the national postal delivery system but also, through its banking and insurance facilities as Japan's largest financial institution, was completed in October 2007, marking a major milestone in the process of structural reform. Nevertheless, Japan's huge government debt, which totals 182% of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Some fear that a rise in taxes could endanger the current economic recovery. Debate also continues on the role of and effects of reform in restructuring the economy, particularly with respect to increasing income disparities.	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.
Electricity - consumption	974.2 billion kWh (2005)	8.855 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	16 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	1.723 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	1.025 trillion kWh (2005)	12.94 billion kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere	deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands
Environment - international agreements	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling	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
Ethnic groups	Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.7% note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004)	mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3%
Exchange rates	yen per US dollar - 117.99 (2007), 116.18 (2006), 110.22 (2005), 108.19 (2004), 115.93 (2003)	1 the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000
Executive branch	chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Yasuo FUKUDA (since 26 September 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; monarch is hereditary election results: FUKUDA elected prime minister with 338 of 477 votes cast in the House of Representatives; he received 106 of 240 votes cast in the House of Councillors; vote of House of Representatives prevailed	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	94,830 bbl/day (2004)	420,600 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals	petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish
Exports - partners	US 22.8%, China 14.3%, South Korea 7.8%, Taiwan 6.8%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2006)	US 53.6%, Peru 8.2%, Colombia 5.6%, Chile 4.4% (2006)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
Flag description	white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center	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: 1.5% industry: 25.2% services: 73.3% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 10% industry: 35% services: 54% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.9% (2007 est.)	2.6% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	36 00 N, 138 00 E	2 00 S, 77 30 W
Geography - note	strategic location in northeast Asia	Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world
Heliports	14 (2007)	1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 4.8% highest 10%: 21.7% (1993)	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	5.425 million bbl/day (2004)	44,680 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials	industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods
Imports - partners	China 20.5%, US 12%, Saudi Arabia 6.4%, UAE 5.5%, Australia 4.8%, South Korea 4.7%, Indonesia 4.2% (2006)	US 23.1%, Colombia 13.3%, Brazil 7.3%, Panama 4% (2006)
Independence	660 B.C. (traditional founding by Emperor JIMMU)	24 May 1822 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	1.3% (2007 est.)	1.4% (2007 est.)
Industries	among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods	petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals
Infant mortality rate	total: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	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)	0% (2007 est.)	3.3% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	ADB, AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA, MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC	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	25,920 sq km (2003)	8,650 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet)	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	66.07 million (2007 est.)	4.55 million (urban) (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 4.6% industry: 27.8% services: 67.7% (2004)	agriculture: 8% industry: 24% services: 68% (2001)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 2,010 km border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km
Land use	arable land: 11.64% permanent crops: 0.9% other: 87.46% (2005)	arable land: 5.71% permanent crops: 4.81% other: 89.48% (2005)
Languages	Japanese	Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
Legal system	modeled after German civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations	based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 146 members in multi-seat constituencies and 96 by proportional representation) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs) elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2010); House of Representatives - last held 11 September 2005 (next election by September 2009) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DPJ 109, LDP 83, Komeito 20, JCP 7, SDP 5, others 18 House of Representatives - percent of vote by party (in single-seat constituencies) - LDP 47.8%, DPJ 36.4%, others 15.8%; seats by party - LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24 (2007)	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: 82.02 years male: 78.67 years female: 85.56 years (2007 est.)	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: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2002)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91% male: 92.3% female: 89.7% (2001 census)
Location	Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula	Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Map references	Asia	South America
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 200 nm continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath
Merchant marine	total: 676 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,386,894 GRT/11,689,142 DWT by type: bulk carrier 131, cargo 29, carrier 3, chemical tanker 23, container 10, liquefied gas 58, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 142, petroleum tanker 157, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 52, vehicle carrier 55 registered in other countries: 2,692 (Bahamas 62, Belize 2, Bermuda 1, Burma 3, Cambodia 3, Cayman Islands 6, China 2, Cyprus 19, France 5, Honduras 4, Hong Kong 78, Indonesia 5, Isle of Man 4, South Korea 1, Liberia 111, Malaysia 4, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 5, Mongolia 1, Norway 1, Panama 2,151, Philippines 69, Portugal 10, Singapore 108, Sweden 1, Thailand 4, UK 1, Vanuatu 28, unknown 2) (2007)	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	Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD): Ground Self-Defense Force (Rikujou Jietai, GSDF), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Kaijou Jietai, MSDF), Air Self-Defense Force (Koku Jieitai, ASDF) (2008)	Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) (2007)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.8% (2006)	2.8% (2006)
National holiday	Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933)	Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809)
Nationality	noun: Japanese (singular and plural) adjective: Japanese	noun: Ecuadorian(s) adjective: Ecuadorian
Natural hazards	many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons	frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts
Natural resources	negligible mineral resources, fish	petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-2.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 3,939 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 104 km (2007)	extra heavy crude oil 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,389 km; refined products 1,185 km (2007)
Political parties and leaders	Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Ichiro OZAWA]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII]; Komeito [Akihiro OTA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Yasuo FUKUDA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA]	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	NA	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	127,433,494 (July 2007 est.)	13,755,680 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	38.3% (2006)
Population growth rate	-0.088% (2007 est.)	1.554% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 215 (plus 370 repeaters), FM 89 (plus 485 repeaters), shortwave 21 (2001)	AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001)
Railways	total: 23,474 km standard gauge: 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified) narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified); 20,182 km 1.067-m gauge (13,334 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2006)	total: 966 km narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)
Religions	observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%)	Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.732 male(s)/female total population: 0.953 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	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	20 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters
Telephone system	general assessment: excellent domestic and international service domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international: country code - 81; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions	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	55.155 million (2006)	1.754 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	101.7 million (2006)	8.485 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations	211 (plus 7,341 repeaters); in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999)	7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2000)
Terrain	mostly rugged and mountainous	coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
Total fertility rate	1.23 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.63 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	4% (2007 est.)	9.8% (2007 est.)
Waterways	1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2007)	1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2006)

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