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Compare Pacific Ocean (2008) - Ecuador (2008)

Compare Pacific Ocean (2008) z Ecuador (2008)

 Pacific Ocean (2008)Ecuador (2008)
 Pacific OceanEcuador
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: 155.557 million sq km


note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies
total: 283,560 sq km


land: 276,840 sq km


water: 6,720 sq km


note: includes Galapagos Islands
Area - comparative about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world slightly smaller than Nevada
Background The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south. 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 - 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 planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
Coastline 135,663 km 2,237 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 some maritime disputes (see littoral states) 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 - recipient - $209.5 million (2005)
Economy - overview The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings. 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 - 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: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m


highest point: sea level 0 m
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m


highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m
Environment - current issues endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea 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 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 - 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 0 00 N, 160 00 W 2 00 S, 77 30 W
Geography - note the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world
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 body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Map references Political Map of the World South America
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 surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts
Natural resources oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower
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.)
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 surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
Total fertility rate - 2.63 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Transportation - note Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state) -
Unemployment rate - 9.8% (2007 est.)
Waterways - 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2006)
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