Uganda (2006) | Ecuador (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 56 districts; Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kaberamaido, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kayunga, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Kyenjojo, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mayuge, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakapiripirit, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pader, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Sironko, Soroti, Tororo, Wakiso, Yumbe
note: as of a July 2005, 13 new districts were reportedly added bringing the total up to 69; the new districts are Amolatar, Amuria, Budaka, Butaleja, Ibanda, Kaabong, Kabingo, Kaliro, Kiruhura, Koboko, Manafwa, Mityana, Nakaseke; a total of nine more districts are in the process of being added |
22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 50% (male 7,091,763/female 6,996,385)
15-64 years: 47.8% (male 6,762,071/female 6,727,230) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 266,931/female 351,374) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.5% (male 2,282,252/female 2,195,942)
15-64 years: 61.5% (male 4,094,146/female 4,130,096) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 310,336/female 350,821) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses, cut flowers; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp |
Airports | 31 (2006) | 205 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 62
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 26
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 8 (2006) |
total: 143
914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 113 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 236,040 sq km
land: 199,710 sq km water: 36,330 sq km |
total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly smaller than Nevada |
Background | The colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences prevented the establishment of a working political community after independence was achieved in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. The rule of Yoweri MUSEVENI since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth to Uganda. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections. | The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Seven presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996. |
Birth rate | 47.35 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 22.67 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.845 billion
expenditures: $1.904 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $7.9 billion
expenditures: planned $7.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Kampala
geographic coordinates: 0 19 N, 32 25 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Quito |
Climate | tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,237 km |
Constitution | 8 October 1995; in 2005 the constitution was amended removing presidential term limits and legalizing a multiparty political system | 10 August 1998 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Uganda
conventional short form: Uganda |
conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
Death rate | 12.24 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 4.24 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.973 billion (2005 est.) | $16.81 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires William FITZGERALD
embassy: 1577 Ggaba Rd., Kampala mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala telephone: [256] (41) 234-142 FAX: [256] (41) 258-451 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Kristie Anne KENNEY
embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039 telephone: [593] (2) 256-2890 FAX: [593] (2) 250-2052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Edith G. SSEMPALA
chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Jersey City (New Jersey), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces; Ugandan refugees have fled the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) into the southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; LRA forces have attacked Kenyan villages across the border | organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border and caused over 20,000 refugees to flee into Ecuador in 2004 |
Economic aid - recipient | $959 million (2003) | $216 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion. Growth for 2001-02 was solid despite continued decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export. Growth in 2003-05 reflected an upturn in Uganda's export markets. | Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of central government budget revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ - January 2003 to April 2005 - Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on economic reforms necessary to reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.448 billion kWh (2003) | 10.79 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 160 million kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 57 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.729 billion kWh (2003) | 11.54 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m
highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m |
Environment - current issues | draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; poaching is widespread | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
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 | Baganda 17%, Ankole 8%, Basoga 8%, Iteso 8%, Bakiga 7%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Batoro 3%, Bunyoro 3%, Alur 2%, Bagwere 2%, Bakonjo 2%, Jopodhola 2%, Karamojong 2%, Rundi 2%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 8% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% |
Exchange rates | Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,780.7 (2005), 1,810.3 (2004), 1,963.7 (2003), 1,797.6 (2002), 1,755.7 (2001) | 25,000 (2004), 25,000 (2003), 25,000 (2002), 25,000 (2001), 24,988 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 26 January 1986); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); Prime Minister Apollo NSIBAMBI (since 5 April 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; the prime minister assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected legislators elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 23 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 59.3%, Kizza BESIGYE 37.4%, other 3.3% |
chief of state: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; former President Lucio GUTIERREZ was removed from office by congress effective 20 April 2005
head of government: President Alfredo PALACIO (since 20 April 2005); Vice President Nicanor Alejandro SERRANO Aguilar (since 5 May 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a four-year term (no immediate reelection); election last held 20 October 2002; runoff election held 24 November 2002 (next to be held October 2006) election results: results of the 24 November 2002 runoff election - Lucio GUTIERREZ elected president; percent of vote - Lucio GUTIERREZ 54.3%; Alvaro NOBOA 45.7%; note - Vice President Alfredo PALACIO assumed the presidency on 20 April 2005 after congress removed Lucio GUTIERREZ from office |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 387,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, fish and fish products, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products; gold | petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp |
Exports - partners | Kenya 15.1%, Belgium 9.9%, Netherlands 9.7%, France 7.1%, Germany 5.1%, Rwanda 4% (2005) | US 42.9%, Panama 14.3%, Peru 7.9%, Italy 4.6% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side | 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: 31.1%
industry: 22.2% services: 46.9% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 30.5% services: 60.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2005 est.) | 5.8% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 1 00 N, 32 00 E | 2 00 S, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world |
Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 43,197 km
paved: 8,164 km unpaved: 35,033 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 21% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32% note: data for urban households only (October 2003) |
Illicit drugs | - | significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime, especially vulnerable along the border with Colombia; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals | vehicles, medicinal products, telecommunications equipment, electricity |
Imports - partners | Kenya 32%, UAE 8.6%, South Africa 6.4%, India 5.7%, China 5.2%, UK 4.4%, US 4.1%, Japan 4% (2005) | US 16.5%, Colombia 14.1%, China 9.2%, Venezuela 7.1%, Brazil 6.5%, Chile 4.6%, Japan 4.5%, Mexico 4.3% (2004) |
Independence | 9 October 1962 (from UK) | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9% (2005 est.) | 10% (2004 est.) |
Industries | sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles; cement, steel production | petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals |
Infant mortality rate | total: 66.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 69.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 23.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.1% (2005 est.) | 2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, EADB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 90 sq km (2003) | 8,650 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the president) | 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 | 13.17 million (2005 est.) | 4.53 million (urban) (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 82%
industry: 5% services: 13% (1999 est.) |
agriculture 8%, industry 24%, services 68% (2001) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,698 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 km |
total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
Land use | arable land: 21.57%
permanent crops: 8.92% other: 69.51% (2005) |
arable land: 5.85%
permanent crops: 4.93% other: 89.22% (2001) |
Languages | English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) |
Legal system | in 1995, the government restored the legal system to one based on English common law and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (303 members - 214 directly elected by popular vote, 81 nominated by legally established special interest groups [women 56, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5], 8 ex officio members; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 23 February 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - election results had not been posted as of March 2006 |
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are popularly elected by province to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2002 (next to be held October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSC 25, PRE 15, ID 16, PRIAN 10, PSP 9, Pachakutik Movement 6, MPD 5, DP 4, PS-FA 3, independents 7; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 52.67 years
male: 51.68 years female: 53.69 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 76.21 years
male: 73.35 years female: 79.22 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 69.9% male: 79.5% female: 60.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5% male: 94% female: 91% (2003 est.) |
Location | Eastern Africa, west of Kenya | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath |
Merchant marine | - | total: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 241,403 GRT/391,898 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 2, liquefied gas 1, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 20 foreign-owned: 3 (Germany 1, Greece 1, Paraguay 1) (2005) |
Military branches | Ugandan Peoples' Defense Force (UPDF): Army, Marine Unit, Air Wing | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $192.8 million (2005 est.) | $655 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (2005 est.) | 2.2% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 9 October (1962) | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) |
Nationality | noun: Ugandan(s)
adjective: Ugandan |
noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
Natural hazards | NA | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | extra heavy crude 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,386 km; refined products 1,185 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Conservative Party or CP [Ken LUKYAMUZI]; Democratic Party or DP [Kizito SSEBAANA]; Forum for Democratic Change or FDC [Kizza BESIGYE]; Justice Forum or JEEMA [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA]; National Resistance Movement or NRM [Yoweri MUSEVENI]; Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Miria OBOTE]
note: a national referendum in July 2005 opened the way for Uganda's transition to a multi-party political system |
Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Guillermo LANDAZURI]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Movement [Gilberto TALAHUA]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democracy or DP [Dr. Juan Manuel FUERTES]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Gustavo TERAN Acosta]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Leon FEBRES CORDERO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Victor GRANDA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Popular Resistance Against a Life President or PRALP | Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Luis MACAS, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president]; Popular Front or FP [Luis VILLACIS] |
Population | 28,195,754
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
13,363,593 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 35% (2001 est.) | 45% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.37% (2006 est.) | 1.24% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001) | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) |
Railways | total: 1,244 km
narrow gauge: 1,244 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
total: 966 km
narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 18% | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 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: seriously inadequate; two cellular systems have been introduced, but a sharp increase in the number of main lines is essential; e-mail and Internet services are available
domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile cellular systems for short-range traffic international: country code - 256; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania |
general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded
domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable international: country code - 593; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 100,800 (2005) | 1.549 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.525 million (2005) | 2,394,400 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001) | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly plateau with rim of mountains | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) |
Total fertility rate | 6.71 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.72 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 11.1%; note - underemployment of 47% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | on Lake Victoria, 200 km on Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, and parts of Albert Nile (2005) | 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2003) |