Western Sahara (2004) | Ecuador (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
0-14 years: 33% (male 2,281,499/female 2,195,551)
15-64 years: 61.9% (male 4,178,653/female 4,210,766) 65 years and over: 5% (male 319,719/female 361,322) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp |
Airports | 11 (2003 est.) | 359 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 98
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 43 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 261
914 to 1,523 m: 33 under 914 m: 228 (2006) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly smaller than Nevada |
Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | 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 by 1819 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. Seven presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 22.29 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $8.822 billion
expenditures: planned $8.153 billion; including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2005 est.) |
Capital | none | name: Quito
geographic coordinates: 0 13 S, 78 30 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 2,237 km |
Constitution | - | 10 August 1998 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
Currency | Moroccan dirham (MAD) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 4.23 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $18.09 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | 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 | none | 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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991 but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | 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 | NA | $216 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. | Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-third 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. However, the government under Alfredo PALACIO has reversed economic reforms that reduced Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises, allowing the central government greater access to oil windfalls and disbursing surplus retirement funds. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (2001) | 10.55 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 65 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 140 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2001) | 11.27 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | 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: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Arab, Berber | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 9.574 (2003), 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999) | 25,000 (2005), 25,000 (2004), 25,000 (2003), 25,000 (2002), 25,000 (2001) |
Executive branch | none | 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) 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 scheduled for 26 November 2006 (next to be held October 2010) election results: results of the 15 October 2006 election; percent of vote - Alvaro NOBOA 26.8%; Rafael CORREA 22.8%; Gilmar GUTIERREZ 17.4%; Leon ROLDOS Aguilera 14.8%; Cynthia VITERI 9.6%; note - a runoff election will be held 26 November 2006 between NOBOA and CORREA |
Exports | NA (2001) | 387,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | US 51.1%, Peru 8%, Germany 4.4%, Colombia 4.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar 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 | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 31.2% services: 61.8% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 4.7% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 2 00 S, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world |
Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
Highways | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | vehicles, medicinal products, telecommunications equipment, electricity |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000) | US 22.3%, Colombia 14.9%, Venezuela 7.8%, Brazil 6%, China 5.3% (2005) |
Independence | - | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 2.1% (2005 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 22.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.42 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 2.1% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | none | CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 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 | 12,000 | 4.6 million (urban) (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | agriculture: 8%
industry: 24% services: 68% (2001) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 5.71%
permanent crops: 4.81% other: 89.48% (2005) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | 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 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, ID 16, PRE 15, 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: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 76.42 years
male: 73.55 years female: 79.43 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5% male: 94% female: 91% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath |
Merchant marine | - | total: 31 ships (1000 GRT or over) 184,819 GRT/300,339 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger 7, petroleum tanker 21, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 2 (Norway 1, Paraguay 1) registered in other countries: 1 (Georgia 1) (2006) |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (includes naval infantry, naval aviation, coast guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $650 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 2% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi,Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | -3.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | extra heavy crude 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,386 km; refined products 1,185 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | - | 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 | none | 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 | 267,405 (July 2004 est.) | 13,547,510 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 41% (2003) |
Population growth rate | NA | 1.5% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 966 km
narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Muslim | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% |
Sex ratio | NA | 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: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
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 | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 1,701,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 6.246 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 2.68 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 10.7% official rate; but underemployment of 47% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2005) |