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Compare Western Sahara (2008) - Ecuador (2008)

Compare Western Sahara (2008) z Ecuador (2008)

 Western Sahara (2008)Ecuador (2008)
 Western SaharaEcuador
Administrative divisions none (under de facto control of Morocco) 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: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421)


15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895)


65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (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 fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp
Airports 9 (2007) 406 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (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: 6


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 2 (2007)
total: 302


914 to 1,523 m: 34


under 914 m: 268 (2007)
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. In April 2007, Morocco presented an autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN in 2007. Since August 2007, representatives from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front have met three times to negotiate the status of Western Sahara, with a fourth round of negotiations planned for March 2008. 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 NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 21.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $NA


expenditures: $NA
revenues: $13.1 billion


expenditures: planned $11.3 billion (2007 est.)
Capital none


time difference: UTC 0 (5 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 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
Death rate NA 4.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $NA $17.56 billion (31 October 2007)
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, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria 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 $NA $209.5 million (2005)
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. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006 the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara. 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 79.05 million 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 85 million kWh (2005) 12.94 billion kWh (2005)
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 - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003) 1 the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000
Executive branch none 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 0 bbl/day (2004) 420,600 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities phosphates 62% petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish
Exports - partners Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) US 53.6%, Peru 8.2%, Colombia 5.6%, Chile 4.4% (2006)
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 - composition by sector agriculture: NA%


industry: NA%


services: 40%
agriculture: 10%


industry: 35%


services: 54% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate NA% 2.6% (2007 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 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
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 1,698 bbl/day (2004) 44,680 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods
Imports - partners Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) US 23.1%, Colombia 13.3%, Brazil 7.3%, Panama 4% (2006)
Independence - 24 May 1822 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 1.4% (2007 est.)
Industries phosphate mining, handicrafts petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals
Infant mortality rate total: NA


male: NA


female: NA
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) NA% 3.3% (2007 est.)
International organization participation none 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 NA 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 4.55 million (urban) (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 50%


industry and services: 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% (2005)
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 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: NA


male: NA


female: NA
total population: 76.62 years


male: 73.74 years


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


total population: 91%


male: 92.3%


female: 89.7% (2001 census)
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: 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: 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 - -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 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 382,617


note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.)
13,755,680 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% 38.3% (2006)
Population growth rate NA 1.554% (2007 est.)
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 (2006)
Religions Muslim Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
Sex ratio NA 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 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: 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 about 2,000 (1999 est.) 1.754 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 0 (1999) 8.485 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations NA 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2000)
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 2.63 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate NA% 9.8% (2007 est.)
Waterways - 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2006)
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