Aaron O'Neill
Research lead for society, economy, and politics: Europe & global
Ecuador - Statistics & Facts
Geography and demographics
The Republic of Ecuador is located in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia to the Northeast, Peru to the East and South and the Pacific Ocean to the West. The Galapagos Islands are also a part of Ecuador. The country is home to a variety of indigenous people as well as inhabitants of Spanish origin. Spanish is also the country's official language. In the early 2000s, Ecuador was politically and economically unstable, after its currency was changed to the U.S. dollar in order to combat inflation. At present the country's economy has recovered. Ecuador is currently governed by President Guillermo Lasso.The capital of Ecuador is Quito, the country’s second largest city after Guayaquil. Today, the total population of Ecuador amounts to between 16. and 17 million people, of which more than 60 percent are living in urban areas and cities. Population growth is decreasing slightly, due to a similarly decreasing fertility rate, and a slightly increasing average life expectancy. All of these indicators are signs of an increase in the standard of living and healthcare.
The Peruvian economy
Ecuador's developing economy is highly dependent on petroleum. The country's GDP passed the 100 billion dollar mark in 2017, after GDP growth slipped into the red in 2016, falling again in 2020 and being practically zero the year before. This is likely due to the fact that Ecuador relies heavily on oil export revenue, and oil prices have been falling, which has in turn negatively impacted growth. For most of the last decade, Ecuador has been reporting a slight trade deficit, which means the value of imports has been higher than that of exports. Ecuador’s principal trade partner for both exports and imports is the United States. Inflation slumped a bit in 2020, but is expected to recover in the near future.Traditionally, the services sector makes up the lion's share of GDP in Ecuador, namely more than half, followed by the industrial sector with nearly a third, and agriculture at about 10 percent. GDP per capita seems stable at around 6,000 U.S. dollars. Unemployment in Ecuador is relatively low with about a third of the workforce in the agricultural sector. However, poverty is still a problem in the country and indigenous people have often benefited less from oil revenues than others.
