Get To Know Ecuador
Ecuador (in Kichwa, Ecuadorpi), whose official name is the Republic of Ecuador (in Kichwa, Ecuadorpi Ripuwlika), is a sovereign and plurinational country, located in the northwestern region of South America. The country's capital and most populous city is Quito. It is a member of the Andean Community and is organized into twenty-four provinces.
It is bordered to the north by Colombia, to the south and east by Peru, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean, which separates it from the Colón Archipelago or Galápagos Islands by approximately 1,000 kilometers from the mainland coast, between the Santa Elena peninsula and San Cristóbal Island. It also borders Costa Rica on the maritime border of the insular region. The equatorial line, or 0° parallel, crosses the country and divides the continental and insular territories in two, leaving most of the Ecuadorian territory in the southern hemisphere.
The Andes mountain range divides the continental part of the country from north to south, leaving the Gulf of Guayaquil and areas of plains and foothills on its western flank, and the Amazon to the east. Ecuador occupies an area of 256,370 km². It is the tenth most populous country in the Americas, with over eighteen million inhabitants, the most densely populated country in South America, and the fifth most densely populated country in the Americas.
Ecuador is considered a recent energy power based on sustainable energies. It is also the country with one of the highest concentrations of rivers per square kilometer in the world and one of the most diverse countries per square kilometer. It is therefore one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. It is the first country on the planet to have the rights of nature guaranteed in its 2008 Constitution.
The official language is Spanish, spoken by 99% of the population, along with thirteen other recognized indigenous languages, including Kichwa and Shuar.
As of 2018, Ecuador's HDI is classified as "high", ranking 81st in the world (next to China) and twelfth in the Americas. With a GDP PPP of US$205,457 million, Ecuador's economy ranks 64th in the world and sixth in South America. The country is one of the world's leading oil exporters, the world's leading banana exporter, and one of the leading exporters of flowers, shrimp, and cocoa.
Ecuador received just over 1.3 million foreign tourists in 2019, positioning the country as one of the regional leaders in international tourism receipts.
