Ecuador Travel Information

Ecuador at a glance

Name of the state
- República del Ecuador

Currency
- US-Dollar

Time difference compared to MET  
- 7 Std. ( summertime ) - 6 Std. ( wintertime )

Climate
- Humid and hot tropical climate at the coast and in the Amzon region; in the Andes mild climate with strong temperature changes (05 – 25ºC) during the day.

Location
- Northwestcoast of Southamercia, Andean country at the equator line

Surface
- 283.600 qkm; the Galápagos Islands form part of Ecuador

Capital
- Quito (estimated 1,7 Mio. Inhabitants)

Population
- app. 12,4 Mio. inhabitants;

Ethnic groups:
- app. 50% Mestizos, app. 35% Indigenas, app. 10% Whites and app 5% Afro-Ecuadorian;

Growth of the population
-app. 2,2% annual growth with high emmigration numbers to Spain and the USA

Life expectancy
-men: 66 years; women: 71 years

Population density
- app. 48 inhabitants/qkm

Languages
- Spanish, indigenous dialects - mainly Quechua

Literacy rate
- app. 10%

Religion
-85 % Catholics, 15% Protestants, Jews and Nature religions

National Independance day
- 10th of August 1809 ( though officially independent from Spain since 1822 )

Government type
-Presidential Republic with a parliament (congreso nacional)

President
 - Since 15.01.2007 Rafael Correa from the Alianza Pais Party   

Foreign Minister
- Maria Fernanda Espinoza

Administrative divisions
- 22 Provinces which are divided into more cantons

Gross national product
- 3050 US$ per inhabitant

Inflation rate
- 9% (estimated 2006)

Raw materials
- Oil, natural gas, gold, fish, timber

Import products
- Means of transport, machines, chemical products

Biggest Cities
- Guayaquil (app. 2,5 million inhabitants), Quito (app. 1,8 million inhabitants), Cuenca (app. 380.000 inhabitants)

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