Ecuador

Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern <a href="/facts/South_America/PhrFEMk7">South America</a>, bordered by <a href="/facts/Colombia/nl7r8Q2u">Colombia</a> on the north, <a href="/facts/Peru/dBt7XrYD">Peru</a> on the east and south, and the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Ocean/bdxgXRVM">Pacific Ocean</a> on the west. It also includes the <a href="/facts/Gal%25C3%25A1pagos_Province/qFk6oYnK">Galápagos Province</a> which contains the <a href="/facts/Gal%25C3%25A1pagos_Islands/pQ7g2hdN">Galápagos Islands</a> in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers (621 mi) west of the mainland. The country's <a href="/facts/Capital_city/aRTzKRH0">capital</a> is <a href="/facts/Quito/M6UU8dgA">Quito</a> and its largest city is <a href="/facts/Guayaquil/D8jcFVzz">Guayaquil</a>.
The land that comprises modern-day Ecuador was once home to several groups of <a href="/facts/Indigenous_peoples_in_Ecuador/YS5SaYDy">indigenous peoples</a> that were gradually incorporated into the <a href="/facts/Inca_Empire/GjNowI6t">Inca Empire</a> during the 15th century. The territory was <a href="/facts/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas/xuhh924k">colonized by the Spanish Empire</a> during the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of <a href="/facts/Gran_Colombia/vJHTFPv0">Gran Colombia</a>, from which it emerged as a <a href="/facts/Sovereign_state/TrUb8sns">sovereign state</a> in 1830. The legacy of both empires is reflected in Ecuador's ethnically diverse population, with most of its 17.8 million people being <a href="/facts/Mestizo/SIsX4FAC">mestizos</a>, followed by large minorities of <a href="/facts/Europeans/VR7tb16t">Europeans</a>, <a href="/facts/Indigenous_peoples_in_Ecuador/YS5SaYDy">Native American</a>, <a href="/facts/Afro-Ecuadorians/FjcyutPo">African</a>, and <a href="/facts/Asian_people/Eeg20DwM">Asian</a> descendants. Spanish is the official language spoken by a majority of the population, although 13 native languages are also recognized, including <a href="/facts/Quechuan_languages/XuYYuTkJ">Quechua</a> and <a href="/facts/Shuar_language/b6BNrQBu">Shuar</a>.
Ecuador is a <a href="/facts/Representative_democracy/svAbpym5">representative democratic</a> <a href="/facts/Presidential_system/lFFCrzpv">presidential</a> republic and a <a href="/facts/Developing_country/eTfS4kxl">developing country</a> whose economy is highly dependent on exports of commodities, primarily petroleum and agricultural products. The country is a founding member of the <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a>, <a href="/facts/Organization_of_American_States/bxrtCRTI">Organization of American States</a>, <a href="/facts/Mercosur/hb6taQX1">Mercosur</a>, <a href="/facts/Forum_for_the_Progress_and_Development_of_South_America/hT2DmnGA">PROSUR</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Non-Aligned_Movement/PIdnjRvD">Non-Aligned Movement</a>. According to the <a href="/facts/Center_for_Economic_and_Policy_Research/GjFAP0gH">Center for Economic and Policy Research</a>, between 2006 and 2016, poverty decreased from 36.7% to 22.5% and annual per capita GDP growth was 1.5 percent (as compared to 0.6 percent over the prior two decades). At the same time, the country's <a href="/facts/Gini_coefficient/HledImpA">Gini index</a> of economic inequality improved from 0.55 to 0.47.
One of 17 <a href="/facts/Megadiverse_countries/BE8PrlT7">megadiverse countries</a> in the world, Ecuador hosts many <a href="/facts/Endemism/xt4IpIsl">endemic</a> plants and animals, such as those of the <a href="/facts/Gal%25C3%25A1pagos_Islands/pQ7g2hdN">Galápagos Islands</a>. In recognition of its unique ecological heritage, the new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable <a href="/facts/Rights_of_nature/MNfPNph0">rights of nature</a>.
In the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI), Ecuador ranks 58th out of 127 countries with a score of 11.6, which indicates a moderate level of hunger.

Ecuador open-in-new

Ecuador