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Country Guide > South America > Ecuador | |
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General Information Area 272,045 sq km (105,037 sq miles).
Population 12,810,000 (official estimate 2002). Population Density 44.7 per sq km. Capital Quito. Population: 1,399,378 (2001). Geography Ecuador is bordered to the north by Colombia, to the east and south by Peru, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. There are three distinct zones: the Sierra or uplands of the Andes, running from the Colombian border in the north to Peru in the south (of this there are two main ranges - the Eastern and Western Cordilleras, which are divided by a long valley); the Costa, a coastal plain between the Andes and the Pacific with plantations of bananas, cacao, coffee and sugar; and the Oriente, the upper Amazon basin to the east, consisting of tropical jungles threaded by rivers. The latter, although comprising 36 per cent of Ecuador’s land area, contains only 3 per cent of the population. Colonisation is, however, increasing in the wake of the oil boom. Government Democratic republic since 1978. Head of State and Govenment: President Alfredo Palacio González since April 2005. Language Spanish is the official language but Quechua and other indigenous languages are common. Some English is spoken. Religion More than 90 per cent are nominally Roman Catholic. Time GMT - 5 (Galapagos Islands GMT - 6). Electricity 110/120 volts AC, 60Hz. Communications Telephone Country code: 593. Outgoing international code: 00. Mobile telephone AMPS network is operated by Otecel, and AMPS-TDMA network is operated by Conecel. A GSM 850 network was set up in 2003. Internet ISPs include Interactive (website: www.interactive.net.ec). Telegram These may be sent from the chief telegraph office in main towns. Post Airmail to western Europe and the USA takes up to one week, but incoming deliveries are less certain. Press Dailies are in Spanish and include El Comercio (website: www.elcomercio.com) and Hoy (website: www.hoy.net), published in Quito; and El Telégrafo (website: www.telegrafo.com.ec) and El Universo (website: www.eluniverso.com), published in Guayaquil. There are two English-language newspapers, Inside Ecuador and Q, though both are published irregularly. International newspapers and magazines are available at international airports, main post offices and in some bookshops. Radio BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online. |
