世界各国

Ecuador

Introduction to Ecuador

The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999.

Government

Capital:

Quito 

Independence:

24 May 1822 (from Spain)

National holiday:

Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) 

Economy

Economy overview:

Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ, who took office in January 2003, Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on fiscal reforms and reforms of state-owned enterprises necessary to reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises.

GDP:

purchasing power parity - $45.65 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 29.7%
services: 61.6% (2004 est.)

Agriculture products:

bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp 

Industries:

petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals 

Transportation

Waterways:

1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2003)

Pipelines:

gas 71 km; oil 1,575 km; refined products 1,185 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:

Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, San Lorenzo

Merchant marine:

total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 241,403 GRT/391,898 DWT
foreign-owned: Greece 1, Paraguay 1, Peru 1
registered in other countries: 3 (2003 est.)
by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 1, passenger 5, petroleum tanker 21, specialized tanker 1

Airports:

205 (2003 est.)

Heliports:

1 (2003 est.)