HISTORY & BACKGROUND

The Republic of Ecuador has a land area of 258,520 km² and a population of approximately 15.2 million. It is a representative democratic republic and is divided in 24 Provinces. Its capital city is Quito - with 3 million inhabitants - which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the 1970s for having the best preserved and least altered historic center in Latin America. The country's largest city is Guayaquil, with 5 million inhabitants.

The main language is Spanish, spoken by 94% of the population and 13 indigenous languages recognized, the primary is Quechua. It has one of the highest representations of indigenous cultures in South America and two distinct Afro-Ecuadorian cultures.

Although Ecuador's main economic activity has long been agriculture, only about 11% of the land is arable or under permanent crops, and another 18% is permanent pasture. Traditionally, agricultural products have included bananas, coffee, tea, rice, sugar, beans, corn, potatoes, and tropical fruit. Exported products of more recent prominence include roses and carnations, strawberries, melons, asparagus, heart of palm, and tomatoes. This sector of the economy presents potential for further development and growth. Crops for domestic consumption, particularly rice, barley, maize, African palm, and potatoes, continue to show growth due to increased area planted and improved yields. The government's agricultural policy focuses on integration into the World Trade Organization, import tariffs, and the lack of credit in the agricultural sector.

In recent years, an increasingly important percentage of Ecuador's national income has come from the petroleum industry. In 2005, Ecuador had the third-largest oil reserve in South America, and was the continent's fifth-largest oil producer. Ecuador is second to Venezuela as a source of oil imports for the United States. Petro Ecuador, the state oil agency, is the largest oil producer in Ecuador, controlling around 37% of the country's output.

Ecuador gets approximately 63% of its electric power from hydropower sources, with conventional thermal plants providing the remainder. However, the country's heavy reliance upon hydroelectric power has resulted in periodic power shortages during the dry season, which runs from October to March.

Over the last 100 years, assassinations and political instability have increasingly invoked military intervention, and the 20th Century has seen more periods of military rule than of civilian. In 1941, neighboring Peru invaded Ecuador and seized much of the country's Amazonian area. The new border between the two countries created their share of border skirmishes; however, a treaty is in the works that should finally bring an end to that dispute.

Despite its history of internal rivalry and border conflicts, life in Ecuador has remained peaceful in recent years. Ecuador is currently one of the safest countries to visit in South America.