Ecuador

ECUADOR
Ecuador profile
• Population: about 16,5 million.
• Government: democracy, presidential republic.
• Main City: Quito (Spanish foundation in 1534)
• Currency: US dolar
• Official Language: Spanish 93%
• Religion: Christian 74%
• Ethnicity: mestizo 72%, Amerindian 7%, Afro 6%
• Economy: substantially depending on petroleum exports
• Industry: oil, food processing, textile, wood products,
chemicals
• Agriculture-products: banana, coffee, cocoa, roses,
fish, shrimp.
 Ecuador

Ecuador
History
• Extends over a 8000 year period.
• Precolumbian Ecuador (Quito became Inca’s empire 2nd
main city)
• Spanish discovery and conquest (around 1500)
• Spanish colonial era (1534-1822)
• Independence (1822)
• Republic (1830 to date)
 Interesting facts about Ecuador
• Ecuador is named after the equator line or parallel 0. Along
the equator line, one may have one foot on North hemisphere
and the other on South hemisphere.
• Ecuador’s highest mountain, Chimborazo (6310 masl) is the
closest point from Earth to space.
• Quito, Ecuador’s capital was the first city to be declared
Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO (1978).
• Charles Darwin Theory of Evolution resulted from Darwin’s
studies at Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands in 1835.
• Ecuador is considered one of the 17 most biodiverse
countries in the world (animal and plants species in Ecuador
are 6.1% of all species reported worldwide – UNDP)
• Isolated indigenous peoples at the amazon region of Ecuador
face risk of extinction.
Ecuador is named after the equator line or parallel
0. thus, one may have one foot on North hemisphere
and the other on South hemisphere.
Ecuador’s
highest
mountain,
Chimborazo
(6310 masl)
is the
closest
point from
Earth to
space.
Ecuador’s
highest
mountain,
Chimborazo
(6310 masl)
is the
closest
point from
Earth to
space.

Cotopaxi volcano (5897 masl)

Altar Mountain
Altar Mountain
Quito,
Ecuador’s
capital was
the first
city to be
declared
Cultural
Heritage
Site by
UNESCO
(1978).

Cotopaxi volcano (5897 masl)

Quito,
Ecuador’s
capital was
the first
city to be
declared
Cultural
Heritage
Site by
UNESCO
(1978).

Cotopaxi volcano (5897 masl)

 La
Compania
Church
 QUITO, the
biggest and
better
preserved
colonial
town in
America.
Charles
Darwin
Theory of
Evolution
resulted
from
Darwin’s
studies
at
Ecuador’s
Galapagos
Islands
in 1835.
Biodiversity
Tropical ecosystems are the most biodiverse on earth,
and Ecuador exemplifies this diversity. Roughly 8% of
amphibian species, 5% of reptile species, 8% of mammal
species, and 16% of bird species in the world are
found in this diminutive country, which comprises only
0.2% of the world's land area.
Biodiversity
Ecuador is
considered one
of the 17 most
biodiverse
countries in
the world
(animal and
plants species
in Ecuador are
6.1% of all
species
reported
worldwide –
UNDP)
Isolated
indigenous
peoples at
the amazon
region of
Ecuador face
risk of
extinction.