An Introduction to Ecuador
The Republic of Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name. The territory became part of the Inca Empire in 1463, and then of Spain's Viceroyalty of Peru in 1563. Ecuador was one of the first of the region's countries to gain its independence from Spain, at the Battle of Pichincha in 1822, and joined Simón Bolívar's Republic of Gran Colombia for eight years before splitting off. The early twentieth century saw a period of liberal rule but before and after a succession of authoritarian regimes held sway. In 1941-2 Ecuador fought a brief war with Peru, entirely separate from the global conflict of WW2 - the territorial dispute flared again in 1995-8. Democratic government has prevailed since 1979. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Ecuador
GOVERNMENT: republic
AREA: 283,561 sq km
POPULATION: 15,007,343 (July 2011 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Language: Spanish
Some business and general info
The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Ecuador
In the summer Olympics, its two medals were both won by Jefferson Perez - gold in Atlanta 1996 and silver in Beijing 2008 in the Men's 20km walk. Prowess in this bizarre race continues an Ecuadorian theme of not picking the fastest way of getting somewhere: during his voyage on The Beagle, Charles Darwin stopped on the Galapagos Islands where he rode on giant turtles. (We won't mention the rumour that he also ate one - ecosystem rights and all that).
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The Republic of Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name. The territory became part of the Inca Empire in 1463, and then of Spain's Viceroyalty of Peru in 1563. Ecuador was one of the first of the region's countries to gain its independence from Spain, at the Battle of Pichincha in 1822, and joined Simón Bolívar's Republic of Gran Colombia for eight years before splitting off. The early twentieth century saw a period of liberal rule but before and after a succession of authoritarian regimes held sway. In 1941-2 Ecuador fought a brief war with Peru, entirely separate from the global conflict of WW2 - the territorial dispute flared again in 1995-8. Democratic government has prevailed since 1979.
Ecuador includes the Galpagos islands, famous for tortoises and Darwin's finches, but the mainland is also teeming with endemic species - in fact, per square km it is the world's most biodiverse nation and classified as megadiverse. Its new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable Rights of Nature, or ecosystem rights.
GDP: $115 billion (PPP - 2010 est.) - $7,800 per capita (2010 est.)
Religions Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
Currency: US Dollar
Telephone Code: +593
Research Industry
In keeping with the country's quirkiness, ESOMAR for a no-doubt good reason groups it with the Dominican Republic under 'Other Latin America' - and gives the region an MR Industry turnover of $14m in 2010, a net growth of 5.3% on the previous year.Ecuador is rich in agriculture: bananas, flowers, coffee, cacao, guayusa, sugar, tropical fruits, palm oil, palm hearts, rice, roses, and corn; but by far its biggest export is crude oil. The completion of the Andean pipeline in 1972 made it South America's second largest oil exporter. Partly as a result of its vulnerability to oil price changes, the economy near-collapsed in 1999: as a result the US dollar was adopted as the national currency, replacing the country's own Sucre.
Exports of $18.06bn in 2010 went largely to the USA (over 37% of trade), other South American Countries, and Russia. Imports worth $19.64bn went to the USA (over 29%) with China, Venezuela and Brazil also high on the list - they include industrial materials, fuel and nondurable consumer goods.
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