Equedor

Equedor

AREA	272,045 sq km (105,037 sq miles).
POPULATION	11,698,496 (1996).
POPULATION DENSITY	43.0 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Quito
CAPITAL POPULATION	1,401,389 (1995).
GEOGRAPHY	Ecuador is bounded 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 which there are two main ranges, the Eastern and Western Cordilleras (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% of Ecuador's land area, contains only 3% of the population. Colonisation is, however, increasing in the wake of the oil boom.
GOVERNMENT	Republic since 1978. Constitution adopted in 1979. Last amended in 1998. Head of State and Government: President Jamil Mahuad Witt, since 1998.
LANGUAGE	Spanish is the official language but Quechua and other indigenous languages are common. Some English is spoken.
RELIGION	More than 90% are nominally Roman Catholic.
STANDARD TIME	GMT - 5 (Galapagos Islands GMT - 6).
ELECTRICITY	110/120 volts AC, 60Hz.

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