Ecuador

Wealth and National Well-Being

Country Comparisons:
2010: see chart

World Factbook: "Ecuador is substantially dependent on its petroleum resources, which have accounted for more than half of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years."

Labor force in agriculture
2005: 8.3%

Unemployment rate
2010: 5%
2009: 7.9%
2008: 8.7%
2007: 8.8%

Public debt
2010: 23.2% of GDP
2009: 20.2% of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
2007: Top ten percent of the population, 43.3%; bottom ten percent, 1.2%

Exports oil, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, mostly to the United States, at 41 percent.

Oil production, 2009: 486,100 barrels per day.

People

Living in an urban area: 66%

Migration
2009: More leaving than arriving. A net loss of 0.81 persons per 1,000 population.

Ethnicities
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65 percent, Amerindian 25 percent, Spanish. and others 7 percent, blacks 3 percent.

Amerindian Women
Traditionally, Amerindian women have been tied to household chores, working land and looking after children. Now more are disturbing their husbands by seeking opportunities in education .

Religion
Roman Catholic 95 percent.

Geography

South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Peru.

Government

Ecuador has not been a mature democracy. President is chief of state and head of the government. President and vice president election on the same ticket for four-year terms. Legislators are elected to serve for four years in the National Assembly, which has 124 seats. Capital: Quito.

Recent History

With a banking collapse and the government taking austerity measures, military men decide to transcend electoral politics and take power in a coup, overthrowing an elected president, Jamil Mahuad in January 2000. The military man leading the coup was Lucio Gutierrez, who won the presidential election of 2002 with the support of Bolivia's many impoverished Indians. In 2004 President Gutierrez replaced the Supreme Court, claiming it was biased against him. (Imagine if President Clinton had replaced the Supreme in December 2000 when it voted in favor of Bush over Gore.)

2005: Ecuador's Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, but defamation is a criminal offense and a fearful media remains timid regarding sensitive issues, including stories about the military.

On April 20, 2005, Ecuador's Congress replaced Gutierrez, and immediately the new president, Alfredo Palacheo, ordered the arrest 's embassy.

SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/