Ecuador - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Ecuador. note 1: Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world
note 2: genetic research indicates that the cherry-sized tomato originated in Ecuador without any human domestication; later domestication in Mexico transformed the plant into the large modern tomato; archeological research indicates that the cacao tree, whose seeds are used to make chocolate and which was long thought to have originated in Mesoamerica, was first domesticated in the upper Amazon region of northwest South America -- present-day Ecuador -- about 3,300 B.C.. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 66 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Geographical data of Ecuador
| Location | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 2 00 S, 77 30 W |
| Map references | South America |
| Tarrain | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) |
| Natural Resources | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower |
| Natural Hazards | frequent earthquakes; landslides; volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts volcanism: volcanic activity concentrated along the Andes Mountains; Sangay (5,230 m), which erupted in 2010, is mainland Ecuador's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes in the Andes include Antisana, Cayambe, Chacana, Cotopaxi, Guagua Pichincha, Reventador, Sumaco, and Tungurahua; Fernandina (1,476 m), a shield volcano that last erupted in 2009, is the most active of the many Galapagos volcanoes; other historically active Galapagos volcanoes include Wolf, Sierra Negra, Cerro Azul, Pinta, Marchena, and Santiago |
| Irrigated Land | 12,520 sq km (2022) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 2,237 km |
| Border Countries | Colombia 708 km; Peru 1529 km |
| Coastline | 2,237 km |
| Climate | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 276,841 sq km |
| Water Area | 6,720 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly smaller than Nevada |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
| Continental shelf | 200 nm |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Chimborazo 6,267 |
| Lowest point | Pacific Ocean 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 1,117 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 21.5% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 3.9% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 5.5% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 12.1% (2022 est.) |
| Forest | 49.8% (2022 est.) |
| Other | 28.7% (2022 est.) |
Population Distribution
Nearly half of the population is concentrated in the interior in the Andean intermontane basins and valleys, with large concentrations also found along the western coastal strip; the rainforests of the east remain sparsely populated
People and Society
In Ecuador, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and White) 77.5%, Montubio 7.7%, Indigenous 7.7%, White 2.2%, Afroecuadorian 2%, Mulatto 1.4%, Black 1.3%, other 0.1% (2022 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 0.94% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 17.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 7.2 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | 8.3% of GDP (2021) |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 1.4 beds/1,000 population (2016) |
| Total fertility rate | 2.21 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 1.08 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 77.9% (2018/19) |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 55.1% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 3.7% of GDP (2021 est.) |
| Net Migration rate | -1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Ecuadorian | Ecuadorian(s) |
| Languages | |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 68.2%, Protestant 19% (Evangelical 18.3%, Adventist 0.6%, other Protestant 0.2%), Jehovah's Witness 1.4%, other 2.3%, none 8.2% don't know/no response 1% (2023 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 26.8% (male 2,505,729/female 2,395,198) |
| 15-64 years | 64.1% (male 5,771,234/female 5,972,938) |
| 65 years and over | 9.1% (2024 est.) (male 746,207/female 918,678) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 50.9 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 39.4 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 11.5 |
| Potential support ratio | 8.7 (2021 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 28 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 27 years |
| Female | 28.9 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 64.8% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 1.62% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 3.142 million Guayaquil, 1.957 million QUITO (capital) (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 0.97 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.81 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 12.2 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 10.2 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 74.9 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 69.7 years |
| Female | 80.4 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 87.1% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 95.4% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 12.9% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 4.6% of population (2020 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 96.9% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 98.9% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 3.1% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 1.1% of population (2020 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 3.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 2.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 0.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 11.3% (2020 est.) |
| Male | 18.4% (2020 est.) |
| Female | 4.2% (2020 est.) |
| Child marriage | |
| Women married by age 15 | 3.8% |
| Women married by age 18 | 22.2% (2018 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Ecuador
Want to know more about Ecuador? Check all different factbooks for Ecuador below.
