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Ecuador Facts

Ecuador Facts
The official name of Ecuador is the Republic of Ecuador. Ecuador is located in South America, in the northwest region bordered by Peru on the east and south, and Columbia to the north. It also borders the Pacific Ocean to its west. The Galapagos Islands, located approximately 620 miles west of Ecuador's mainland, is also considered to be part of Ecuador. Ecuador's region has been home to many civilizations including the Valdivia Culture, the Machalilla Culture, the Quitas and the Canari, and the Incas, until the 1500s when Spanish began to rule. On May 24th, 1822 Ecuador gained its independence from Spain, and in 1830 it became an independent republic.
Interesting Ecuador Facts:
Ecuador is the Spanish word for equator. The equator runs right through Ecuador.
Ecuador covers an area of 106,888 square miles of land.
The population of Ecuador in 2012 was 15,223,680.
Ecuador's capital city is Quito and its largest city is Guayaquil.
The monetary unit in Ecuador is the U.S. dollar.
Spanish is the official language. Some residents of Ecuador also speak Quechua and other Amerindian native languages.
Ecuador celebrates Independence Day on August 10th each year.
Ecuador is one of the world's biggest banana exporters.
Ecuador's agriculture includes bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, tapioca, plantains, sugarcane, and livestock such as pigs, sheep, cattle, as well as fish and shrimp.
Natural resources in Ecuador include petroleum, hydropower, timber, and fish.
Petroleum exports account for approximately 50% of Ecuador's income.
There are approximately 3.3 million internet users in Ecuador, and 2.5 million televisions.
Many of the people living in Columbia, to Ecuador's north, move to Ecuador to escape the violence surrounding the drug trade in Columbia.
In Ecuador doctors will still make house calls.
Approximately 72% of Ecuadorians are mestizos, 15% are indigenous, 6% are white, and 7% are Afro-Ecuadorian.
Ecuador is made up of 24 provinces.
There are 25,000 plant species, 1,600 bird species, 6,000 butterfly species, and 138 widespread amphibian species in Ecuador.
The 26th highest active volcano in the world is the Cotapaxi Volcano in Ecuador. It is 19,357 feet high.
Soccer is one of the Ecuadorian's favorite pastimes.
Ecuador's national card game is Cuarenta.
Ecuadorians celebrate a holiday called 'The Day of the Dead'.
The most populated cities in Ecuador include Guayaquil, Quito, Cuenca, Santo Domingo, Machala, Manta, Portoviejo, Ambato, Riobamba, and Quevedo.
The guinea pig is a delicacy in Ecuador. It supposedly tastes like rabbit.
The smallest country in the Andean Highlands is Ecuador.
In 2008, Ecuador became the first country to declare that nature itself has constitutional rights.
The four geographical regions of Ecuador include the coastal lowlands, the mountain highlands, the eastern jungle lowlands, and the Galapagos Islands.
Charles Darwin began studying evolution in the Galapagos Islands because it was there that he noticed the diversity of species.
The Galapagos Islands are home to some of the most varied species, including giant turtles and giant land iguanas.
Visitors to the Galapagos Islands are not permitted to bring anything that may alter the ecosystem.
The world's rarest creature is the giant tortoise. A giant tortoise named Lonesome George was a national emblem for Ecuador. When it died in 2012 there was a national day of mourning.


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