Sunday, April 8, 2012

Ecuador info

Just some information about Ecuador as I am investigating it in preparation for living and working here for hte next month.  I thought it might help you all also have a feel for it.  The statistics are from the CIA World Factbook at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ec.html. 

Country statistics (comparisons to USA in parentheses for reference)


* history/politics
    - Spanish conquest in 1533
    - Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717 with New Granada (Colombia), Venezuela, and Quito
    - independence May 24, 1822 -> Gran Colombia with above countries/territories (but independence day celebrated August 10, 1809 as independence of Quito)
    - Quito withdrew in 1830 -> Republic of the Equator
    - 24 provinces, including the Galapagos 
    - suffrage:  16 yrs; universal, compulsory for persons ages 18-65; executive, legislative, and judicial branches
     - national symbol:  Andean condor
    - three of the past four democratically elected presidents were ousted mid-term due to protests in Quito
    - new constitution in September 2008 with provisions for environmental protection
    - current president:  Rafael Correa (second term)
* economy
     - substantially dependent on petroleum
     - defaulted on sovereign debt in December 2008
     - GDP per capita:  $8300 (2011); % below poverty line:  33.1% (June 2010)
* size:  283,561 square kilometers (slightly smaller than Nevada)
     - borders Colombia and Peru
     - contains highest point from the planet's center (Mount Chimborazo) due to equatorial bulge
     - many active volcanos, endangered species due to unique ecologic diversity
* people 
     - mestizo (Amerindian + white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3%
     - 95% Roman Catholic
     - population:  15,223,680 - 30.1% 0-14 years, 63.5% 15-64 years, 6.4% 65 years and over
     - Guayaquil 2.634 million; Quito 1.801 million
     - median age:  25.7 years (cp. 36.7 years)
* health statistics
     - population growth rate:  1.4%
     - birth rate:  19.6 births/1000 population; death rate:  5.01 deaths/1000 population
     - urban population 67% of total 
     - maternal mortality: 140 deaths/100,000 live births
     - infant mortality 19.06 deaths/1,000 live births (cp. 6.22)
     - life expectancy at birth:  75.94 years (cp. 78 yrs)
     - total fertility rate:  2.38 children/woman (cp. US 2.05)
     - physicians density:  1.48 physicians/1,000 population; hospital bed density:  1.5 beds/1,000 population
     - HIV adult prevalence rate:  0.4% (2009 est.- cp. US 0.6%)
     - high risk of infection diseases:  bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, dengue fever, malaria, leptospirosis
     - children under age 5 underweight:  6.2% (2004)
* education
     - 91% literacy over age 15
     - school life expectancy:  14 yrs
     - unemployment:  14.1%

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.