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The Republic of Ecuador is a country in northwestern South America, bounded by Colombia on the north, by Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean on the west. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands (Colón Archipelago) in the Pacific, about 965 km (about 600 mi) west of the mainland. Ecuador straddles the equator (Ecuador is the Spanish word for "equator") and has an area of 272,045 sq km (105,037 sq mi). Quito is the country’s capital.
HistoryMain article: History of Ecuador The Republic of Ecuador was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. In 1941 a territorial conflict started between Ecuador and Peru which led to the "Protocolo de Rio de Janeiro" signed in January 29, 1942. Still several wars between the two countries carried on until October 26, 1999 when presidents Jamil Mahuad (Ecuador) and Alberto Fujimori (Peru) signed the "Acta de Brasilia". Peru gave 1 square-kilometer (called "Tiwintza") to Ecuador inside its territory where 14 soldiers are buried; also both countries signed commerce and navigation agreements in which Ecuador have unrestricted navigation rights on the Amazon River. PoliticsMain article: Politics of Ecuador On November 24, 2002, Lucio Gutiérrez won the presidential elections. He became president on January 15, 2003. ProvincesGeographyMain article: Geography of Ecuador  The capital is Quito and the largest city is Guayaquil. EconomyMain article: Economy of Ecuador Gustavo Noboa, who assumed the presidency in January 2000, has managed to pass substantial economic reforms and mend relations with international financial institutions. Ecuador completed its first standby agreement since 1986 when the IMF Board approved a 10 December 2001 disbursement of $96 million, the final installment of a $300 million standby credit agreement. In February 2003, newly installed president Lucio Gutierrez faced a budget gap and massive foreign debt. He has pledged to use oil revenues to pay off debt and is seeking additional IMF support. DemographicsMain article: Demographics of Ecuador The demographic composition of Ecuador's current population is ethnically and racially diverse. Today the majority of Ecuadorians are mestizos (of mixed Spanish and Amerindian ancestry), who constitute just over 65 per cent of the population. Second in numbers are the Amerindians of the various Andean and Amazonian nationalities, which combined constitute the country's largest minority, accounting for approximately 25%. Whites are mainly Creoles, unmixed descendants of Spanish colonist, and account for 7% of the Ecuadorian population. A small minority of Afro-Ecuadorians, including Mulattos and Zambos, constitute the remainder. CultureMain article: Culture of Ecuador The culture of Ecuador mirrors the demographics of the country itself, and is a rich amalgam of various influences. Much like the ancestry of the mestizo majority, the national culture is also a mixture of both European and Amerindian influences, infused with various other elements inherited through the descendants of the country’s African slave past. In addition to the national culture, many of the existing indigenous communities also practise their own autochthonous cultures. Reference
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bs:Ekvador ca:Equador da:Ecuador de:Ecuador et:Ecuador es:Ecuador eo:Ekvadoro fr:Équateur (pays) gl:Ecuador id:Ekuador ia:Ecuador it:Ecuador la:Aequatoria lt:Ekvadoras lv:Ekvadora ms:Ecuador nds:Ecuador nl:Ecuador ja:エクアドル no:Ecuador pl:Ekwador pt:Equador ru:Эквадор sa:एक्वाडोर sl:Ekvador fi:Ecuador sv:Ecuador tokipona:ma Ekuwato uk:Еквадор zh-cn:厄瓜多尔 |
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