Introduction

P:ECP:EC

Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contains the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers (540 nmi; 620 mi) west of the mainland. The country's capital and largest city is Quito.

The land that comprises modern-day Ecuador was once home to several groups of indigenous peoples that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. The territory was colonized by the Spanish Empire during the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of Gran Colombia, from which it emerged as a sovereign state in 1830. The legacy of both empires is reflected in Ecuador's ethnically diverse population, with most of its 17.8 million people being mestizos, followed by large minorities of Europeans, Native American, African, and Asian descendants. Spanish is the official language spoken by a majority of the population, although 13 native languages are also recognized, including Quechua and Shuar.

Ecuador is a plurinational representative democratic presidential republic and a developing country whose economy is highly dependent on exports of commodities, primarily petroleum and agricultural products. The country is a founding member of the United Nations, Organization of American States, Mercosur, PROSUR, and the Non-Aligned Movement. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, between 2006 and 2016, poverty decreased from 36.7% to 22.5% and annual per capita GDP growth was 1.5 percent (as compared to 0.6 percent over the prior two decades). At the same time, the country's Gini index of economic inequality improved from 0.55 to 0.47.

One of 17 megadiverse countries in the world, Ecuador hosts many endemic plants and animals, such as those of the Galápagos Islands. In recognition of its unique ecological heritage, the new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable rights of nature.

In the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI), Ecuador ranks 58th out of 127 countries with a score of 11.6, which indicates a moderate level of hunger. In 2026 the United Nations reported that 2.6 million people in Ecuador are facing acute hunger amid an unprecedented crisis. (Full article...)

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The marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), also known as the sea iguana, saltwater iguana, or Galápagos marine iguana, is a species of iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). Unique among modern lizards, it is a marine reptile that has the ability to forage in the sea for algae, which make up almost all of its diet. Marine iguanas are the only extant lizard that spends time in a marine environment. Large males are able to dive to find this food source, while females and smaller males feed during low tide in the intertidal zone. They mainly live in colonies on rocky shores where they bask after visiting the relatively cold water or intertidal zone, but can also be seen in marshes, mangrove swamps and beaches. Large males defend territories for a short period, but smaller males have other breeding strategies. After mating, the female digs a nest hole in the soil where she lays her eggs, leaving them to hatch on their own a few months later.

Marine iguanas vary in appearance between the different islands and several subspecies are recognized. Although relatively large numbers remain and it is locally abundant, this protected species is considered threatened, primarily from El Niño cycles, introduced predators and chance events like oil spills. (Full article...)

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Ecuador Articles

Ecuador articles by quality and importance
Quality	Importance
Quality	Top	High	Mid	Low	NA	???	Total
FA		2	2	2			6
FL						1	1
FM					22		22
GA	2	1	2	8		5	18
B	5	8	10	42		31	96
C	14	24	56	239		126	459
Start	20	41	124	1,203		626	2,014
Stub	8	10	41	3,967		1,189	5,215
List	3	3	7	78		60	151
Category					2,954		2,954
Disambig					9		9
File					80		80
Portal					14		14
Project					17		17
Redirect	2	2	5	42	354		405
Template					253		253
Other					11		11
Assessed	54	91	247	5,581	3,714	2,038	11,725
Unassessed				1		16	17
Total	54	91	247	5,582	3,714	2,054	11,742
WikiWork factors (?)		ω = 43,520			Ω = 5.57

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The following are images from various Ecuador-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Adult Galápagos sea lion resting on a park bench in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 2Detail of the Galápagos on Abraham Ortelius's 1570 map of the Americas (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 3Waved albatrosses on Española (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 4The chart of the Galápagos published by the English pirate William Ambrosia Cowley in 1684, the source of many of the islands' English names (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 5Antique dug out canoes in the courtyard of the Old Military Hospital in the Historic Center of Quito. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 6A woman in Ecuadorian dress participating in the 2010 Carnaval del Pueblo. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 7Pinnacle Rock on Bartolomé Island, with Santiago in the background and a ferry on the right for scale (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 8Marine iguana (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 9Major square of Quito. Painting of 18th century. Quito Painting Colonial School. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 10General Antonio José de Sucre, Commander In Chief, División del Sur. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 11Incan ruins at Ingapirca (from History of Ecuador)
Image 12Isabela seen from the Spot Satellite (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 13Eleanor Roosevelt visiting U.S. servicemen at Beta Base (Seymour Airport) on Baltra during World War II (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 14Satellite photo of the Galápagos islands overlaid with the names of the islands (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 15Former President Rafael Correa (left) attends President-elect Lenín Moreno's (middle) "changing of the guard" ceremony. The two PAIS leaders were considered close allies before Moreno's "de-Correaization" efforts started after he assumed the presidency. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 16Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the Galápagos (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 17Location of the Galápagos Islands relative to continental Ecuador (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 18Tumaco-La Tolita mythological figure in feathered costume. Between 100 BC and 100 AD. Found in Esmeraldas. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 19The flag of Galápagos Province (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 20A bowl of fanesca served in Quito, Ecuador. A traditional soup of Ecuador served around Easter. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 21A manuscript map of the islands from the charts drafted by James Colnett of the British Royal Navy in 1793, adding additional names (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 22A satellite map of chlorophyll and phytoplankton concentration (top) paired with a map of oceanic surface temperatures at the same time (bottom). The thriving populations represented by green and yellow in the upper map correlate to areas of higher surface temperatures represented by yellow in the lower map (2 March 2009). (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 23Julio Jaramillo is an icon of music. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 24Map of the former Gran Colombia in 1824 (named in its time as Colombia), Gran Colombia included all shaded areas. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 25Bottlenose dolphins jumping offshore of the islands (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 26Daphne Major (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 27Galápagos penguin on Bartolomé Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 28Gen. José de Villamil, founder of the Ecuadorian Navy and first governor of the islands (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 29Galápagos tortoise on Santa Cruz Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 30The Post Barrel on Floreana Island, formerly used by sailors to pass messages to any passing ships (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 31Traditional Alpaca clothing at the Otavalo Artisan Market (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 32A Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) on Santa Cruz. C. nigra is the largest living species of tortoise, hunted to near extinction during the islands' whaling era. (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 33Traditional Handmade hats for sale at the Otavalo Artisan Market in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 34Water taxi in Puerto Ayora (2011) (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 35The banana boom of the mid-20th century boosted the economy of Guayaquil, where office buildings like these were built. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 36The 1841 Admiralty chart drafted from FitzRoy's survey of the islands on HMS Beagle (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 37Galápagos dove on Española Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 38From an aircraft flying out of Baltra Island (on the right) and the Santa Cruz (on the left), the Itabaca Channel is the waterway between the islands. (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 39Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), Tortuga Bay (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 40School of scalloped hammerheads off Wolf Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 41Hand painted crafts at the Otavalo Artisan Market (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 42Alpaca Scarf´s at the Otavalo Artisan Market. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 43Grapsus grapsus on the rocks (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 44Blue-footed booby (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 45Admiralty chart of the Galápagos (1953) (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 46Orthographic projection centered over the Galápagos (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 47Leonidas Iza, president of CONAIE, a confederation of Ecuadorian Indigenous groups, in 2022 (from History of Ecuador)
Image 48Juan Montalvo (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 49A Galápagos fur seal on Santiago Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 50Seymour Airport on Baltra (2013) (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 51The Spanish Historical Center in Quito, Ecuador (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 52Satellite maps of the concentration of chlorophyll (representing abundance of phytoplankton) during El Niño (top) and La Niña (bottom). The color scale goes from blue at the lowest concentrations to red at the highest. Currents that normally fertilize phytoplankton reverse during El Niño, resulting in barren oceans. The same currents are strengthened by La Niña, resulting in an explosion of ocean life. (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 53Gould's illustration of Darwin's finches (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 54A photograph of the Galápagos Islands from the International Space Station in October 2020. North is to the right. The sunglint reveals features usually difficult to spot, including the crater lake in the caldera of La Cumbre, the shield volcano that formed Fernandina Island. More details via click-through. (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 55The Wall of Tears at Puerto Villamil on Isabela, the largest of the Galapagos (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 56Ecuadorian children on a Galápagos beach in the 1920s (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 57North Seymour Island with Daphne Island in the distance (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 58Sunset on San Cristóbal Island (from Galápagos Islands)

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Did you know - load new batch

... that 99% of the collection of the National Museum of Ecuador is not on public display?

... that Ecuador's biodiversity is amongst the highest in the world? For instance more than 16,000 species of plants, including 4,000 species of orchids.
... that Quito (the capital of Ecuador) has the most extensive colonial district of Latin America?
... that 25 percent of the population of Ecuador is of indigenous heritage, while another 65 percent is of mixed indigenous and European heritage?
... that Guayaquil (Ecuador's largest city) has the most modern airport of the Latin American region... (see municipalidad de guayaquil in red)
... that Gabriela Rivadeneira, a 29-year old former local beauty queen, has been mentioned as a possible successor for President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa?

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Republic of Ecuador
*República del Ecuador* (Spanish)
Republic of Ecuador República del Ecuador (Spanish)
	Flag Coat of Arms
	Location of Ecuador (dark green)
ISO 3166 code	EC
	See also: Outline of Ecuador

Locations

Parque El Ejido Atacazo

Events

People

page	name	surname	WikiSpanish
Jorge Elías Adoum [1]	Jorge	Adoum
Alfonso Aguilar Ruilova [2]	Alfonso	Ruilova
Juan Bautista Aguirre [3][4]	Juan Bautista	Aguirre	es:Juan Bautista Aguirre
Ernesto Albán [5][6][7]	Ernesto	Albán
Belisario Albán Mestanza [8]	Belisario	Albán
Vicente Albán [9]	Vicente	Albán
Humberto Albornoz [10] (stub)	Humberto	Albornoz
Víctor Manuel Albornoz [11][12]	Víctor Manuel	Albornoz Cabanilla
Isidro Ayora	Isisdro	Ayora Cueva
Gilberto Almeida	Gilberto	Almeida
Lila Álvarez Garcia	Lila	Álvarez Garcia
Francisco Andrade Marín	Francisco	Andrade Marin
Francisco Arizaga Luque	Francisco	Arizaga Luque
Félix Arauz	Félix	Arauz