República de Ecuador

Political Status: Gained independence from Spain (as part of Gran Colombia) in 1822; independent republic established in 1830; present constitution approved by a constituent assembly elected November 30, 1997, and in effect from August 10, 1998.

Area: 109,482 sq. mi. (283,561 sq. km.), excluding the region previously in dispute with Peru, but including the Galápagos Islands.

Population: 12,922,474 (2001C), including adjustments for underenumeration; 13,908,000 (2008E).

Major Urban Centers (2005E): QUITO (1,526,000), Guayaquil (2,194,000), Cuenca (315,000), Ambato (166,000).

Official Language: Spanish.

Monetary Unit: U.S. Dollar. The dollar was phased in from January 2000 to March 2001 to replace the sucre as Ecuador’s legal tender (market rate December 1, 2009: 25,0000 sucre = $1US).

President: Rafael CORREA Delgado (Country Alliance); reelected in first-round balloting on April 26, 2009, and ...