Ecuador

Statistics

Official language: Spanish Other languages: Quechua and other Amerindian languages Capital: Quito Largest City: Guayaquil Populaton: 13,183,978 (2002) Currency: U.S. Dollar

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 Galapagos Islands (Archipelago de Coln) in the Pacific, about 965 km (about 600 mi) west of the mainland. Named after the Spanish word for equator, Ecuador straddles the equator and has an area of 272,045 km (105,037 mi). Quito is the country's capital.

The constitution provides for concurrent 4-year terms of office for the president, vice president, and members of Congress. Presidents may be re-elected after an intervening term, while legislators may be re-elected immediately. It's population is ethnically diverse. The largest ethnic groups are the Mestizos (those of mixed Spanish and Amerindian ancestry) and constitute just over 65 per cent of the current population. Amerindians are second in numbers and account for approximately a quarter of the people, around 25%. Whites are mainly Creoles, unmixed descendants of Spanish colonists, and account for 7% of the Ecuadorian population. A small minority of Afro-Ecuadorians, including Mulattos and Zambos, constitute the remainder. Ecuador's mainstream culture is defined by Ecuador's mestizo majority and, like their ancestry, is a mixture of European and Amerindian influences infused with African elements inherited from slave ancestors. Ecuador's indigenous communities are largely integrated into that mainstream culture to varying degrees, but some may also practise their own autochthonous cultures, particularly the more remote indigenous communities of the Amazon basin.

Study Abroad

• MSID Program in Ecuador
• SIT Study Abroad
• Ethnograhic Field Study