Location: Northwestern South America

Capital: Quito

Population: 1.8 million (2005).

Language: Spanish is the official language. Indigenous dialects are also spoken including Quechua.

Currency: U.S. Dollar

Size: 283,520 km ² or 109,468 Square miles (including Galapagos)

Population: 13.5 million (estimate from 2000).

Population density: 49.8 inhabitants per km ².

Religion: Over 95% of the population is Roman Catholic.

Time Zone: GMT - 5 (GMT Galapagos Islands - 6).

Phone Code: 011-593

Electricity: 120 volts AC, 60Hz. The plugs are American and Japanese.

Geography: Ecuador shares a border to the north with Colombia and to the South and east with Peru, and the Pacific Ocean is on the West. There are three very different geographical areas. The first is the Sierra or highlands of the Andes, from the Colombian border in the north to Peru in the south. In this region there are two mountain ranges: the Eastern and Western. The second region is the Coast, a coastal plain between the Andes and the Pacific. In this region there are large plantations of bananas, cocoa, coffee and sugar. The third is on the East, formed by the upper Amazon basin, and has large tracts of forest surrounded by rivers. This area, while approximately 36% of the Ecuadorian territory is inhabited by only 3% of the population. The Galapagos Islands are located 1000 km. off the continent, out in the Pacific Ocean, also belong to Ecuador.