Introduction

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 is Quito, and the largest city is Guayaquil.

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...)

Selected article -

The summit of Chimborazo, the point on the Earth's surface that is farthest from the Earth's center

Chimborazo (Spanish: [tʃimboˈɾaso] ^ⓘ) is a stratovolcano in Ecuador and the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around AD 550.

Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador and the 39th-highest peak in the entire Andes. Although not the tallest mountain on Earth relative to sea level—it reaches a height of 6,263 m (20,548 ft), well below that of Mount Everest at 8,849 m (29,032 ft)—its summit is the farthest point on Earth's surface from its center due to its location along the equatorial bulge. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

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		6	19
B	5	8	10	43		31	97
C	15	24	58	243		128	468
Start	20	39	126	1,239		619	2,043
Stub	8	10	39	3,974		1,182	5,213
List	3	3	7	79		60	152
Category					2,992		2,992
Disambig					11		11
File					80		80
Portal					14		14
Project					17		17
Redirect	2	2	5	43	379		431
Template					255		255
Other					10		10
Assessed	55	90	249	5,631	3,780	2,026	11,831
Unassessed						15	15
Total	55	90	249	5,631	3,780	2,041	11,846
WikiWork factors (?)		ω = 43,694			Ω = 5.57

General images -

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

Image 1Orthographic projection centered over the Galápagos (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 2Adult Galápagos sea lion resting on a park bench in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 3Leonidas Iza, president of CONAIE, a confederation of Ecuadorian Indigenous groups, in 2022 (from History of Ecuador)
Image 4Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), Tortuga Bay (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 5The Post Barrel on Floreana Island, formerly used by sailors to pass messages to any passing ships (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 6Bottlenose dolphins jumping offshore of the islands (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 7The Spanish Historical Center in Quito, Ecuador (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 8Isabela seen from the Spot Satellite (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 9Blue-footed booby (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 10A bowl of fanesca served in Quito, Ecuador. A traditional soup of Ecuador served around Easter. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 11Seymour Airport on Baltra (2013) (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 12A 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 13Map of the former Gran Colombia in 1824 (named in its time as Colombia), Gran Colombia included all shaded areas. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 14Hand painted crafts at the Otavalo Artisan Market (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 15Incan ruins at Ingapirca (from History of Ecuador)
Image 16Grapsus grapsus on the rocks (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 17Juan Montalvo (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 18Alpaca Scarf´s at the Otavalo Artisan Market. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 19The flag of Galápagos Province (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 20Galápagos dove on Española Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 21A 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 22Gen. José de Villamil, founder of the Ecuadorian Navy and first governor of the islands (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 23Water taxi in Puerto Ayora (2011) (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 24Pinnacle Rock on Bartolomé Island, with Santiago in the background and a ferry on the right for scale (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 25Detail of the Galápagos on Abraham Ortelius's 1570 map of the Americas (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 26A Galápagos fur seal on Santiago Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 27The banana boom of the mid-20th century boosted the economy of Guayaquil, where office buildings like these were built. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 28The 1841 Admiralty chart drafted from FitzRoy's survey of the islands on HMS Beagle (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 29Tumaco-La Tolita mythological figure in feathered costume. Between 100 BC and 100 AD. Found in Esmeraldas. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 30A 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 31Julio Jaramillo is an icon of music. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 32Admiralty chart of the Galápagos (1953) (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 33Sunset on San Cristóbal Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 34Galápagos penguin on Bartolomé Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 35Marine iguana (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 36Waved albatrosses on Española (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 37Satellite 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 38The Wall of Tears at Puerto Villamil on Isabela, the largest of the Galapagos (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 39Location of the Galápagos Islands relative to continental Ecuador (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 40Major square of Quito. Painting of 18th century. Quito Painting Colonial School. (from History of Ecuador)
Image 41Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the Galápagos (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 42School of scalloped hammerheads off Wolf Island (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 43North Seymour Island with Daphne Island in the distance (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 44A 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 45Eleanor Roosevelt visiting U.S. servicemen at Beta Base (Seymour Airport) on Baltra during World War II (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 46Traditional Handmade hats for sale at the Otavalo Artisan Market in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 47A woman in Ecuadorian dress participating in the 2010 Carnaval del Pueblo. (from Culture of Ecuador)
Image 48Daphne Major (from Galápagos Islands)
Image 49The 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 50Gould's illustration of Darwin's finches (from Galápagos Islands)

Did you know -

... that 99% of the collection of the National Museum of Ecuador is not on public display?
... that only five words are known from the extinct Tabancale language of Peru and Ecuador?

... that 25 percent of the population of Ecuador is of indigenous heritage, while another 65 percent is of mixed indigenous and European heritage?
... that Panama hats are not actually made in Panama but in Ecuador?
... that Ecuador is the only place in the world where you can actually visualize that you are standing on the northern hemisphere as well as on the southern hemisphere?
... that on January 8 1956, five Evangelical Christian missionaries from the United States were speared to death after attempting to reach the Huaorani people of Ecuador in "Operation Auca"?
... 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.

Related portals

WikiProjects

WikiProject Ecuador
WikiProject Latin America countries
WikiProject Countries

Things you can do

Project

Discussion

Open tasks

Assessment

Stubs

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

People

page	name	surname	WikiSpanish
Jorge Elías Adoum	Jorge	Adoum
Alfonso Aguilar Ruilova	Alfonso	Ruilova
Juan Bautista Aguirre	Juan Bautista	Aguirre	es:Juan Bautista Aguirre
Ernesto Albán	Ernesto	Albán
Belisario Albán Mestanza	Belisario	Albán
Vicente Albán	Vicente	Albán
Humberto Albornoz (stub)	Humberto	Albornoz
Víctor Manuel Albornoz	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