Ecuador Encyclopedia & Facts for Kids

4to40.com June 2, 2023 World Atlas 274 Views

Country Name: Ecuador (Republica de Ecuador)
System of government: Republic
Capital: Quito (pop. 800,000)
Location: An equatorial country of north-western South America on the Pacific coast, bordered by Colombia and Peru and enjoying sovereignty over the Galapagos Islands lying some 900 km west of the coast
Area: 283,561 sq km
Population: 8,895,000
National composition: A majority of mestizo and Amerindian, with black and European stock minorities
Religion: Roman Catholic
Official language: Spanish
Currency: sucre = 100 centavos
Administrative divisions: 19 provinces and 1 territory (the Galapagos Islands)
Other major cities: Guayaquil (pop. 880,000)
Highest elevation: Chimborazo (6,297 m)
Chief river: Napo
Climate: Varies from tropical to alpine according to altitude

Motto: “Dios, patria y libertad” (Spanish)
“Pro Deo, Patria et Libertate” (Latin)
“God, homeland and liberty”
Anthem: Salve, Oh Patria (Spanish)
Hail, Oh Homeland

Ecuador Location Map:

Ecuador Encyclopedia & Facts for Kids

The western part of the country is tropical coastal plain, the central part is occupied by the Andean Cordillera, while the east contains the high Oriente plateau descending into the forest-covered Amazonian Basin.

Ecuador is predominantly an agricultural country with a developing mining industry and oil drilling.

Bananas constitute the chief cash crop and Ecuador is the world’s leading producer of this tropical fruit. Coffee and cocoa also extensively cultivated. Farmers raise cattle, sheep and pigs. Fishing is extremely important, the chief hauls being sardine, herring, tuna and shrimp.

More than one-half of the entire territory is covered by forest providing valuable hardwoods (cedar, mahogany, etc.). The country has considerable mineral wealth, especially oil, natural gas, gold, silver, sulphur, copper, zinc and kaolin clay. The most important manufacturing industry is food-processing.

Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 600 miles (965 km) west of the mainland. Ecuador straddles the equator, from which it takes its name. Its area includes coastline, mountains, and tropical rainforests.

Ecuador is a multicultural, multiethnic nation–state with one of the highest representations of indigenous cultures in South America. The dominant populace is descended primarily from Spanish colonists and settlers. Traditionally an agriculture-based economy focused on cocoa and then bananas, the discovery of oil provided a boost that mainly benefited the oligarchy. An economic recession in 1999 led hundreds of thousands of Ecuadorians to emigrate. Political instability also ensued.