Country · Americas
Ecuador
Republic of Ecuador
Ecuador is a country in South America. About 17.1 million people live there, in an area of 276 841 square kilometres. Its capital city is Quito.
Picture credit: Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Cayambe (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Cayambe (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Asamblea Nacional del Ecuador (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Cayambe (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Ecuador?
Ecuador lies in South America, on the continent of Americas.
It sits in the southern half of the world, roughly 223 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 2 237 km long.
It shares a border with 2 countries: Colombia and Peru.
How big is Ecuador?
Ecuador covers 276 841 square kilometres.
That is about 6.7 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 73rd largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 61.7 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Ecuador?
About 17.1 million people live in Ecuador.
That is the 67th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Spanish.
They pay with the United States dollar ($).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 71 years.
The land of Ecuador
The land of Ecuador sits on average 1 117 metres above sea level — high enough that much of it counts as mountain country.
Its coast runs for about 2 237 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 112 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Ecuador different?
Dishes the country is known for: Encebollado, Fritada and Guatitas.
Websites from here often end in .ec.
Ecuador and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 2 live in Ecuador.
It takes up about 0.21 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Americas the country ranks 12th of 35 by size, and 11th by population.
Ecuador and its neighbours
Peru, its largest neighbour, is about 4.6 times bigger.
Peru has more people: 32 million against 17.1 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 13 live wild in Ecuador: Brown-throated sloth, Llama, Alpaca, Giant oceanic manta ray, Galápagos tortoise, Guinea pig and more. The highest mountain in the country is Chimborazo, at 6 263 metres. The longest river in the country is the Napo River. The largest lake in the country is Lake San Pablo.
Brown-throated sloth
Llama
Alpaca
Giant oceanic manta ray
Galápagos tortoise
Guinea pig
Red-bellied piranha
Electric eel
Green anaconda
Lowland tapir
Vicuña
Andean condor
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Ecuador compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 34 times as big as Ecuador: 9 372 610 km² against 276 841 km². See both on one map
- Ecuador is about 1.1 times as big as the United Kingdom: 276 841 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Ecuador?
The capital of Ecuador is Quito. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Ecuador?
About 17.1 million people live in Ecuador, which makes it the 67th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Ecuador?
Ecuador covers 276 841 square kilometres, making it the 73rd largest country in the world. That is about 6.7 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Ecuador?
The highest mountain in Ecuador is Chimborazo, 6 263 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Ecuador?
The longest river in Ecuador is the Napo River, about 1 130 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Ecuador?
The largest lake in Ecuador is Lake San Pablo. It covers about 6 km².
Which continent is Ecuador in?
Ecuador is in Americas, in the part called South America.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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