Population: 13,755,680 (July 2007 est.)
Regime History: Ecuador was the first country in Latin America to call for independence from Spain, which occurred in 1809. After becoming a part of Simón Bolívar's Republic of Gran Colombia, it became a separate republic in 1830. Political history throughout the 19th and 20th centuries was marked by instability with a rapid succession of leaders.
Recession and popular unrest led to populism and domestic military interventions in the 1960s. In 1972, a "revolutionary and nationalist" military junta overthrew the government, which remained in power until 1979. In 1979, elections were held under a new Constitution, which saw Jaime Roldós Aguilera elected President. Roldós Aguilera governed until May 24, 1981, when he died in a plane crash. By 1982, like many countries in Latin America, the government of Osvaldo Hurtado faced an economic crisis, characterized by high inflation, budget deficits, a falling currency, mounting debt service, and uncompetitive industries, leading to chronic government instability.
By the mid 1990s, the government of Ecuador has been characterized by a weak executive branch that struggles to appease the ruling classes, represented in the legislative and judiciary. As a result, the three democratically elected presidents during the period 1996-2006 all failed to finish their terms. Rafael Correa was elected President after winning the November 26, 2006 Presidential runoff election.
Organization: Ecuador is divided into 22 provinces. The legal system is based on civil law system. According to the Constitution, new Supreme Court (Corte Suprema) justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; in December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution.
Economy: Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-third of central government budget revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed.
GDP per capita (purchasing power parity): $4,500 (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line: 38.5% (Fiscal Year 2005-2006)
Unemployment rate: 10.6% official rate; but underemployment of 47% (2006 est.)
Ethnic groups: 65% mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white), 25% Amerindian, 7% Spanish and others, 3% black