Capital: Quito.
Official Language: Spanish.
Official Name: Republica del Ecuador (Republic of Ecuador).
Area: 109,484 sq. mi. (283,561 sq. km). Greatest
distances--north-south, 450 mi. (724 km); east-west, 395 mi. (636
km). Coastline--1,278 mi. (2,057 km), including the Galapagos
Islands.
Elevation: Highest--Chimborazo Volcano, in the Andes Mountains,
20,561 ft. (6,267 m) above sea level. Lowest--sea level, along the
coast.
Population: Estimated 1996 population--12,063,000; density, 110
persons per sq. mi. (43 per sq. km); distribution, 61 percent
urban, 39 percent rural. 1990 census--9,648,189. Estimated 2001
population--13,326,000.
Chief Products: Agriculture--bananas, beef, cacao, coffee, corn,
milk, oranges, potatoes, rice, sugar cane, wheat.
Fishing--herring, mackerel, shrimp. Forestry--balsa wood.
Manufacturing--cement, drugs, processed foods, straw hats,
textiles. Mining--petroleum.
National Holiday: Independence Day, August 10.
National Anthem: "Salve, O Patria" ("Hail, O Fatherland").
Money: Basic unit--sucre. One hundred centavos equal one sucre. For
the price of the sucre in U.S. dollars, see MONEY (Table: Exchange
Rates).
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