17,483,326 (2023 est.)
noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 71.9%, Montubio 7.4%, Amerindian 7%, White 6.1%, Afroecuadorian 4.3%, Mulatto 1.9%, Black 1%, other 0.4% (2010 est.)
Spanish (Castilian) 93% (official), Quechua 4.1%, other indigenous 0.7%, foreign 2.2%; note - (Quechua and Shuar are official languages of intercultural relations; other indigenous languages are in official use by indigenous peoples in the areas they inhabit) (2010 est.)
major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Spanish audio sample:
Roman Catholic 68.8%, Evangelical 15.4%, Adventist 1.2%, Jehovah's Witness 1%, other 1.3%, agnostic or atheist 1.4%, none 10.1%, don't know/no response 1% (2020 est.)
note: data represent persons at least 16 years of age from five Ecuadoran cities
Ecuador’s high poverty and income inequality most affect indigenous, mixed race, and rural populations. The government has increased its social spending to ameliorate these problems, but critics question the efficiency and implementation of its national development plan. Nevertheless, the conditional cash transfer program, which requires participants’ children to attend school and have medical check-ups, has helped improve educational attainment and health care among poor children. Ecuador’s total fertility rate – the average number of children born per woman – is just below replacement level as of 2023, but its population is continuing to grow.
Ecuador continues to be both a country of emigration and immigration. The first large-scale emigration of largely undocumented Ecuadorians occurred between 1980 and 2000, when an economic crisis drove Ecuadorians from southern provinces to New York City, where they had connections from the earlier Panama hat trade. Emigration from all parts of Ecuador in the late 1990s was caused by another economic downturn, political instability, and a currency crisis. Spain was the logical destination because of its shared language and the wide availability of low-skilled, informal jobs at a time when increased border surveillance made illegal migration to the US difficult. Ecuador became Spain’s second largest immigrant source country. The bulk of Ecuadorian emigration, however, occurred between 2000 and 2007, largely to the US, Spain, and Italy. Emigration has again surged since 2017, as economic problems, high unemployment, poverty, and violence have lead thousands of Ecuadorian migrants and refugees to head to the US. As of 2021, Ecuadorians were the fourth-highest nationality coming into contact with US Customs and Border Protection at the US-Mexico border. Most Ecuadorian migrants and refugees traverse the dangerous Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama to reach Mexico. Although Mexico reinstated a visa requirement in September 2021, Ecuadorians continue to enter Mexico illegally and then travel to the US or Canada. Some wind up staying in Mexico if their journeys north fail. Emigrants represent 8-10% of Ecuador’s population, as of 2021.
Ecuador hosts one of the region’s largest refugee populations. From 2000-2005, Colombians arrived in growing numbers to escape armed conflict, and they have continued to immigrate to Ecuador steadily. Between 2008, when Ecuador lifted visa requirements for all countries, and 2016, immigrants entered from Haiti, Cuba, and other continents. The influx of Venezuelans began in 2017, and, as of May 2022, Ecuador was home to the third-largest community of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the world at over half a million. Immigrants and refugees account for 3-5% of the Ecuador’s population, as of 2021.
0-14 years: 24.49% (male 2,183,293/female 2,098,856)
15-64 years: 66.44% (male 5,739,156/female 5,876,090)
65 years and over: 9.07% (2023 est.) (male 745,170/female 840,761)
2023 population pyramid: 
total dependency ratio: 50.9
youth dependency ratio: 39.4
elderly dependency ratio: 11.5
potential support ratio: 8.7 (2021 est.)
total: 27.7 years (2023 est.)
male: 26.8 years
female: 28.7 years
0.99% (2023 est.)
18 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
nearly half of the population is concentrated in the interior in the Andean intermontane basins and valleys, with large concentrations also found along the western coastal strip; the rainforests of the east remain sparsely populated
urban population: 64.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.62% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
3.142 million Guayaquil, 1.957 million QUITO (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
66 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 12.2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.2 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 74.9 years (2023 est.)
male: 69.7 years
female: 80.4 years
2.24 children born/woman (2023 est.)
1.09 (2023 est.)
77.9% (2018/19)
note: percent of women aged 15-50
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 87.1% of population
total: 95.4% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 12.9% of population
total: 4.6% of population (2020 est.)
8.5% of GDP (2020)
2.22 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
1.4 beds/1,000 population (2016)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 96.9% of population
total: 98.9% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 3.1% of population
total: 1.1% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
19.9% (2016)
total: 3.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 2.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 11.3% (2020 est.)
male: 18.4% (2020 est.)
female: 4.2% (2020 est.)
5.2% (2018/19)
55.1% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 3.8%
women married by age 18: 22.2% (2018 est.)
3.7% of GDP (2021 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.5%
male: 94.9%
female: 94% (2021)
total: 15 years
male: 14 years
female: 15 years (2020)
NOTE: The information regarding Ecuador on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ecuador 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ecuador 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.
