Ecuador: People & Society#
| Population | 16,080,778 (July 2016 est.) |
|---|---|
| Nationality | noun: Ecuadorian(s) adjective: Ecuadorian |
| Ethnic groups | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 71.9%, Montubio 7.4%, Amerindian 7%, white 6.1%, Afroecuadorian 4.3%, mulato 1.9%, black 1%, other 0.4% (2010 est.) |
| Languages | 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.) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 74%, Evangelical 10.4%, Jehovah's Witness 1.2%, other 6.4% (includes Mormon Buddhist, Jewish, Spiritualist, Muslim, Hindu, indigenous religions, African American religions, Pentecostal), atheist 7.9%, agnostic 0.1% note: data represents persons at least 16 years of age from five Ecuadoran cities (2012 est.) |
| Demographic profile | 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 healthcare among poor children. Ecuador is stalled at above replacement level fertility and the population most likely will keep growing rather than stabilize. An estimated 2 to 3 million Ecuadorians live abroad, but increased unemployment in key receiving countries - Spain, the United States, and Italy - is slowing emigration and increasing the likelihood of returnees to Ecuador. The first large-scale emigration of Ecuadorians occurred between 1980 and 2000, when an economic crisis drove Ecuadorians from southern provinces to New York City, where they had trade contacts. A second, nationwide wave of emigration 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 has a small but growing immigrant population and is Latin America's top recipient of refugees; 98% are neighboring Colombians fleeing violence in their country. |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.52% (male 2,257,535/female 2,168,198) 15-24 years: 18.47% (male 1,508,341/female 1,461,207) 25-54 years: 39.38% (male 3,086,599/female 3,245,266) 55-64 years: 7.39% (male 581,560/female 606,821) 65 years and over: 7.25% (male 554,371/female 610,880) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 55.6% youth dependency ratio: 45.1% elderly dependency ratio: 10.4% potential support ratio: 9.6% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 27.4 years male: 26.7 years female: 28.1 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.31% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 18.2 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 5.1 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Population distribution | 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 |
| Urbanization | urban population: 63.7% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 1.9% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | Guayaquil 2.709 million; QUITO (capital) 1.726 million (2015) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2016 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 64 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 16.9 deaths/1,000 live births male: 19.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.8 years male: 73.8 years female: 79.9 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 2.22 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Health expenditures | 9.2% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 1.72 physicians/1,000 population (2011) |
| Hospital bed density | 1.6 beds/1,000 population (2011) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 93.4% of population rural: 75.5% of population total: 86.9% of population unimproved: urban: 6.6% of population rural: 24.5% of population total: 13.1% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 87% of population rural: 80.7% of population total: 84.7% of population unimproved: urban: 13% of population rural: 19.3% of population total: 15.3% of population (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.29% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 29,100 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 900 (2015 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 18% (2014) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 6.4% (2013) |
| Education expenditures | 4.9% of GDP (2015) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 94.5% male: 95.4% female: 93.5% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 14 years male: 14 years female: 15 years (2012) |
| Child labor - children ages 5-14 | total number: 227,599 percentage: 8% (2008 est.) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 10.9% male: 8.4% female: 15.7% (2013 est.) |