Ecuador

From Mises Wiki, the global repository of classical-liberal thought
Jump to: navigation, search
Country summary

Capital

Quito

Borders

Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km

Government type

republic

Population

14,573,101 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

1.497% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

75.3 years[1]

Unemployment

8.5% (2009 est.)[1]

Index of Economic Freedom

147[2]

Corruption Perceptions Index

146[3]

Doing Business ranking

138[4]


What is now Ecuador formed part of the northern Inca Empire until the Spanish conquest in 1533. Quito became a seat of Spanish colonial government in 1563 and part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1717. The territories of the Viceroyalty - New Granada (Colombia), Venezuela, and Quito - gained their independence between 1819 and 1822 and formed a federation known as Gran Colombia. When Quito withdrew in 1830, the traditional name was changed in favor of the "Republic of the Equator." Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Protests in Quito have contributed to the mid-term ouster of Ecuador's last three democratically elected Presidents. In September 2008, voters approved a new constitution; Ecuador's twentieth since gaining independence. General elections, under the new constitutional framework, were held in April 2009.[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: U.S. dollar (ISO code: USD)
  • Central bank discount rate: [1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: 19% (31 December 2009)[1]
  • Stock of money (M1): $9.215 billion (31 December 2009)[1]
  • Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $9.79 billion (31 December 2009)[1]

Notable events:

  • Banking crisis: 1981, 1994, 1996, 1998-1999[5]
  • Public default: 1826-1845, 1868-1890, 1894-1898, 1900-1904, 1906-1911, 1914-1924, 1929-1954, 1982-1995, 1999-2000, 2008 (external), 1999 (domestic)
  • Years in inflation: 13.9% (share of years 1830-2009 with annual inflation above 20 per cent per annum)[6]

Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[7] 16 682 15 942 21 250 24 899 28 636 32 642 37 187 41 763 45 789 54 686
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[8]
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[9]
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[10]
Debt to revenue (years)

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Ecuador", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  2. ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Ecuador", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  3. ↑ Transparency International. "Ecuador", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  4. ↑ Doing Business. "Ecuador", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  5. ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 360-361. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-19.
  6. ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart. "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises" (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 42. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-19.
  7. ↑ World Bank. "Ecuador: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  8. ↑ World Bank. "Ecuador: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  9. ↑ World Bank. "Ecuador: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
  10. ↑ World Bank. "Ecuador: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.

Links

Retrieved from "https://wiki.mises.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Ecuador&oldid=13505"