Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador (Spanish: República del Ecuador, which actually equates as “Republic of the Equator”; is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and also southern, and also the Pacific Ocean on the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers (621 mi) west of the mainland. The capital is Quito.

The regions of modern Ecuador were once home to a variety of Amerindian teams that were progressively included into the Inca Realm during the 15th century. The area was conquered by Spain during the 16th century, accomplishing self-reliance in 1820 as part of Grandma Colombia, from which it emerged as its very own sovereign state in 1830.

The heritage of both empires is shown in Ecuador’s ethnically diverse populace, with the majority of its 17.1 million people being mestizos, adhered to by huge minorities of European, Native American, and African descendants. Spanish is the main language and also is spoken by a majority of the populace, though 13 Native languages are additionally identified, including Quechua and also Shuar.

The sovereign state of Ecuador is a middle-income rep autonomous republic and also a developing country that is very dependent on commodities, particularly oil as well as farming items. It is governed as a democratic governmental republic. The nation is a starting participant of the United Nations, Company of American States, Mercosur, PROSUR and the Non-Aligned Activity.

One of 17 megadiverse nations on the planet, Ecuador hosts lots of native plants and pets, such as those of the Galápagos Islands. In acknowledgment of its unique environmental heritage, the new constitution of 2008 is the initial in the world to recognize lawfully enforceable Civil liberties of Nature, or ecosystem legal rights.

According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, between 2006 as well as 2016, hardship reduced from 36.7% to 22.5% as well as annual per capita GDP development was 1.5 percent (as contrasted to 0.6 percent over the previous twenty years). At the same time, the nation’s Gini index of economic inequality reduced from 0.55 to 0.47.