(31 December 2010 est.)
$8.019 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange rates:
1 (2010), 1 (2009)
note: the US dollar is legal tender
Communications ::Ecuador
Telephones - main lines in use:
2.004 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 56
Telephones - mobile cellular:
13.635 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 52
Telephone system:
general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded
domestic: fixed-line services provided by multiple telecommunications operators; fixed-line teledensity stands at about 14 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular use has surged and subscribership reached about 95 per 100 persons in 2009
international: country code - 593; landing points for the PAN-AM and South America-1 submarine cables that provide links to the west coast of South America, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and extending onward to Aruba and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2009)
Broadcast media:
private broadcast media dominate; all stations are privately-owned except for 1 government-controlled station; multiple television networks, a number of national TV channels, and a large number of local channels; more than 400 radio stations; broadcast media required by law to give the government free air time to broadcast programs produced by the state (2007)
Internet country code:
.ec
Internet hosts:
67,975 (2010) country comparison to the world: 82
Internet users:
3.352 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 64
Transportation ::Ecuador
Airports:
428 (2010) country comparison to the world: 18
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 105
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 25
under 914 m: 55 (2010)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 323
914 to 1,523 m: 39
under 914 m: 284 (2010)
Heliports:
2 (2010)
Pipelines:
extra heavy crude 435 km; gas 5 km; oil 1,374 km; refined products 1,301 km (2009)
Railways:
total: 965 km country comparison to the world: 91 narrow gauge: 965 km 1.067-m gauge (2008)
Roadways:
total: 43,670 km country comparison to the world: 86 paved: 6,472 km
unpaved: 37,198 km (2006)
Waterways:
1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2010) country comparison to the world: 54
Merchant marine:
total: 41 country comparison to the world: 76 by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 3, liquefied gas 1, passenger 9, petroleum tanker 26, refrigerated cargo 1
registered in other countries: 7 (Bolivia 1, Panama 6) (2010)
Ports and terminals:
Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar
Military ::Ecuador
Military branches:
Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard),
Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) (2007)
Military service age and obligation:
20 years of age for selective conscript military service; 12-month service obligation (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16–49: 3,662,176
females age 16–49: 3,781,102 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16–49: 2,770,465
females age 16–49: 3,217,235 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 150,296
female: 145,184 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
0.9% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 138
Transnational Issues ::Ecuador
Disputes - international:
organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border, which thousands of Colombians also cross to escape the violence in their home country
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 11,526 (Colombia); note - UNHCR estimates as many as 250,000 Columbians are seeking asylum in Ecuador, many of whom do not register as refugees for fear of deportation (2007)
Illicit drugs:
significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru, with much of the US-bound cocaine passing through Ecuadorian Pacific waters; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents (2008)
page last updated on January 19, 2011
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@Egypt (Africa)
