Territory in northwest South America, ruled since 2008 by the República del Ecuador
Ecuador (Quechua: Ikwadur), officially the Republic of Ecuador (Spanish: República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: Ikwadur Ripuwlika), is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers west of the mainland. The capital city is Quito, while the largest city is Guayaquil.
Geographical type: Territory
Latitude: 2° S — Longitude: 77.5° W
Area: 283,560 km²
ISO 3166-2 code: EC
Home To
Instituto Ecuatoriano de Economia Politica, Guayaquil
Measures of Freedom
Economic Freedom Summary Index, Economic Freedom of the World, 25 Sep 2025
2023 overall score: 6.32, rank: 100
2023 overall score: 6.32, rank: 100
Ecuador: Country Profile, Freedom in the World, 2025Status: Partly Free, Aggregate Score: 65/100, Political Rights: 28/40, Civil Liberties: 37/60
Ecuador holds regular, competitive elections, but the influence of organized crime and related violence have increased significantly in recent years, affecting the functioning of state institutions and the security of ordinary citizens. Due process violations, attacks on journalists, human rights abuses, and official corruption are ongoing challenges, and the new government of President Daniel Noboa Azín has engaged in practices that further threaten civil liberties.
Human Freedom Index [PDF], The Human Freedom Index 2023: A Global Measurement of Personal, Civil, and Economic Freedom
2021: 7.03, Rank: 72, Personal freedom: 7.43, Economic freedom: 6.46
2021: 7.03, Rank: 72, Personal freedom: 7.43, Economic freedom: 6.46
The introductory paragraph uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ecuador" as of 19 Sep 2018, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.