USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT . . .
ECUADOR

Profile
Full country name: Republic of Ecuador
Area: 283,560 sq. km
Population: 13,755,680 (July 2007 est.)
People: mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%; Amerindian 25%; Spanish
and others 7%; black 3%
Language: Spanish, Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
Religion: 95% Roman Catholic
Government: Republic
Head of government: President Rafael CORREA Delgado
GDP per capita: $4,500 (2006 est.)

History
The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Eleven presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996.

Economics
Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of central government budget revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact.

In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year.

The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the U.S. dollar as legal tender.

Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ - January 2003 to April 2005 - Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on economic reforms necessary to reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises.

Newspapers
El Comercio
Hoy
Metro Dia
Diario Expreso Guayaquil
El Telegrafo Guayaquil

Education/Current Student Market
In 2006-07, there were 2,211 Ecuadorian students in the U.S. Ecuador offers a strong undergraduate market, with 62% of those in the U.S. studying at this level.

Of the 72 registered students at the Linden Spring 2006 Art & Design Quito fair:

• 38% were male, 62% female
• 32% wanted undergraduate study, 50% master’s degrees and 10% doctoral programs
• 40% wanted a degree in design, 14% in studio art and 10% in architecture/urban planning
• The average TOEFL score of those who had taken the exam was 614
• 57% planned to begin their studies in 2007, 18% in 2008

U. S. Advising Centers
Maria Mercedes Salmon, Educational Adviser
Fulbright Commission
Diego de Almagro N25-41 y Av. Colon
Quito, Ecuador
Tel: 593-2-222-2103/104;250-9523
Fax: 593-2-250-8149
Email: advisorq@fulbright.org.ec
Web site: www.fulbright.org.ec

Susana Ambrosini, Educational Adivser
Fulbright Commission-Guayaquil
Luis Urdaneta 112 y Córdova
Ed. Centro Ecuatoriano-Norteamericano
P.O. Box 10237
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Tel: 593-4-230-2392
Fax: 593-4-230-5832
Email: advisorg@fulbright.org.ec

Credentials
Click on the link above. This information is taken from "A Guide to Educational Systems Around the World," edited by Shelley M. Feagles and produced by NAFSA: Association for International Educators. Click here to order this publication in its entirety.

Tourist Information
What to Do in Quito
Quito has plenty of colonial treasures and was declared a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO in 1978. Major sites around the city include the Monastery of San Francisco, a 16^th C. Cathedral, the colonial era alleyway; La Ronda, the Panecilla, a hill which provides fabulous views of the old city; and the Virgin of Quito Statue. There is also an open air market at the foot of the Panecillo.

The Avenida Amazonas is a good place to walk and stop in a sidewalk café and watch life go by.

Where to Eat in Quito
Typical cuisine: La Choza, El Níspero, La Querencia, Briccola

What to Do in Guayaquil
The Malecon 2000 is a pedestrian waterfront walkway which houses hundreds of shops, cafes, bars and monuments. At the end of this path is the Santa Ana Hill, where the city of Guayaquil was born. This city also has an impressive crafts market, Mercado Artesanal as well as the Iguana park.

Where to Eat in Guayaquil
Typical cuisine: Lo Nuestrol

Climate
Sharp contrasts according to altitude. Quito has a cool spring climate throughout the year, with an average temperature of 55F.

	January	March	June	October
Average high	72	71	71	72
Average low	46	47	45	46
Rain days	15	19	12	17

Guayaquil’s climate is tropical hot and humid with average temperaturas of 77F.

Books and Web Sites
Books
Through Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliott
After several preliminary overtures of friendship, five young missionary men set out on a crucial January day in 1956 for a meeting with the Auca tribesmen who had reacted with apparent tolerance to earlier gifts and messages.

The Native Leisure Class by Rudi Colloredo-Mansfield
In the Andean city of Otavalo, Ecuador, a cultural renaissance is now taking place against a backdrop of fading farming traditions, transnational migration, and an influx of new consumer goods. Recently, Otavalenos have transformed their textile trade into a prosperous tourist industry, exporting colorful weavings around the world.

In Focus Ecuador, A Guide by Wilma Roos, Omer Van Reutergheim
If you are looking for a good overview of Ecuador without all of the tourist related fluff, this is the book for you. It briefly covers topics from Ecuador's early history right up to present day politics, people and environment.

Fire from the Andes, Short Fiction by Women of Boliva, Ecuador and Peru by Susan E. Brenner
This anthology provides an opportunity for English-speaking audiences to read previously untranslated fiction by women from Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Most of the stories focus on women's inner lives and their struggles to make sense of experience.

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

Toward a State of the Art of Adult and Youth Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (.pdf document)

Web Sites
www.ecuador.com - Your Window on Ecuador
Lonely Planet: Destination Ecuador
Country Reports: Ecuador