Economy - overview:
Ecuador is substantially dependent on its petroleum resources, which have accounted for more than half of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years. In 1999/2000, Ecuador suffered a severe economic crisis, with GDP contracting by more than 6%. Poverty increased significantly, the banking system collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and positive growth returned in the years that followed, helped by high oil prices, remittances, and increased non-traditional exports. From 2002-06 the economy grew 5.5%, the highest five-year average in 25 years. The poverty rate declined but remained high at 38% in 2006. In 2006 the government imposed a windfall revenue tax on foreign oil companies, leading to the suspension of free trade negotiations with the US. These measures led to a drop in petroleum production in 2007. President Rafael CORREA raised the specter of debt default and followed through on those threats in December 2008 by defaulting on some commercial bond obligations. He also decreed a higher windfall revenue tax on private oil companies, then renegotiated their contracts to overcome the debilitating effect of the tax. This generated economic uncertainty; private investment dropped and the economy contracted in 2009.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$107.1 billion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$55.61 billion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
-2% (2009 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$7,300 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 6.8%
industry:
35.7%
services:
57.6% (2009 est.)
Labor force:
4.77 million (urban) (2009 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 8.3%
industry:
21.2%
services:
70.4% (2005)
Unemployment rate:
9.8% (2009 est.)
Population below poverty line:
38.3% (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%:
43.3%
note:
data for urban households only (2007)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
46 (2006)
note: data are for urban households
Investment (gross fixed):
22.3% of GDP (2009 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $15.68 billion
expenditures:
planned $17.9 billion (2009 est.)
Public debt:
32.3% of GDP (2009 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.4% (2009 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
9.14% (31 December 2008)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
9.71% (31 December 2008)
Stock of money:
$5.907 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of quasi money:
$9.383 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of domestic credit:
$10.13 billion (31 December 2008)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$4.562 billion (31 December 2008)
Agriculture - products:
bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp
Industries:
petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals
Industrial production growth rate:
-2% (2009 est.)
Electricity - production:
16.75 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
9.888 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - exports:
38.53 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
861 million kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
505,100 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption:
178,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - exports:
417,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - imports:
54,190 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - proved reserves:
4.66 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
Natural gas - production:
260 million cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
260 million cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
8.919 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
Current account balance:
$-1.031 billion (2009 est.)
Exports:
$13.63 billion (2009 est.)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish
Exports - partners:
US 45.3%, Peru 9.2%, Chile 8.1%, Panama 4.8%, Colombia 4.2% (2008)
Imports:
$14.23 billion (2009 est.)
Imports - commodities:
industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods
Imports - partners:
US 19.1%, Venezuela 13.8%, Colombia 9.9%, China 8.4%, Brazil 4.8%, Japan 4.1% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$3.511 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external:
$13.31 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$17.14 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange rates:
1 (2009), (2008)
NOTE: The information regarding Ecuador on this page is re-published from the 2010 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ecuador Economy 2010 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ecuador Economy 2010 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 09-Feb-10