It is mild year-round in the mountain valleys

It is mild year-round in the mountain valleys; humid subtropical climate in coastal areas and rainforest in lowlands. The Pacific coastal area has a tropical climate, with a severe rainy season. The climate in the Andean highlands is temperate and relatively dry; and the Amazon basin on the eastern side of the mountains shares the climate of other rain forest zones. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW41ZF Battery}
Because of its location at the equator, Ecuador experiences little variation in daylight hours during the course of a year. Both sunrise and sunset occur each day at the two six o'clock hours.The Andes is the watershed divisor between the Amazon watershed, which runs to the east, and the Pacific, including north-south rivers: Mataje, Santiago, Esmeraldas, Chone, Guayas, Jubones and Puyango-Tumbes. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW41ZF/B Battery}
Almost all of the rivers in Ecuador form in the Highland region and flow east toward the Amazon River or west toward the Pacific Ocean. The rivers rise from snowmelt at the edges of the snowcapped peaks or from the abundant precipitation that falls at higher elevations. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW50DB/H Battery}
In the Sierra region, the streams and rivers are narrow and flow rapidly over precipitous slopes. Rivers may slow and widen as they cross the hoyas yet become rapid again as they flow from the heights of the Andesto the lower elevations of the other regions. The highland rivers broaden as they enter the more level areas of the Coast and the Orient. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW51JGB Battery}
In the Coastal region, the External Coast has mostly intermittent rivers that are fed by constant rains from December through May and become empty riverbeds during the dry season. The few exceptions are the longer, perennial rivers that flow throughout the External Coast from the Internal Coast and the Highland on their way to the Pacific Ocean. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW52JGB Battery}
The Internal Coast, by contrast, is crossed by perennial rivers that may flood during the rainy season, sometimes forming swamps.
Major rivers in the Oriente include the Pastaza, Napo, and Putumayo. The Pastaza is formed by the confluence of the Chambo and the Patate rivers, both of which rise in the Sierra. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW53FB Battery}
The Pastaza includes the Agoyan waterfall, which at sixty-one meters is the highest waterfall in Ecuador. The Napo rises near Mount Cotopaxi and is the major river used for transport in the Eastern lowlands. The Napo ranges in width from 500 to 1,800 meters. In its upper reaches, the Napo flows rapidly until the confluence with one of its major tributaries, ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW70B/Q Battery}
the Coca River, where it slows and levels off. The Putumayo forms part of the border with Colombia. All of these rivers flow into the Amazon River. The Galápagos Islands have no significant rivers. Several of the larger islands, however, have freshwater springs, and is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW71JB Battery}
Ecuador is one of 17 megadiverse countries in the world according to Conservation International,^[10] and it has the most biodiversity per square kilometer of any nation.^[23] In addition to the mainland, Ecuador owns the Galápagos Islands, for which the country is best known.^{[24] Sony VAIO VGN-AW72JB Battery}
Ecuador has 1,600 bird species (15% of the world's known bird species) in the continental area, and 38 more endemic in the Galápagos. In addition to over 16,000 species of plants, the country has 106 endemic reptiles, 138 endemic amphibians, and 6,000 species of butterfly. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW73FB Battery}
The Galápagos Islands are well known as a region of distinct fauna, famous as the place of birth of Darwin'sTheory of Evolution, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[25]
Ecuador has the first constitution to recognize the rights of nature.^[26] The protection of the nation's biodiversity is an explicit national priority as stated in the National Plan of "Buen Vivir", ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW80NS Battery}
or good living, objective 4, Guarantee the rights of nature, policy 1: "Sustainably conserve and manage the natural heritage including its land and marine biodiversity which is considered a strategic sector".^[27] As of the writing of that Plan in 2008, 19% of Ecuador's land area was in a protected area, however, the Plan also states that 32% of the land must be protected in order to truly preserve the nation's biodiversity.^{[23] Sony VAIO VGN-AW80S Battery}
Current protected areas include 11 national parks, 10 wildlife refuges, 9 ecological reserves and other areas.^[28] A program begun in 2008, Sociobosque, is preserving another 2.3% of total landarea (629,475.5 hectares or 6,295 km²) by paying private landowners or community landowners (such as indigenous tribes) incentives to maintain their land as native ecosystems such as native forests or grasslands. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW80US Battery}
Eligibility and subsidy rates for this program are determined based on the poverty in the region, the number of hectacres that will be protected, the type of ecosystem of the land to be protected among other factors.^[29]
Despite being on the UNESCO list, the Galápagos are endangered by a range of negative environmental effects, threatening the existence of this exotic ecosystem.^{[30] Sony VAIO VGN-AW81DS Battery}
Additionally, oil exploitation of the Amazon rain forest has led to the release of billions of gallons of untreated wastes, gas, and crude oil into the environment, contaminating ecosystems and causing detrimental health effects to indigenous peoples. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW81JS Battery}
Ecuador's economy is the eighth largest in Latin America and experienced an average growth of 4.6% between 2000 and 2006.^[32] In January 2009, the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) put the 2010 growth forecast at 6.88%.^[33] During the global crisis Ecuador's economy was able to maintain positive, though small, growth. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW81YS Battery}
In 2011 its GDP grew at 7.8 percent and was the third highest in Latin America, behind Argentina (2nd) and Panama (1st).^[34] Between 1999 and 2007, GDP doubled reaching 65,490 million dollars according to BCE.^[35] Inflation rate up to January 2008 was located about 1.14%, the highest recorded in the last year, according to Government. ^{Sony VAIO VGN-AW82DS Battery}
The monthly unemployment rate remained at about 6 and 8 percent from December 2007 until September 2008, however, it went up to about 9 percent in October and dropped again in November 2008 to 8 percent.^[38] In the middle of the global economic recession, the unemployment mean annual rate for 2009 was of 8.5 percent. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21EF/S Battery
From then the unemployment rates started a downward trend: 7.6 percent in 2010, 6.0 percent in 2011, and 4.8 percent in 2012.^[39]
The extreme poverty rate has declined significantly between 1999 and 2010.^[40] In 2001 it was estimated at 40% of the population, while by 2011 the figure dropped to 17.4% of the total population.^[41] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF Battery
This is explained largely by emigration and economic stability achieved after adopting the U.S dollar as official means of transaction .^[42]
Oil accounts for 40% of exports and contributes to maintaining a positive trade balance.^[43] Since the late '60s, the exploitation of oil increased production and reserves are estimated at 4.036 million barrels ^[44] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF Battery
The overall trade balance for August 2012 was a surplus of almost 390 million dollars for the first six months of 2012, a huge figure compared with that of 2007, which reached only $ 5.7 million; the surplus had risen by about 425 million compared to 2006. This circumstance was due to the fact that imports grew faster than exports.^[41] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery
The oil trade balance positive had revenues of $ 3.295 million in 2008, while non-oil was negative amounting to 2.842 million dollars.The trade balance with the United States, Chile, the European Union, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil and Mexico is positive.The trade balance with Argentina, Colombia and Asia is negative.^[45] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF Battery
In the agricultural sector, Ecuador is a major exporter of bananas (first place worldwide in production and export), flowers, and the eighth largest producer of cocoa.^[46] It is also significant the shrimp production, sugar cane, rice, cotton, corn, palm and coffee. The country´s vast resources include large amounts of timber across the country, like eucalyptus and mangroves.^[47] Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF/W Battery
Pines and cedars are planted in the region of the Sierra, walnuts and rosemary, and balsa wood, on Guayas River Basin.^[48] The industry is concentrated mainly in Guayaquil, the largest industrial center, and in Quito where in recent years the industry has grown considerably, this city is also the largest business center of the country.^[49] Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF Battery
Industrial production is directed primarily to domestic market.Despite this, there is limited export of products produced or processed industrially. These include canned foods, liquor, jewelry, furniture and more. A minor industrial activity is also concentrated in Cuenca.^[50] Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/B Battery
Ecuador has negotiated bilateral treaties with other countries, besides belonging to the Andean Community of Nations,^[51] and an associate member of Mercosur.^[52] It also serves on the World Trade Organization (WTO), in addition to the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/TC Battery
Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF) and other multilateral agencies.^[53][54][55] In April 2007, Ecuador paid off its debt to the IMF thus ending an era of interventionism of the Agency in the country.The public finance of Ecuador consists of the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE), Sony VAIO VGN-NW35E Battery
the National Development Bank (BNF), the State Bank, the National Finance Corporation, the Ecuadorian Housing Bank (BEV) and the Ecuadorian Educational Loans and Grants.^[56]
Between 2006 and 2009, the government increased social spending, on social welfare, and education from 2.6% to 5.2% of its GDP.^[57] Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/S Battery
Starting in 2007 with an economy surpassed by the economic crisis, Ecuador was subject to a number of economic policy reforms by Government that have helped steer the Ecuadorian economy to a sustained, substantial, and focused to achieve financial stability and social policy. Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/T Battery
Such policies were expansionary fiscal policies, of access to housing finance, stimulus packs, and limiting the amount of money reserves banks could keep abroad.^[57] Ecuadorian government has made huge investments in education and infrastructure throughout the nation, which have improved the lives of the poor.^[58] Sony VAIO VGN-NW50JB Battery
In 2000 Ecuador changed its currency from the sucre to the US dollar following a banking crisis.^[59]On 12 December 2008 president Correa announced that Ecuador would not pay $30.6m in interest to lenders of a $510m loan, claiming that they were monsters.^[59] Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/N Battery
In addition it claimed that $3.8bn in foreign debt negotiated by previous administrations was illegitimate because it was authorised without executive decree.^[59]At the time of the announcement, the country had $5.65bn in cash reserves.
In its infancy Ecuador was part of Gran Colombia until 1830 as Departamento del Sur. Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/W Battery
Gran Colombia's monetary regulations retained the old Spanish colonial system. Ecuador officially began its own monetary unit on June 28, 1835, when the inscription (rev.) "EL ECUADOR EN COLOMBIA" was changed to "REPUBLICA DEL ECUADOR". Many regional coins from neighborhing Peru, Sony VAIO VGN-NW70JB Battery
Colombia, Bolivia, etc. as well as international units, were in circulation and accepted while Quito fought counterfeiting and tried to unify its currency. Counterfeiting had reached alarming proportions during 1842. At this time, Ecuador was on the verge of bankruptcy, and since legitimate coins had such imperfections, it was impossible to tell them from the bad coins. Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/N Battery
On December 29, 1845, President Vicente Ramón Roca authorized a coin to compete with the fuertes (full-bodied coin) of other countries. This was the peso fuerte. The standard of 903 fineness for silver, however, resulted in a heavy export of the coin. It disappeared as soon as it entered circulation (Gresham's law), grabbed up by the merchants ofGuayaquil. Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/W Battery
By the 1850s the Quito mint was not receiving enough precious metals to justify its operation. It had to coin a minimum of 6,000 pesos a year just to meet overhead. The mint was shut down during 1853 while the government considered the options of keeping it open or shutting it down. Sony VAIO VGN-NW91FS Battery
The mint equipment was worn and could not produce coin in sufficient quantity to compete with the foreign coin that entered Ecuador.
Congress passed a new monetary law on December 5, 1856, adopting the French decimal system, a standard of 0·900 for silver, and the Ecuadorian Franco. Sony VAIO VGN-NW91GS Battery
The peso remained a unit of account equal to 5 francos. Paper money was first issued in 1859 by the Banco de Circulación y Descuento de Manuel Antonio de Luzarraga in Guayaquil, with banknote denominations of 1, 4, 5, 10, and 20 pesos.
Ecuador's monetary unit, the peso, was renamed sucre (decree of March 22, 1884, effective April 1). Sony VAIO VGN-NW91VS Battery
The 1884 monetary law permitted free circulation of gold coin of France, Italy, Switzerland, Colombia, etc. As for silver, the law permitted the import of 5-franc pieces of France, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland etc. Copper (vellón) was made legal tender to 5 décimos. Bank reserves were in silver coins, and banknotes were convertible solely into silver. Sony VAIO VGN-SR11M Battery
Ecuador was on a de facto silver standard and did not coin any gold between 1884 and 1892. President Antonio Flores Jijón, announced that from August 15, 1890 only national coins were allowed to circulate in Ecuador, and Ecuador's monetary system was unified. Sony VAIO VGN-SR11MR Battery
Following the financial banking crisis of 1999, the US dollar became legal tender in Ecuador on March 13, 2000 and sucre notes ceased being legal tender on September 11. Sucre notes remained exchangeable at Banco Central until March 30, 2001 at 25,000 sucres per dollar. Ecuador now only issues its own centavo coins. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D Battery
The country has potential for the industry in a variety of sectors. Domestic production of raw materials and manufactured textiles, mining, chemical, petrochemical and oil refinement. Power generation is also a potential sector which is starting to be developed due to Ecuador´s high water potential in various sectors of the country; Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/B Battery
the development of products based on the melting or glass materials, production and agro-processed foods, pharmaceutical production, among others. The most relevant projects currently under development is the Pacific refinery, located in Manta which will be one of the largest in the region. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/P Battery
The rehabilitation and reopening of the Ecuadorian railroad, and use of it as a tourist attraction is one of the recent developments in transportation matter.^[60] The roads of Ecuador in recent years have undergone important improvement. The major routes are Pan American (under enhacement from 4 to 6 lanes from Rumichaca to Ambato, Sony VAIO VGN-SR140D/S Battery
the conclusion of 4 lanes on the entire stretch of Ambato and Riobamba and running via Riobamba to Loja). In the absence of the section between Loja and the border with Peru, the Route Espondilus and / or Ruta del Sol (oriented to travel throughout the Ecuadorian coastline.), the backbone Amazon (which crosses from north to south along the Ecuadorian Amazon, linking most and more major cities of it); Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E Battery
Another major project is developing the road Manta – Tena, the highway Guayaquil – Salinas Highway Aloag Santo Domingo, Riobamba – Macas (which crosses Sangay National Park). Other new developments include the ¨National Unity¨ bridge complex in Guayaquil, the bridge over the Napo river in Francisco de Orellana, Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/B Battery
the Esmeraldas River Bridge in the city of the same name, and perhaps the most remarkable of all, the ¨Bahia – San Vincente Bridge¨, being the largest in the Latin American Pacific coast. The international airports of Quito and Guayaquil have experienced a high increase in demand and have required modernization. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/P Battery
In the case of Guayaquil it involved a new air terminal, once considered the best in South America and the best in Latin America,^[61] and in Quito where an entire new airport is being built in Tababela, and will be inaugurated by February 2013, with Canadian assistance. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140E/S Battery
2011 estimates put Ecuador's population at 15,007,343.^[1] Ecuador's population is ethnically diverse. The largest ethnic group (as of 2010) is the Mestizos, the descendants of Spanish colonists and indigenous peoples, who constitute 71.9% of the population. Sony VAIO VGN-SR140N/S Battery
Amerindians account for 7% of the current population. Afro-Ecuadorians, including Mulattos and zambos, are also a minority, largely based in Esmeraldas and Imbabura provinces, and make up around 7% of the population.
According to the Ecuadorian National Institute of Statistics and Census, 91.95% of the country's population have a religion, Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/B Battery
7.94% are atheists and 0.11% are agnostics. Among the people that have a religion, 80.44% are Roman Catholic (see List of Roman Catholic dioceses in Ecuador), 11.30% are Protestants, 1.29% are Jehovah's Witnesses and 6.97% other (mainly Jewish, Buddhists and Mormons).^[63][64] Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/P Battery
In the rural parts of Ecuador, indigenous beliefs and Catholicism are sometimes syncretized. Most festivals and annual parades are based on religious celebrations, many incorporating a mixture of rites and icons.
There is a small number of Eastern Orthodox Christians, indigenous religions, Sony VAIO VGN-SR165E/S Battery
Muslims (see Islam in Ecuador), Buddhists andBahá'í. Ecuador has a number of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, about 1.4% of the population, or about 185,000 members.^[65][66] In 2010, there were 73,215 Jehovah's Witnesses in the country.^[67] Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EBJ Battery
The "Jewish Community of Ecuador" (Comunidad Judía del Ecuador) has its seat in Quito and has approximately 300 members. Nevertheless, this number is declining because young people leave the country towards the United States of America or Israel.^[68] The Community has a Jewish Center with a synagogue, a country club and a cemetery. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EBQ Battery
It supports the "Albert Einstein School", where Jewish history, religion and Hebrew classes are offered. Since 2004, there has also been a Chabad house in Quito.^[69]
There are very small communities in Cuenca and Ambato. The "Comunidad de Culto Israelita" reunites the Jews of Guayaquil. This community works independently from the "Jewish Community of Ecuador".^[70] Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EEJ/C Battery
Jewish visitors to Ecuador can also take advantage of Jewish resources as they travel^[71] and keep kosher there, even in the Amazon Rainforest.^[72] The city has also synagogue of Messianic Judaism.
The Ecuadorian constitution recognizes the "pluri-nationality" of those who want to exercise their affiliation with their native ethnic groups. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NAB Battery
Thus, in addition to criollos, mestizos, and Afro-Ecuadorians, some people belong to the indigenous nations scattered in a few places in the coast, Quechua Andean villages, and the Amazonian jungle.
THE MAJORITY OF ECUADORIANS LIVE IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCES, THE ANDES MOUNTAINS, OR ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NBB Battery
THE TROPICAL FOREST REGION TO THE EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS (EL ORIENTE) REMAINS SPARSELY POPULATED, AND CONTAINS ONLY ABOUT 3% OF THE POPULATION.
A small east Asian Latino community, estimated at 2,500, mainly consists of those of Japanese and Chinese descent, whose ancestors arrived as miners, farmhands and fishermen in the late 19th century.^[1] Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NDB Battery
In the early years of World War II, Ecuador still admitted a certain number of immigrants, and in 1939, when several South American countries refused to accept 165 Jewish refugees from Germany aboard the ship "Koenigstein", Ecuador granted them entry permits. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NEB Battery
Ecuador's mainstream culture is defined by its Hispanic mestizo majority, and like their ancestry, it is traditionally of Spanish heritage, influenced in different degrees by Amerindian traditions, and in some cases by African elements.The first and most substantial wave of modern immigration to Ecuador consisted of Spanish colonists, Sony VAIO VGN-SR190NGB Battery
following the arrival of Europeans in 1499. A lower number of other Europeans and North Americans migrated to the country in the late 19th and early twentieth centuries, and in smaller numbers, Poles, Lithuanians, English, Irish, and Croats during and after the Second World War. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PAB Battery
Since African slavery was not the workforce of the Spanish colonies in the Andes Mountains of South America, given the subjugation of the indigenous people through evangelism and encomiendas, the minority population of African descent is mostly found in the coastal northern province of Esmeraldas. Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PCB Battery
This is largely owing to the 17th century shipwreck of a slave-trading galleon off the northern coast of Ecuador. The few black African survivors swam to the shore and penetrated the then-thick jungle under the leadership of Anton, the chief of the group, where they remained as free men maintaining their original culture, Sony VAIO VGN-SR190PFB Battery
not influenced by the typical elements found in other provinces of the coast or in the Andean region. A little later runaway slaves from Colombia known as cimarrones joined them. In the small Chota Valley of the province of Imbabura exist a small community of Africans among the provinces predominantly mestizo population. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery
These blacks are descendants of Africans, who were brought over from Colombia by Jesuits to work their colonial sugar and plantations as slaves. As a general rule small elements of zambos and mulattoes co-exist among the overwhelming mestizo population of coastal Ecuador throughout its history as gold miners in Loja, Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN Battery
Zaruma and Zamora; and shipbuilders and plantation workers around the city of Guayaquil. Today you can find a small community of Africans in the Catamayo valley of the predominantly mestizo population of Loja.
Ecuador's indigenous communities are integrated into the mainstream culture to varying degrees,^[75] Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VRN Battery
but some may also practice their own indigenous cultures, particularly the more remote indigenous communities of the Amazon basin. Spanish is spoken as the first language by more than 90% of the population, and as a first or second language by more than 98%. Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery
Part of Ecuador's population can speak Amerindian languages, in some cases as a second language. Two percent of the population speak only Amerindian languages.
Most Ecuadorians speak Spanish, though many speak Amerindian languages such as Kichwa. Other Amerindian languages spoken in Ecuador include Awapit (spoken by the Awá), Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN Battery
A'ingae (spoken by the Cofan), Shuar Chicham (spoken by the Shuar), Achuar-Shiwiar (spoken by the Achuar and the Shiwiar), Cha'palaachi (spoken by the Chachi), Tsa'fiki (spoken by the Tsáchila), Paicoca (spoken by the Siona and Secoya), and Wao Tededeo (spoken by the Waorani). Sony VAIO VGN-SR210J/S Battery
Though most features of Ecuadorian Spanish are those universal to the Spanish-speaking world, there are several idiosyncrasies.
The music of Ecuador has a long history. Pasillo is a genre of indigenous Latin music. In Ecuador it is the "national genre of music." Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S Battery
Through the years, many cultures have influenced to establish new types of music. There are also different kinds of traditional music like albazo, pasacalle, fox incaico, tonada, capishca, Bomba highly established in afro-Ecuadorian society like Esmeraldas, and so on. Tecnocumbia and Rockola are clear examples of foreign cultures influence. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/H Battery
One of the most traditional forms of dancing in Ecuador is Sanjuanito. It's originally from the North of Ecuador (Otavalo-Imbabura). Sanjuanito is a danceable music used in the festivities of the mestizo and indigenous culture. According to the Ecuadorian musicologist Segundo Luis Moreno, Sanjuanito was danced by indigenous people during San Juan Bautista's birthday. Sony VAIO VGN-SR21RM/S Battery
This important date was established by the Spaniards on June 24, coincidentally the same date when indigenous people celebrated their rituals of Inti Raymi.
Ecuadorian cuisine is diverse, varying with the altitude and associated agricultural conditions. Most regions in Ecuador follow the traditional three course meal of soup, Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/B Battery
a second course which includes rice and a protein such as meat or fish, and then dessert and coffee to finish. Supper is usually lighter, and sometimes consists only of coffee or herbal tea with bread.
In the highland region, pork, chicken, beef, and cuy (guinea pig) are popular and are served with a variety of grains (especially rice and corn) or potatoes. Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/H Battery
In the coastal region, seafood is very popular, with fish, shrimp and ceviche being key parts of the diet. Generally, ceviches are served with fried plantain (chifles y patacones), popcorn or tostado^. Plantain- and peanut-based dishes are the basis of most coastal meals. Sony VAIO VGN-SR240J/B Battery
Encocados (dishes that contain a coconut sauce) are also very popular.Churrasco is a staple food of the coastal region, especially Guayaquil. Arroz con menestra y carne asada (rice with beans and grilled beef) is one of the traditional dishes of Guayaquil, as is fried plantain which is often served with it. Sony VAIO VGN-SR240N/B Battery
This region is a leading producer of bananas, cacao beans (to make chocolate), shrimp, tilapia, mangos and passion fruit, among other products.
In the Amazon region, a dietary staple is the yuca, elsewhere called cassava. Many fruits are available in this region, including bananas, tree grapes, and peach palms. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTH Battery
Early literature in colonial Ecuador, as in the rest of Spanish America, was influenced by the Spanish Golden Age. One of the earliest examples is Jacinto Collahuazo,^[76] an indigenous chief of a northern village in today's Ibarra, born in the late 1600s. Despite the early repression and discrimination of the native people by the Spanish, Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTJ Battery
Collahuazo learned to read and write in Castilian, but his work was written in Quechua. The use of the Quipu was banned by the Spanish,^[77] and in order to preserve their work, many Inca poets had to resort to the use of the Latin alphabet to write in their native Quechua language. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTQ Battery
The history behind the Inca drama "Ollantay", the oldest literary piece in existence for any indigenous language in America,^[78] shares some similarities with the work of Collahuazo. Collahuazo was imprisoned, and all of his work burned. The existence of his literary work came to light many centuries later, Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVB/C Battery
when a crew of masons was restoring the walls of a colonial church in Quito, and found a hidden manuscript. The salvaged fragment is a Spanish translation from Quechua of the "Elegy to the Dead of Atahualpa",^[76] a poem written by Collahuazo, which describes the sadness and impotence of the Inca people of having lost their king Atahualpa. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVH/C Battery
Other early Ecuadorian writers include the Jesuits Juan Bautista Aguirre, born in Daule in 1725, and Father Juan de Velasco, born in Riobamba in 1727. De Velasco wrote about the nations and chiefdoms that had existed in the Kingdom of Quito (today Ecuador) before the arrival of the Spanish. His historical accounts are nationalistic, featuring a romantic perspective of precolonial history. Sony VAIO VGN-SR290NTB Battery
Famous authors from the late colonial and early republic period include: Eugenio Espejo a printer and main author of the first newspaper in Ecuadorian colonial times; Jose Joaquin de Olmedo (born in Guayaquil), famous for his ode to Simón Bolívartitled Victoria de Junin; Juan Montalvo, a prominent essayist and novelist; Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN/S Battery
Juan Leon Mera, famous for his work "Cumanda" or "Tragedy among Savages" and the Ecuadorian National Anthem; Juan A. Martinez with A la Costa, Dolores Veintimilla,^[79] and others.
Contemporary Ecuadorian writers include the novelist Jorge Enrique Adoum; the poet Jorge Carrera Andrade; Sony VAIO VGN-SR29XN/S Battery
the essayist Benjamín Carrión; the poets Medardo Angel Silva, Jorge Carrera Andrade, Luis Alberto Costales^[80]; the novelist Enrique Gil Gilbert; the novelist Jorge Icaza (author of the novel Huasipungo, translated to many languages); the short story author Pablo Palacio; the novelist Alicia Yanez Cossio. Sony VAIO VGN-SR2RVN/S Battery
The best known art styles from Ecuador belonged to the Escuela Quiteña, which developed from the 16th to 18th centuries, examples of which are on display in various old churches in Quito. Ecuadorian painters include: Eduardo Kingman, Oswaldo Guayasamín and Camilo Egas from the Indiginist Movement; Manuel Rendon, Sony VAIO VGN-SR390NAB Battery
Jaime Zapata, Enrique Tábara, Aníbal Villacís, Theo Constanté, León Ricaurte, Luis Molinari, Araceli Gilbert, Judith Gutierrez, Felix Arauz and Estuardo Maldonado from the Informalist Movement; and Luis Burgos Flor with his abstract, Futuristic style. The indigenous people of Tigua, Ecuador are also world-renowned for their traditional paintings. Sony VAIO VGN-SR390NAH Battery
The most popular sport in Ecuador, as in most South American countries, is football (soccer). Its best known professional teams include Barcelona and Emelec fromGuayaquil; LDU Quito, Deportivo Quito, and El Nacional from Quito; Olmedo fromRiobamba; and Deportivo Cuenca from Cuenca. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P Battery
Currently the most successful football club in Ecuador is LDU Quito, and it is the only Ecuadorian club that have won the Copa Libertadores, the Copa Sudamericana and the Recopa Sudamericana; they were also runners-up in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup. Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S Battery
The matches of the Ecuadorian national teamare the most-watched sporting events in the country. Ecuador qualified for the final rounds of both the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign was considered a huge success for the country and its inhabitants. Sony VAIO VGN-SR49VN/H Battery
Ecuador finished in 2nd place on the qualifiers behind Argentina and above the team that would become World Champion, Brazil. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ecuador finished ahead of Poland and Costa Rica to come in second to Germany in Group A in the 2006 World Cup. Futsal, often referred to as índor, is particularly popular for mass participation. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/P Battery
There is considerable interest in tennis in the middle and upper classes of Ecuadorian society, and several Ecuadorian professional players have attained international fame. Basketball has a high profile, while Ecuador's specialties include Ecuavolley, a three-person variation of volleyball. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/S Battery
Bullfighting is practiced at a professional level in Quito, during the annual festivities that commemorate the Spanish founding of the city, and it also features in festivals in many smaller towns. Rugby union is found to some extent in Ecuador, with teams in Guayaquil, Quito and Cuenca. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF Battery
Ecuador has won only two medals in the Olympic Games, both gained by 20 km racewalker Jefferson Pérez, who took gold in the 1996 games, and silver 12 years later. Pérez also set a world best in the 2003 World Championships of 1:17:21 for the 20 km distance.
The current structure of the Ecuadorian public health care system dates back to 1967. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/P Battery
The Ministry of the Public Health (Ministerio de Salud Publica del Ecuador) is the responsible entity of the regulation and creation of the public health policies and health care plans. The "Minister of Public Health" is appointed directly by the President of the republic. The current minister or Ecuadorian general surgeon, is Carina Vance. Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/S Battery
The philosophy of the Ministry of Public Health is the social support and service to the most vulnerable population^[84] and its main plan of action lies around communitarian health and preventive medicine.^[84]
The public health-care system allows patients to be attended daily in public general hospitals, Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W Battery
with no previous appointment by general practitioners and specialists in the outpatient clinic (Consulta Externa) at no cost. This is done in the 4 basic specialties of pediatric, gynecology, clinic medicine, and surgery.^[85] There are also public hospitals specialized to treat chronic diseases, target a particular group of the population, Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MR Battery
or to provide a better attention in some medical specialties. Some examples in this group are the Gynecologic Hospitals or Maternities, Children Hospitals, Geriatric Hospitals and Oncology Institutes.
Although well equipped general hospitals are found in the major cities or capitals of province, Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG Battery
there are basic hospitals in the smaller towns and cantoncities, for family care consultation and treatments in pediatrics, gynecology, clinic medicine, and surgery.^[85]
Community health care centers (Centros de Salud), are found inside metropolitan areas of cities and in rural areas. These are Day Hospitals with attention to patients whose hospitalization is under 24 hours.^[85] Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG/H Battery
The doctors assigned to rural communities, where the population of indigenous people can be substantial, have under their responsibility small clinics for the attention of the patients in the same fashion as the Day Hospitals in the major cities. The attention in this case observes and respect the culture of the community.^[85] Sony VAIO VGN-SR70B/S Battery
The public health-care system should not be confused with the Ecuadorian Social Security health-care service which is dedicated to the individuals with formal employment and who are affiliated obligatorily through their employers. Citizens with no formal employment, may still contribute to the social security system voluntarily and have access to the medical services Sony VAIO VGN-SR72B/P Battery
rendered by the social security system. The Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (IESS) has under its administration several major hospitals and medical sub-centers across the nation.^[86]
Ecuadorians have a life expectancy of 75 years.^[87] The infant mortality rate is 13 per 1,000 live births,^[88] a major improvement from approximately 76 in the early 1980s and 140 in 1950.^[89] Sony VAIO VGN-SR72B/S Battery
23% of children under five are chronically malnourished.^[88] Population in some rural areas have no access to potable water and its supply is provided by mean of water tankers. There are 686 malaria cases per 100,000 people.^[90] Basic health care, including doctor's visits, basic surgeries, and basic medications, has been provided free since 2008.^[88] Sony VAIO VGN-SR73JB/S Battery
However, some public hospitals are in poor condition and often lack necessary supplies to attend the high demand of patients. Private hospitals and clinics are well equipped but still expensive for the majority of the population.
The Ecuadorian Constitution requires that all children attend school until they achieve a "basic level of education", Sony VAIO VGN-SR74FB/S Battery
which is estimated at nine school years.^[91] In 1996, the net primary enrollment rate was 96.9%, and 71.8% of children stayed in school until the fifth grade.^[91] The cost of primary and secondary education is borne by the government, but families often face significant additional expenses such as fees and transportation costs.^{[91] Sony VAIO VPC CW2MFX/PU Battery}
Provision of public schools falls far below the levels needed, and class sizes are often very large, and families of limited means often find it necessary to pay for education. In rural areas, only 10% of the children go on to high school. The Ministry of Education states that the mean number of years completed is 6.7. ^{Sony VAIO VPC S11V9E/B Battery}
Ecuador has 61 universities, many of which still confer terminal degrees according to the traditional Spanish education system,^[92] honoring a long tradition of having some of the oldest universities in the Americas: University of San Fulgencio founded in 1586 by the Augustines, ^{Sony VAIO VPCB119GJ/B Battery}
San Gregorio Magno University founded in 1651 by the Jesuits, and University of Santo Tomas of Aquino, founded in 1681 by the Dominican order.
Among the traditional conferred terminal degrees can be noted the Doctorate for medicine and law schools; Engineer, Physicist, Chemist, or Mathematician for polytechnic or technology institutes. ^{Sony VAIO VPCB11AGJ Battery}
These terminal degrees, as in the case of the PhD in other countries, were the main requirement for an individual to be accepted in academia as a professor or researcher. In the professional realm, a terminal degree granted by an accredited institution provided automatically a professional license to the individual. ^{Sony VAIO VPCB11AVJ Battery}
However, in 2004 the National Council of Higher Education (CONESUP), started the reorganization of all the degree-granting schemes of the accredited universities in order to pair them with foreign counterparts. The new structure of some careers caused the dropping of subjects, credits or even the name of the previously conferred diplomas. ^{Sony VAIO VPCB11V9E Battery}
The terminal degree in law, previously known as JD Juris Doctor (Doctor en Jurisprudencia) was replaced by the one of attorney(Abogado) with the exception of the modification of the number of credits to equate it to an undergraduate degree. In the same fashion for Med School, ^{Sony VAIO VPCB11X9E Battery}
the required time of education was considerably reduced from 9 years (the minimum needed to obtain the title of MD Doctor in Medicine and Surgery) to almost five, with the provision that the diploma is not terminal anymore and it is given with the title of Medic (Medico). Therefore, ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/P Battery}
an MD or PhD in medicine is only to be obtained overseas until the universities adjust themselves to granting schemes and curriculum as in foreign counterparts. Nonetheless, a "medico" can start a career as family practitioner or general medicine physician. ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/R Battery}
This new reorganization, although very ambitious, lacked the proper path to the homologation of diplomas for highly educated professionals graduated in the country or even for the ones graduated in foreign institutions. One of the points of conflict was the imposition of obtaining foreign degrees to current academicians. ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/W Battery}
As today, a master degree is as a requirement to keep an academic position and at least a foreign PhD to attain or retain the status of Rector (President of a university) or Decano (Dean). For Ecuadorian researchers and many academicians trained in the country, these regulations sounded illogical, disappointing, and unlawful since it appeared a question of a title name conflict rather than specialization or science advancement. ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW19FJ/W Battery}
A debate to modify this and other reforms, specially the one which granted control of the Higher Education System by the government, was practically passed with consensus by the multi-partisan National Assembly on August 4, 2010 but vetoed by the president Rafael Correa, ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW1AFJ Battery}
who wanted to keep the law strictly as it was originally redacted by his political party and SENPLADES (National Secretary of Planning and Development). Due to this change, there are many highly educated professionals and academicians under the old structure but estimated that only 87% of the faculty in public universities have already obtained a master's ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW1AHJ Battery}
degree and fewer than 5% have PhD (although many of them have already Ecuadorian granted Doctorate degrees).
About 300 institutes of higher education offer two to three years of post-secondary vocational or technical training. ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E Battery}
The most notable icons in Ecuadorian sciences are the mathematician and cartographer Pedro Vicente Maldonado, born in Riobamba in 1707, and the printer, independence precursor, and medical pioneer Eugenio Espejo, born in 1747 in Quito. Among other notable Ecuadorian scientists and engineers are Lieutenant Jose Rodriguez ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/B Battery}
Lavandera,^[93] a pioneer who built the first submarine in Latin America in 1837;Reinaldo Espinosa Aguilar (1898–1950), a botanist and biologist of Andean flora; and José Aurelio Dueñas (1880–1961), a chemist and inventor of a method of textile serigraphy. ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/L Battery}
The major areas of scientific research in Ecuador have been in the medical fields, tropical and infectious diseases treatments, agricultural engineering, pharmaceutical research, and bioengineering. Being a small country and consumer of foreign technology, Ecuador has favored the research supported by entrepreneurship in information technology. ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/P Battery}
The antivirus Checkprogram and banking protection system MdLock and the Core Banking Software Cobis are a product of Ecuadorian development.^[94]
The scientific production in hard sciences has been limited due to lack of funding but focused around science of materials in Physics and Statistics in Mathematics. ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/R Battery}
In the case of engineering fields, the majority of the scientific production comes from the top three polytechnic institutions:ESPOL (Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral), ESPE (Escuela Superior Politecnica del Ejercito) and EPN (Escuela Politecnica Nacional). ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/W Battery}
Contemporary Ecuadorian scientists who have been recognized by international institutions are Eugenia del Pino (born 1945), the first Ecuadorian to be elected to the United States National Academy of Science, and Arturo Villavicencio, who was part of the working group of the IPCC which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore for their dissemination of the effects of climate change. ^{Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/B Battery,Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/L Battery,,Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/W Battery}