140 Interesting Facts About Ecuador

Interesting Facts About Ecuador

• Rose is the national flower of Ecuador.
• 74% of Ecuador's population is Roman Catholic.
• Ecuador has the world’s first and second UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Galapagos Islands and Quito.
• Charles Darwin has largely based his theory of evolution on the discoveries he made at the Galapagos Island, which he visited in 1835.
• Guinea pig, also known as ‘cuy’, is a delicacy in Ecuador.
• Over 25,000 plant species are found in Ecuador.
• The Panama hat is actually from Ecuador.
• Water at Quito boils at 90 degree Celsius, rather than 100 degrees Celsius, because of altitude.
• In Quito water boils at 90°C instead of 100°C. This is a direct effect of altitudes.
• Members of fifteen percent of the bird species in the world can be found in Ecuador. That means that more than 1600 different bird species live in the country.
• There are more than 25,000 plant species growing in Ecuador and a minimum of 317 documented mammal species native to the country.
• Ecuador is one of three countries created in 1830 following the collapse of Gran Colombia. After independence from the Spanish colony, the Viceroyalty of New Granada, the short-lived republic of Gran Colombia (1819–30) was created. It included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama as well as parts of northern Peru, western Guyana and northwest Brazil.
• The Panama hat is actually from Ecuador. Straw hats woven along the Ecuadorian coast were taken to Panama initially to be sold to canal workers and, after the canal opened, to affluent westerners passing through the Panama Canal.
• Ecuador is the world’s largest exporter of bananas, accounting for up to 29% of all bananas exported in 2011.
• Ecuador was voted as the best country for expats for two years running in 2014 and 2015. It consistently ranks among the top ten countries, ranking 8th in the latest index in 2019. Quality of life, cost of living and personal finances were all cited as excellent reasons to up sticks and head to the equator.
• Ecuador was named after the equator which runs through the country, the only country in the world named after a geographical feature. Its official name, República del Ecuador, literally means “the Republic of the Equator”.
• Ecuador and Peru battled over control of Ecuador’s Amazon territories for well over a century, in what became the Western Hemisphere’s longest-running dispute over territory. It ended in May of 1999 with both countries signing an agreement.
• As the country became a republic, many coup d’état and dictatorships have been part of the country’s more recent history. It has had 48 presidents in its first 131 years of independence.
• The world’s very first and second UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in Ecuador. The Galápagos Islands is site number one and the capital city of Quito is site number two. These were named at the inaugural World Heritage conference in 1978. See the full list here.
• In spite its border conflicts, Ecuador has been peaceful in recent years. Presently it is one of the safest South American countries to visit.
• Ecuador is one of only two South American countries that do not share a border with Brazil.
• There is no national food as cuisine varies from region to region. Costeños who live in the La Costa region, favor fish, plantains, and beans. Serranos (from La Sierra region) prefer meat, white hominy, and rice.
• Ecuador is the 9th most biodiverse country in the world and offers much for visitors to see and do.
• More than 70 percent of Ecuador’s population is made up of Mestizos (an ethnic blend of Spaniards and native people) and the rest includes a significant population of indigenous peoples.
• Spanish is Ecuador’s official language but there are 13 recognized indigenous languages that are also spoken.
• Several native inland Amazonian tribes managed to avoid both Incan and Spanish conquest. They have preserved their ancient cultural traditions independently of foreign influence.
• Ruled for 300 years from Peru and then by Spanish governors from Colombia, these Spaniards brought to Ecuador their religion, language and architecture. In 1822, this era ended with the achievement of independence. They first declared independence on August 10, 1809; they finally achieved it from Spain on May 24, 1822.
• Simon Bolivar united Ecuador to the territories of what are today Panama, Venezuela, and Colombia to form what was called The Gran Colombia (1819-30). This short-lived country collapsed in 1830 and three separate countries were created from it: Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia (which included what later became Panama).
• Ecuador is divided into four main and unique geographic regions that have their own diets and contribute to the country’s economy in different ways, according to the natural resources found there. These are the coastal lowlands (La Costa), the mountain highlands (La Sierra); the eastern jungle lowlands (La Amazonia or El Oriente “the east”); and the Galápagos Islands (La Región Insular).
• Ecuador is the world’s largest exporter of bananas, exporting 2.7 billion worth of them annually (23.3% of total banana exports, 2016).
• Oil accounts for 40 percent of all Ecuador’s exports and 33 percent of the country’s revenues.
• The summit of Mount Chimborazo, Ecuador’s highest mountain, is the point on Earth closest to the sun. Due to the mountain’s location along the equatorial bulge, its summit is the farthest point from the Earth’s core. This also means that Ecuador is the closest country to space.
• Ecuador is one of 17 megadiverse countries in the world and has the most biodiversity per square kilometre of any nation.
• What is Ecuador named after? It is well known that Ecuador is named after the equator which runs through the country. It is in fact the only country in the world officially named after a geographical feature. The official name, República del Ecuador, translates as “The Republic of the Equator”.
• The equator is widely promoted at the tourist attraction Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World City) 26km north of the capital, Quito. This is supposed to be where one can stand with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern. Unfortunately, thanks to modern re-measurements the exact equator is said to lie 240 meters north of the marked line and monument. Doh!
• While standing on the summit of Mount Chimborazo, which is an Andean stratovolcano in central Ecuador, (on the equatorial bulge) you’re the closest you can be to space while standing on earth!
• Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador
• Quito is the highest official capital city in the world at 9,252 feet
• Due to the altitude in Quito, water boils at 190°F
• Ecuador was the first country in the world to recognize that nature has constitutional rights!
• he Galapagos Islands were the world’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site and the city of Quito was the second because of its excellently preserved heritage.
• The Panama hat was really invented in Ecuador and shipped to the Panama Canal for distribution.
• Children are required to attend school until they have achieved a “basic education”. According to the Ministry of Education, this is typically for 6.7 years. Only about 10 percent of all rural students attend high school.
• Ecuador music is known as Pasillo and is played for dances and festivals, as well as for when men and women in traditional dress perform to the music.
• Kichwa people of Tigua (in the central Sierra region) are known world-wide for their carefully done traditional paintings on sheepskin canvases. Tigua artists use simple themes with vibrant colors in their work.
• The three colors of the Ecuadorian flag are yellow for the country’s diversity, blue for its sea and sky, and red for the blood of the fighters who won their independence.
• At the Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World City) is a marked line where you can stand with one foot in the Northern Hemisphere and the other foot in the Southern Hemisphere. Unfortunately, this tourist destination 26 kilometers (16 miles) north of Quito, the national capital, needs some updating. Thanks to new and more precise re-measurements, the exact position of the equator is now said to lie 240 meters (262.5 yards) north of the monument and its marked line!

Facts about Ecuador food

• Modern measurements show that the TRUE equator ACTUALLY lies 240 meters north of the tourist attraction.
• Although Spanish is the official language of Ecuador, there are 13 indigenous languages that are also recognized.
• Ecuador is, by far, the world’s largest exporter of bananas.
• Women weave Panama Hats out of the Paja Toquilla plant in Ecuador
• Ecuador is geothermal active with one of the highest densities of active volcanoes in the world.
• Ecuador is the world’s largest exporter of bananas.
• Ecuador became the first country in 2008 to officially recognize the rights of nature.
• The cinchona tree is Ecuador’s national tree. This tree produces Quinine, which was the first drug ever used to treat and prevent malaria.
• The famous Panama Hat is actually made in Ecuador. Craftsmen on the coast wove straw hats that were taken to Panama to be sold to protect canal workers from the sun. After the canal was complete, they were sold to the affluent Westerners who traveled through the Canal.
• Ecuador was the first nation to ever declare that nature has constitutional rights. In 2008 Ecuador recognized that nature has the “right to exist, persist….and regenerate its vital cycles’, and therefore has constitutional rights. Nature should not be treated as property.
• Ecuador has one of the greatest densities of volcanoes on earth. Ecuador was the first country in the history of the world to eliminate the death penalty. They waived it in 1906.
• Ecuador’s Cotopaxi is the highest active volcano in the world.
• Chimborazo’s summit is the point on earth closest to the sun and the farthest from the core of the earth, due to the earth’s slide bulge there. This also means that Ecuador is the closest country on earth to outer space.
• Ecuador sees very little change in the length of its days from winter to summer due to its location on the equator. Sunrise and sunset happen every day at around 6:00 am and pm, respectively. 
• Ecuador maintains a scientific research station in Antarctica. The Antarctica Treaty designated this continent be set aside for research and not for ownership, and Ecuador in a part of that treaty.
• Forty percent of the adults in Ecuador don’t have access to a bank account.
• There are more mobile phones than people in Ecuador. The government sees this as an opportunity to test the use of digital currency.
• Ecuador has a military base in Peru on one perpetually leased square kilometer of their territory.
• The national tree of Ecuador is the cinchona tree which produces Quinine, the first drug used to prevent and treat malaria.
• Ecuador is one of only two countries in South America that does not share a border with Brazil.
• In 12 April 2019 Ecuador granted political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Under investigation by the US government and facing extradition to Sweden, Assange sought refuge at the Embassy of Ecuador in London.
• In April 2019, Lenin Moreno said the country had “reached its limit on the behaviour of Mr Assange” and invited British police into the embassy in London where the Wikileaks co-founder was finally arrested.
• In 2008, Ecuador was the first country to officially recognise the rights of nature. Rather than treating nature as property, Ecuador recognises that nature has constitutional rights and has the “right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles.”
• Quito, Ecuador’s capital city, is 2,850m above sea level, making it the highest official capital city in the world. La Paz in Bolivia is higher but it cheats a little as it is not the constitutional capital (that’s Sucre), only the seat of government. Nothing’s ever simple in Bolivia!
• Charles Darwin visited Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands in 1835 and largely based his theory of evolution on the discoveries he made there.
• Guinea pig, known as ‘cuy’, is considered a delicacy in Ecuador, its consumption seen as an ancient tradition. After Kia’s reaction to me eating reindeer heart in Finland, I thought it best to refrain…
• One of the most interesting facts about Ecuador culture is that there are at least 14 recognised languages spoken in the country. Spanish is the official language while 13 indigenous languages are also recognised including Quichua and Shuar
• Ecuador is divided into four main and unique geographic regions: La Costa or “the coast”, La Sierra or “the highlands”, La Amazonía also known as El Oriente or “the east” and La Región Insular, the region comprising the Galápagos Islands.
• Ecuador has the world’s first and second UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At the inaugural UNESCO World Heritage conference in 1978, 32 sites were initially designated. Every World Heritage Site has a number – site #1 is the Galápagos Islands and #2 is the city of Quito.
• Ecuador is a popular retirement with a low cost of living and high quality of life.
• It’s more bio-diverse per square kilometer than any other country.
• ‘Cuy’, or whole roasted guinea pigs are a local delicacy.
• The equator runs through Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (which translates to the Middle of the World City), where you can stand with one foot in each hemisphere.
• Ecuador abolished slavery and freed black slaves in 1851.
• Ecuador became the first country in the world to eradicate death penalty in 1906.
• Mount Chimborazo is the point on Earth closest to the Sun.
• Ecuador is 1 of the 17 mega diverse countries in the world, and is also the most biodiversity per square kilometer of any nation.
• 40% of adults in Ecuador don’t have bank account.
• Spanish is the official language of Ecuador.
• In Ecuador, there are more mobile phones than people.
• Ecuador is using the American Dollar as its national currency since 2000.
• Lunch is the largest meal of the day in Ecuador.
• Ecuador is the only country in the world that is named after a geographical feature.
• Voting is mandatory to citizens aged between 18–65 in Ecuador.
• The first female president, Rosalia Arteaga served for only 2 days.
• Two of the native languages spoken in Ecuador are Quechua and Shuar.
• Ecuador was part of the Inca Empire until 1533 when Spanish conquered them.
• 10% of all the plant species in the world are grown here.
• Before the Incas created settlements in Ecuador, it was inhabited by its Native American peoples.
• Ecuador was founded in 1532 by the Spanish, who drove out the Incans to claim it.
• Ecuador provides the majority of the world’s balsa wood. The country also exports coffee and flowers.
• Ecuador has used the American Dollar as its national currency since 2000.
• Cuy, or guinea pig, is considered a delicacy in the country. It is roasted whole and its consumption is an ancient tradition. It is said to taste like rabbit.
• Families may be formed through two different methods. Civil marriage is the legally binding bond between a man and a woman. All married couples are required to undergo the legal ceremony. The other method is Free Union, in which a couple decides to form a family without first undergoing any official service. Both types of unions grant families the same rights and duties.
• If you need health care, you have no worries. Ecuador’s Healthcare System is ranked 20th in the world for quality.
• Voting is not just a right in Ecuador; it is compulsory for all citizens between the ages of 18 and 65.
• Charles Darwin made his famous Voyage of the USS Beagle to the Galápagos Islands in 1835. He based his theory of evolution largely on the discoveries and observations he made in the islands.

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