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election results: Rafael CORREA Delgado elected president; percent of vote - Rafael CORREA Delgado 56.7%; Alvaro NOBOA 43.3%

Legislative branch:

unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve four-year terms)

elections: last held 15 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRIAN 28; PSP 24; PSC 13; ID 7; PRE 6; MUPP-NP 6; RED 5; UDC 5; other 6; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties; as of 29 November 2007, Congress is on indefinite recess while a Constituent Assembly is convened

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (according to the Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; in December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution)

Political parties and leaders:

Alianza PAIS Movement [Rafael Vicente CORREA Delgado]; Christian Democratic Union or UDC [Diego ORDONEZ Guerrero]; Democratic Left or ID [Andres PAEZ Benalcazar]; Ethical and Democratic Network or RED [Leon ROLDOS]; Institutional Renewal and National Action Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement - New Country or MUPP-NP [Jorge GUAMAN]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Ciro GUZMAN Aldaz]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Pascual DEL CIOPPO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Gustavo AYALA Cruz]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Marlon SANTI, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president]

International organization participation:

CAN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Luis Benigno GALLEGOS Chiriboga

chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200

FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482

consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Jersey City (New Jersey), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Washington, DC

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Linda L. JEWELL

embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito

mailing address: APO AA 34039

telephone: [593] (2) 256-2890

FAX: [593] (2) 250-2052

consulate(s) general: Guayaquil

Flag description:

three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms

Economy Ecuador

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 contracted by more than 6%, with a significant increase in poverty. The banking system also 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 of Alfredo PALACIO (2005-07) seized the assets of Occidental Petroleum for alleged contract violations and imposed a windfall revenue tax on foreign oil companies, leading to the suspension of free trade negotiations with the US. These measures, combined with chronic underinvestment in the state oil company, Petroecuador, led to a drop in petroleum production in 2007. PALACIO's successor, Rafael CORREA, raised the specter of debt default - but Ecuador has paid its debt on time. He also decreed a higher windfall revenue tax on private oil companies, then sought to renegotiate their contracts to overcome the debilitating effect of the tax. This generated economic uncertainty; private investment has dropped and economic growth has slowed significantly.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$98.79 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$44.18 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

1.9% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$7,200 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 6.7%

industry: 35.1%

services: 58.2% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

4.51 million (urban) (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 8%

industry: 24%

services: 68% (2001)

Unemployment rate:

9.3% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

38.3% (2006)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 2%

highest 10%: 35%

note: data for urban households only (October 2006)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

46

note: data are for urban households (2006)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

2.2% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

22.2% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $13.46 billion

expenditures: planned $11.96 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt:

33.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

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:

1.4% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

12.94 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 81%

hydro: 19%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:

8.855 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:

16 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:

1.723 billion kWh (2005)

Oil - production:

538,000 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - consumption:

162,000 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - exports:

420,600 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - imports:

44,680 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:

4.727 billion bbl (2007 est.)

Natural gas - production:

249.4 million cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

249.4 million cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

9.369 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

$1.464 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$14.37 billion (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish

Exports - partners:

US 53.6%, Peru 8.2%, Colombia 5.6%, Chile 4.4% (2006)

Imports:

$12.76 billion (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods

Imports - partners:

US 23.1%, Colombia 13.3%, Brazil 7.3%, Panama 4% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:

$209.5 million (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$3.521 billion (30 November 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$16.93 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$16.31 billion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$1.749 billion (2007 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$4.04 billion (2006)

Currency (code):

US dollar (USD)

Currency code:

USD

Exchange rates:

the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Communications Ecuador

Telephones - main lines in use:

1.754 million (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

8.485 million (2006)

Telephone system:

general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded

domestic: fixed-line services provided by three state-owned enterprises; plans to transfer the state-owned operators to private ownership have repeatedly failed; fixed-line density stands at about 13 per 100 persons; mobile cellular use has surged and has a subscribership of nearly 65 per 100 persons

international: country code - 593; landing point for the PAN-AM submarine telecommunications cable that provides links to the west coast of South America, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and extending onward to Aruba and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001)

Radios:

5 million (2001)

Television broadcast stations:

7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2000)

Televisions:

2.5 million (2001)

Internet country code:

.ec

Internet hosts:

28,420 (2007)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

31 (2001)

Internet users:

1.549 million (2006)

Transportation Ecuador

Airports:

406 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 104

over 3,047 m: 4

2,438 to 3,047 m: 3

1,524 to 2,437 m: 17

914 to 1,523 m: 26

under 914 m: 54 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 302

914 to 1,523 m: 34

under 914 m: 268 (2007)

Heliports:

1 (2007)

Pipelines:

extra heavy crude oil 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,389 km; refined products 1,185 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 966 km

narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 43,197 km

paved: 6,467 km

unpaved: 36,730 km (2004)

Waterways:

1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2006)

Merchant marine:

total: 33 ships (1000 GRT or over) 190,931 GRT/306,280 DWT

by type: chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 22, specialized tanker 1

foreign-owned: 2 (Philippines 1, US 1)

registered in other countries: 3 (China 1, Panama 2) (2007)

Ports and terminals:

Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolivar

Military Ecuador

Military branches:

Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation, Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana, FAE) (2007)

Military service age and obligation:

20 years of age for selective conscript military service; 12-month service obligation (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 3,536,602

females age 16-49: 3,559,188 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 3,030,664

females age 16-49: 3,037,892 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

males age 16-49: 144,821

females age 16-49: 139,091 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:

2.8% (2006)

Transnational Issues Ecuador

Disputes - international:

organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador's shared border, which thousands of Colombians also cross to escape the violence in their home country

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 11,526 (Colombia); note - UNHCR estimates as many as 250,000 Columbians are seeking asylum in Ecuador, many of whom do not register as refugees for fear of deportation (2007)

Illicit drugs:

significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru, with over half of the US-bound cocaine passing through Ecuadorian Pacific waters; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents

This page was last updated on 15 July, 2008

The World Factbook

Egypt

Introduction Egypt

Background:

The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations. A unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to the Ottoman Empire continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty with the overthrow of the British-backed monarchy in 1952. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to meet the demands of Egypt's growing population through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.

Geography Egypt

Location:

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula

Geographic coordinates:

27 00 N, 30 00 E

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total: 1,001,450 sq km

land: 995,450 sq km

water: 6,000 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico