Ecuador

Ecuador is a country in western South America; its capital is Quito and its population is about 15 million people. Its official name is República del Ecuador, literally Republic of the Equator. Rafael Correa has been President of Ecuador since 2007.

Ecuador is home to a mix of indigenous communities and the descendants of European settlers and African slaves, as well as more recent arrivals. Its dominant language is Spanish, but many people speak one of the Quechua languages or another Native American language.

The economy of Ecuador was traditionally built on agriculture, but more recently the country has developed its industry and become an oil exporter.

The most famous Ecuadorian territory is perhaps the Galapagos Islands, home to diverse life which shaped Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Some of the Andes mountain range also runs through mainland Ecuador.