one [593] (2) 562-890;
there is a US Consulate General in Guayaquil

_#_Flag: 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
_#_Overview: Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich
agricultural areas. Growth has been uneven because of natural disasters
(e.g., a major earthquake in 1987), fluctuations in global oil prices,
and government policies designed to curb inflation. The government has
not taken a supportive attitude toward either domestic or foreign
investment, although its agreement to enter the Andean free trade zone
is an encouraging move.

_#_GDP: $10.6 billion, per capita $1,010; real growth rate 1.5% (1990)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 49.5% (1990)

_#_Unemployment rate: 8.0% (1990)

_#_Budget: revenues $2.2 billion; expenditures $2.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of $375 million (1991)

_#_Exports: $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990);

commodities--petroleum 47%, coffee, bananas, cocoa products,
shrimp, fish products;

partners--US 60%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC countries

_#_Imports: $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1990);

commodities--transport equipment, vehicles, machinery, chemicals;

partners--US 34%, Latin America, Caribbean, EC, Japan

_#_External debt: $11.8 billion (December 1990)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 3.8% (1989); accounts for
almost 40% of GDP, including petroleum

_#_Electricity: 1,983,000 kW capacity; 6,011 million kWh produced,
570 kWh per capita (1990)

_#_Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal works, paper
products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, timber

_#_Agriculture: accounts for 18% of GDP and 35% of labor force
(including fishing and forestry); leading producer and exporter of
bananas and balsawood; other exports--coffee, cocoa, fish, shrimp; crop
production--rice, potatoes, manioc, plantains, sugarcane; livestock
sector--cattle, sheep, hogs, beef, pork, dairy products; net importer
of foodgrains, dairy products, and sugar

_#_Illicit drugs: relatively small producer of coca following the
successful eradication campaign of 1985-87; significant transit country,
however, for derivatives of coca originating in Colombia, Bolivia, and
Peru

_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $49