Ecuador Country Introduction and Recipes
The República del Ecuador literally translates to the Republic of the Equator because Ecuador rests directly on the equator!
Ecuador is a fun and delicious country to learn about with beautiful wildlife, amazing people, and some of the best food around!
Fun Facts about Ecuador
- Ecuador is ranked as one of the top expat destinations in the world
- It has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Latin America
- The Panama hat originated in Ecuador
- Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is closer to the sun than any other point on Earth
- August 10 is Independence Day in Ecuador
- Ecuador was the first country in the world to eradicate the death penalty (in 1906)
- Voting is mandatory as a citizen in Ecuador between the ages of 18-65
Geography of Ecuador
Ecuador is actually a fairly small country, only being about 660 km wide. At the furthest points (that are still accessible), you can take “long distance” bus rides that are only about 5 hours!
Ecuador is made up of 4 different geographical regions:
- La Costa (Coast)
- La Sierra (Andes Mountains)
- El Oriente (The Amazon)
- Insular (Galapagos Islands).
Yes, you read that right! The Galapagos Islands are owned by Ecuador. You might remember these as the small islands where Charles Darwin first uncovered and studied evolution.
This was an easy place to do it, as Ecuador is the world’s most biodiverse country per square kilometer than anywhere on earth.
People of Ecuador
Ecuador has a population of 17 million people. Almost 72% of Ecuadorians are mestizo (meaning of mixed race). 7% of the population is made up of Indigenous tribes!
Indigenous culture is a large deal in Ecuador, with each tribe being distinguishable from the next by their clothing!
Spanish is the national language of the country, but there are also 14 other languages recognized as regional languages.
The mountain people are referred to as Serranos and coastal people are called monos.
Christianity (and the subset Catholicism) are the most popular religions in Ecuador.
Food of Ecuador
Ecuador is abundant in 4 exports: oil, wood, flowers, and bananas. In fact, there is a 1 in 4 chance that the banana you ate today came from Ecuador!
Much of the food in Ecuador depends on where you are in the country. For example, people on the Coast eat a lot of seafood, and usually only people in the Sierra region eat Cuy (Guinea Pig).
Lunch in Ecuador is the largest meal of the day.
Some of the most popular dishes in Ecuador are: