Ecuador is a multiethnic nation, full of biodiversity, cultural richness, natural and archaeological sites, located right on top of the equator line.
Covering an area of 256,370 square kilometers, has the highest biodiversity per square meter of the American continent.
San Francisco de Quito is the capital, while the largest city is Santiago de Guayaquil, the main seaport and major economic center. It is divided into 24 provinces and distributed into four natural regions: the Costa, Sierra, Amazon, and Insular Region (Galápagos Islands). In Ecuador there are 70 volcanoes, 14 of them are in active state, 42 are dormant volcanoes, being the highest the Chimborazo volcano with 6,310m above sea level. It is the country with the highest concentrations of rivers per square kilometer in the world. It is the biggest exporter of bananas worldwide and a major exporter of flowers, shrimp and cocoa.
Ecuador is a mixture of influences from Spanish conqueror, with the ancient traditions of prehistoric peoples.
The largest ethnic groups are Hispanic Mestizos (of Spanish heritage to varying degrees influenced by Native American traditions) constitute 65% of the population.
The Amerindians have approximately 25% of the population. Pentecost (the Criollos) are the pure descendants of Spanish colonists, have 7% of the Ecuadorian population. A small minority of Afro-Ecuadorians, including between the mulattoes and Zambos.
And the indigenous nationalities with diverse traditions and their own world view, among which are the Huaorani, Tagaeri, Achuar, Shuar, (Cofan, Siona-Sequoia, Shiwiar and Zaparo) in the Amazon. The Otavalo, Salasaca, Canaris, and Saraguro awa in the mountains And Chachi, cayapas, Tsáchilas and Huancavilcas on the coast, all these communities still practice their own customs, particularly in the far reaches of the Amazon Basin.
