World Factbook
Ecuador
República del Ecuador
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
276,841 sq km
note
note: includes Galapagos Islands
water
6,720 sq km
total
283,561 sq km
Climate
tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
Terrain
coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente)
Land use
other
28.6% (2023 est.)
forest
49.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
21.5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 4.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 5.6% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 11.8% (2023 est.)
Location
Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Coastline
2,237 km
Elevation
note
note: because the earth is not a perfect sphere and has an equatorial bulge, the highest point on the planet farthest from its center is Mount Chimborazo not Mount Everest, which is merely the highest peak above sea level
lowest point
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point
Chimborazo 6,267
mean elevation
1,117 m
Irrigated land
12,520 sq km (2022)
Map references
South America
Land boundaries
total
2,237 km
border countries
Colombia 708 km; Peru 1529 km
Maritime claims
note
note: Ecuador has declared its right to extend its continental shelf to 350 nm, measured from the baselines of the Galapagos Archipelago
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
200 nm
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
frequent earthquakes; landslides; volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts volcanism: volcanic activity concentrated along the Andes Mountains; Sangay (5,230 m) is mainland Ecuador's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes in the Andes include Antisana, Cayambe, Chacana, Cotopaxi, Guagua Pichincha, Reventador, Sumaco, and Tungurahua; Fernandina (1,476 m), a shield volcano, is the most active of the many Galapagos volcanoes; other historically active Galapagos volcanoes include Wolf, Sierra Negra, Cerro Azul, Pinta, Marchena, and Santiago
Geography - note
Cotopaxi in the Andes is highest active volcano in world
Natural resources
petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Nevada
Geographic coordinates
2 00 S, 77 30 W
Population distribution
nearly half of the population is concentrated in the interior, with large concentrations also found along the western coastal strip; the rainforests of the east remain sparsely populated
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
Amazon (6,145,186 sq km)