Economy in Ecuador

In Ecuador, 5.13 million are employed: 7.7 % in agriculture, 24.3 % in industry, and 67.5 % in service industries (2001). The two biggest unions are the Confederación Ecuatoriana de Organizaciones Clasistas and the Confederación de Trabajadores del Ecuador. In 1965 a law was passed to modernise Ecuador’s economy, which had until then been agricultural, to promote the establishment of industrial firms. The production and export of oil started in the 1970s, after the completion of the Trans-Andean pipeline, which connects the oilfields of the Oriente with the harbour city of Esmereldas. Until 1992, Ecuador was a member of OPEC. The economy of the country is based mainly on the production of oil. With the sinking of the prices of crude oil on the world market in the middle of 1998, Ecuador fell into a financial and economic crisis. The gross domestic product is 24 billion US dollars (2002; service industries 62.6 %, industry 28.3 %, agriculture 9 %); this equals a gross domestic product of 1900 US dollars per person.

Ecuador’s yearly export revenue is usually a little higher than its import costs. A great part of the export earnings comes from the selling of oil, bananas, industrial products, shrimp, cocoa, and coffee. Among the most important imported items are chemical products and consumer goods, as well as raw materials, transport vehicles, and machines. The most important trade partner is the United States. Other major foreign trade partners are Japan, Peru, Germany, Venezuela, Brazil, Columbia, and Chile.