Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in South American named for its position along the equator. Let’s learn more about this country.
Ecuador Basics
Ecuador is located in northern South America on the west coast and is bordered by Colombia and Peru, as well as the Pacific Ocean. The Galapagos Province is also part of Ecuador.
The capital is Quito, which is only about 25 miles, 40 kilometers or 1/4 of a degree south of the equator. The largest city is Guayaquil.
Total area including the Galapagos is 109,484 square miles, or 283,561 square kilometers.
The population is around 17.8 million people and the majority are Mestizos, a mix of white and Indigenous heritage. Spanish is the official language, but 13 native languages are also recognized.
Several groups of indigenous people lived in Ecuador, which was part of the Inca Empire during the 15th century. It was colonized by the Spanish in the 16th century and gained independence as part of Gran Colombia in 1820. It became its own country in 1830.
It is a representative democratic republic with a president and National Assembly.
Ecuador is first in the world as an exporter of bananas, and also exports a lot of flowers and cocoa (it’s the seventh largest producer of cocoa in the world). Oil accounts for 40 percent of the nation’s exports.
The country is one of 17 named as having the highest biodiversity, with about 1,640 different kinds of birds and nearly 4,500 different butterflies.
Ecuador National Symbols
The flag of Ecuador includes a yellow stripe that takes up the top half of the flag and blue and red stripes that divide the bottom half. In the middle is the coat of arms, which includes a condor on top of a shield that includes a river with a steamship, a mountain and a sun on the zodiac calendar showing March, April, May and June. There’s also palms, laurel, consular beams, and drapes in the same stripe colors as the rest of the flag.
The colors were first used in the Pan-Colombian flag and it still looks similar to the flags of Venezuela and Colombia, which were also part of Gran Colombia. This flag has been in use since 1900.
The national anthem is “Salve, oh Patria,” or “Hail, oh Fatherland,” which was written in 1865 but not officially adopted as the national anthem until 1948.
The Andean condor pictured on the flag is the national animal, and the river (Guayas) and mountain (Chimborazo) shown on the flag are also considered national symbols.
And of course when you include the Galapagos in your thinking about Ecuador, the Galapagos turtle is a major symbol.
The rondador, a kind of pan flute, is the national instrument. Listen to the rondador being played on YouTube.
Ecuador Learning Activities
Kid World Citizen has a little country profile with some activities.
Learn more about the Inca Empire with resources from Woo Jr., 123 Homeschool 4 Me, and Kids Konnect.
Google Arts and Culture has a great guide to the city of Quito with lots of lovely pictures.
Listen to folk music from Ecuador on YouTube.
Srta Spanish has resources to teach about Ecuador in Spanish.
If you’re interested in paid resources, check out the unit study from Global Explorers Club, as well as resources from Teachers Pay Teachers.
Ceviche is a common dish in Ecuador, but kids might not want to try it! Other popular dishes include lorco de papa, a potato soup (get a recipe from Laylita’s Recipes) or humita, which is similar to a tamale, which you can learn about from Hispanic Mama.
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