什麼是厄瓜多爾

正式名稱厄瓜多爾共和國（Republic of Ecuador）

南美洲西北部國家。面積105,037平方哩（272,045平方公里），包括加拉帕戈斯羣島（Galápagos Islands）。人口約12,879,000（2001）。首都︰基多（Quito）。人口中約2/5為印第安人，大部分是克丘亞人（Quechua），還有2/5為梅斯蒂索（mestizo，印第安人與西班牙人混血兒），其餘大部分是西班牙人後裔。語言︰西班牙語（官方語）。宗教︰多數信奉天主教。貨幣︰美元。該國地形由太平洋沿岸的海岸低地和將海岸低地與炎熱的亞馬遜盆地隔開的多山高原（安地斯山脈）組成。安地斯山脈從西面陡起，形成兩條大部連續、自北向南延伸的支脈，由山間谷地隔開。欽博拉索（Chimborazo）火山海拔6,310公尺，是該國最高峯；科託帕希（Cotopaxi）火山海拔5,897公尺，是世界最高的活火山。該國位於地震活動頻繁的地震帶上。全國幾乎一半的土地有森林覆蓋，大多數熱帶雨林分佈於東部低地。由於地當赤道，氣候多樣，從低地的熱帶到高地的温帶都有。屬於發展中經濟，主要以服務業為基礎，其次是製造業和農業。主要出口產品有原油、香蕉和蝦貝類。政府形式為共和國，一院制。國家元首暨政府首腦為總統。

1450年被印加帝國征服，1534年開始受西班牙人統治，建立了一個以大種植園為主的殖民地。原為祕魯總督轄區（viceroyalty of Peru）的一部分，直到1740年後才成為新格拉納達總督轄區的一部分。1822年獲得獨立，成為大哥倫比亞（Gran Colombia）共和國的一部分，1830年成為一主權國家。進入20世紀中葉，繼任的歷屆政府均實行獨裁統治，經濟困難與社會的不安定，促使軍人在政治進程中扮演着強有力的角色。1941年祕魯侵入厄瓜多爾，在有爭議的亞馬遜地區佔領了大片土地，此後雙方不時發生戰鬥，直到1998年才協議建立分界線。1970年代，石油的利潤為厄瓜多爾的經濟帶來繁榮，但也大大加速了通貨膨脹與貧富懸殊。1980年代，由於油價降低以及地震災害，為該國經濟帶來一連串的問題。1979年頒佈新的憲法。1990年代，社會的不安導致政治的不穩定，國家元首數度更換，然而對於持續惡化的經濟危機，仍然束手無策。2000年為了穩定經濟，在一片爭議中，以美元取代舊有的貨幣蘇克雷（sucre）。

Ecuador

Country, northwestern South America. Area: 105,037 sq mi (272,045 sq km), including the Galápagos Islands. Population (2000 est.): 12,646,000. Capital: Quito. The people are about two-fifths Indian (mostly Quechua) and two-fifths mestizo (Indian-Spanish), with most of the rest of Spanish ancestry. Language: Spanish (official). Religion: predominantly Roman Catholicism. Currency: U.S. dollar. Its Pacific coastal lowlands rise to the peaks and highlands of the Andes, which give way to the Ecuadorian portion of the tropical Amazon basin in the east. The Andes rise dramatically in two north to south chains separated by high valleys. The highest peak is Chimborazo; Cotopaxi, the world's highest active volcano, is nearby. The country lies in an active earthquake zone. Almost half is forested, with tropical rainforests in the east. Straddling the equator, its climate varies from tropical in the lowlands to temperate in the highlands. It has a developing economy based primarily on services, followed by manufacturing and agriculture. Principal exports include crude petroleum, bananas, and shellfish. It is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. Ecuador was conquered by the Incas in AD 1450 and came under Spanish control in 1534. Under the Spaniards it was a part of the viceroyalty of Peru until 1740, when it became a part of the viceroyalty of New Granada. It gained its independence from Spain in 1822 as part of the republic of Gran Colombia, and in 1830 became a sovereign state. A succession of authoritarian governments ruled into the mid-20th century, and economic hardship and social unrest prompted the military to take a strong role. Border disputes led to war between Peru and Ecuador in 1941; the two fought periodically until agreeing to a final demarcation in 1998. The economy, booming in the 1970s with petroleum profits, was depressed in the 1980s by reduced oil prices and earthquake damage. A new constitution was adopted in 1979. In the 1990s social unrest caused political instability and several changes of heads of state. In a controversial move to help stabilize the economy, the U.S. dollar replaced the sucre as the national currency in 2000.