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Ecuador

OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Ecuador

DATE OF FORMATION: 1830

POPULATION: 13.2 million

DENSITY: 123 people per square mile

LANGUAGES: Spanish, Quechua, other Amerindian languages

RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic 93%, Protestant, Jewish, and other 7%

ETHNIC MIX: Mestizo 55%, Amerindian 25%, White 10%, Black 10%

GOVERNMENT: Multiparty elections

CURRENCY: US dollar

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Once part of the Inca heartland, Ecuador lies on the western coast of South America. It was ruled by Spain from 1533, when the last Inca emperor was executed, until independence in 1830. Most Ecuadorians live either in the lowland coastal region or in the Andean Sierra. The Amerindian community is deeply involved in politics. Massive depreciation of the national currency, the sucre, forced the government to adopt the US dollar in 2000.