Economy of Ecuador

Economy of Ecuador
	Quito, the financial capital of Ecuador
Currency	United States dollar (USD)
Fiscal year	calendar year
Trade organizations	Andean Community, WTO, PROSUR, ALADI, Mercosur (associate)
Country group	Developing/Emerging; Upper-middle income economy;
Statistics
Population	18,342,507 (2022)
GDP	$122 billion (nominal, 2024); $268 billion (PPP, 2024);
GDP rank	63rd (nominal; 2024); 66th (PPP; 2024);
GDP growth	1.3% (2018) 0.1% (2019e); −7.4% (2020f) 4.1% (2021f);
GDP per capita	$6,567 (nominal, 2024); $14,485 (PPP, 2024);
GDP per capita rank	100th (nominal; 2024); 106th (PPP; 2024);
GDP by sector	Agriculture: 6.7%; Industry: 32.9%; Services: 60.4%; (2017 est.);
Inflation (CPI)	−0.2% (2018)
Population below poverty line	25.0% (2019); 24.2% on less than $5.50/day (2018);
Gini coefficient	45.4 medium (2018)
Human Development Index	0.765 high (2022) (83rd); 0.630 medium (76th) IHDI (2022);
Labor force	8,671,801 (2019); 64.3% employment rate (2018);
Labor force by occupation	agriculture: 26.1%; industry: 18.4%; services: 55.5%; (2017 est.);
Unemployment	3.5% (2018)
Main industries	petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals
External
Exports	$19.3 billion (2017)
Export goods	petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, wood, fish
Main export partners	United States 31%; Vietnam 7.6%; Chile 6.9%; Panama 4.8%; Russia 4.7%; (2017);
Imports	$19.3 billion (2017)
Import goods	industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, nondurable consumer goods
Main import partners	United States 19%; China 19%; Colombia 7.8%; Brazil 4.5%; Panama 4.4%; (2017);
FDI stock	$17.25 billion (December 31, 2017 est.)
Gross external debt	$39.29 billion (December 31, 2017 est.)
Public finances
Government debt	44.6% of GDP (December 31, 2017)
Foreign reserves	$8.169 billion (2022)
Revenues	33.43 billion (2017 est.)
Expenses	38.08 billion (2017 est.)
Economic aid	$209.5 million (2005)
	All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Ecuador is the eighth largest in Latin America and the 69th largest in the world by total GDP. Ecuador's economy is based on the export of oil, bananas, shrimp, gold, other primary agricultural products and money transfers from Ecuadorian emigrants employed abroad. In 2017, remittances constituted 2.7% of Ecuador's GDP. The total trade amounted to 42% of the Ecuador's GDP in 2017.

The country is substantially dependent on its petroleum resources. In 2017, oil accounted for about one-third of public-sector revenue and 32% of export earnings. When Ecuador was part of OPEC, it was one of the smallest members and produced about 531,300 barrels per day of petroleum in 2017. It is the world's largest exporter of bananas ($3.38 billion in 2017) and a major exporter of shrimp ($3.06 billion in 2017). Exports of non-traditional products such as cut flowers ($846 million in 2017) and canned fish ($1.18 billion in 2017) have grown in recent years.

In the past, Ecuador's economy depended largely on primary industries like agriculture, petroleum, and aquaculture. As a result of shifts in global market trends and development of technology, the country has experienced economic development in other sectors, such as textiles, processed food, metallurgy and the service sectors. Between 2006 and 2014, GDP growth averaged 4.3%, driven by high oil prices and external financing. From 2015 until 2018, GDP growth averaged just 0.6%. Ecuador's ex-president, Lenín Moreno, launched a radical transformation of Ecuador's economy after taking office in May 2017. The aim was to increase the private sector's weight, in particular the oil industry.