Surface: 256.370 Km.²
Population: 12.157.000
Population density: 47 p. /Km.²

Government: Presidential Republic
Capital city: Quito (1.400.000 p.)
Other main cities: Guayaquil 1.985.000 p., Cuenca 277.400 p., Machala 204.600 p., Santo Domingo de Los Colorados 199.800 p., Manta 183.100 p., Eloy Alfaro 174.500 p., Portoviejo 171.800 p., Ambato 154.100 p.
Ethnic groups: mestizos 65%, Indian American 25%, white 7%, black 3%
Bordering countries: North – Colombia; South and east – Peru

Main mountains: Chimborazo 6310 m, Cotopaxi 5897 m, Cayambe 5790 m, Antisana 5758 m
Main rivers: Napo 420 Km. (Ecuadorian stretch, total 885 Km), Aguarico 370 Km, Guayas 320 Km
Main lakes: San Pablo
Main Islands: Galapagos Islands 8010 Km.² (Isabela 4278 Km.²)
Weather: Equatorial - mild

Language: Spanish (official), indigenous languages (Quechua and Jibaro)
Religion: Catholic 92, 5%, Protestant 3, 5%, other 4%
Currency: US dollar

Geographically Ecuador is very diverse. It has four different contexts:
The Andes
The Amazon jungle
The coast
The Galapagos Islands

The Andes offer landscapes of incomparable beauty, volcanoes, lakes, snowed peaks that exceed the 6000m. over sea level. Ecuador has two Andean mountain ranges which are separated by a valley with a mild weather where the main colonial cities Quito; the capital, Riobamba and Cuenca have been built.
The jungle is characterized for its rain forest, warm humid weather and for been scarcely inhabit.
The coast is defined by the Andean mountain range to the east and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is a flat region with small relieves and a humid warm weather that has favored cultivation and the development of some cities.
Galapagos is located far from Ecuador’s main land. The islands are volcanic and have great scientific significance due to the land’s morphology and for the isolation of animal genders that allowed Darwin to elaborate the evolution theory. The weather is variable and mild.
Ecuador’s variety in landscapes and weather had created a popular saying: “In Ecuador it is possible to experience the four seasons on 24 hours”. In fact, going through the coast, reaching the Andes and then descending to the central valley or to the jungle offers completely different and contrast climatic situations.
Same thing happens with the population which anthropologically is very diverse: the indigenous people from the Andes had almost always lived isolated, maintaining their ancestral traditions; they are mostly short and with clear indigenous somatic features. A similar situation can be found in the Amazon basin. People living in this region started concentrating in small cities just a few decades ago. Many still live in small villages in the jungle linked to their cultural traditions. In the coast and in the big cities of the Andes the development model is pretty close to the occidental one: much modernity can be found, less tradition, the population has mixed and it is not odd to find a person from African origin next to a white skin person with Asian origin.

Map Ecuador: http://maps.google.com/

More information: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador