Location
Ecuador is one of the smallest countries in South America with a total surface area of: 283,560 sq km. It shares borders with Columbia to the north and with Peru to the South and East.
According to the census of 2010, the current population of the country is slightly over 15 million. Due to the high levels of emigration many more ecuadorians are found abroad in countries such as the USA, Italy and Spain.
Quito is the capital of Ecuador. It is situated at 2.850 above the sea level and 25 years ago was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO.
It is a city with various contrasts but can be divided roughly into three regions:
- an historic centre, one of the best preserved examples of "colonial" architecture in Latin America
- the modern city typical of most western citys with high rises, shopping centres, traffic, pollution and other well known features - sprawling suburbs where the population resides. These regions or "barrios" are very polarised between rich and poor.