People and Government

Some 40 per cent of the people are mestizos (mixed Indian and white), 40 per cent are Indians, 10 per cent are whites, and the remainder are blacks, mulattoes (mixed black and white), and others. Spanish is the official language of the country. Most of the Indians speak various dialects of Quechua; the Jívaro tribes speak their own language.

Primary education is free and compulsory, and about 80 per cent of the people are literate. The Central University in Quito, founded in 1769, is the oldest of the country's universities. Catholicism is the predominant religion.

Ecuador is a republic governed under a constitution approved in 1978, effective in 1979. Executive power is vested in a president, elected by universal adult suffrage. He is limited to a single four-year term. There is also an elected one-chamber legislature. The judiciary is headed by a supreme court.

Ecuador is divided into provinces, each headed by a governor. The Galápagos Islands are a territory of Ecuador.