ABSTRACT
The Republic of Ecuador (equator), with a 1990 population of some 10.3 million, is an Andean country of 283,600 square kilometres (109,500 square miles) situated between Colombia in the north and Peru in the south. The eastern part of the country - the Oriente - is an area of tropical forest crossed by numerous rivers including the Amazon. The capital and major cultural centre since colonial times is Quito, a major Inca settlement even before 1533 when the Spanish first reached the city.
