Ecuador

The Republic of Ecuador is located in Western South America at the equator bordering the Pacific Ocean, Colombia, and Peru. It is about the size of Nevada and covers an area of 283,560 sq. kilometers. Ecuador’s total population is 15.44 million and is growing at a rate of 1.4% with 67% living in urban areas. The capital city of Quito has a population of 2 million with the other major city being Guayaquil (2.28 mil). The people are governed by a republic and are predominately Roman Catholic. The official language used is Spanish and the local currency used is the US dollar.

Ecuador has an economy dependent on the export of petroleum which accounts for about 50% of its total exports. The economy has stabilized since adopting the US dollar as currency but concerns with corruption still persist and foreign investment is still low in this developing nation. Its main trade partner is the US with other including Colombia, Peru, China, Brazil, Russia, and Japan. Its primary imports are industrial materials, fuels and lubricants, and non durable consumer goods. Exports consist of petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, and fish. Ecuador’s GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) is $134.7 billion and is growing at a real rate of 4% with an inflation rate of 5.3%. Ecuador ranked 139th out of 185 countries in the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking due to concerns with corruption.

Click the links below for articles with more information on Franchising in Ecuador

Viva Global Expansion! Trade Mission to Latin America (2012)

Latin American Market Sizzles with U.S. Franchisors (2012)

US Commercial Service Market Report Ecuador(2009)

The Future of Latin America(2007)

* CPI Score is published by Transparency International and relates to the perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 100 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).

**Ease of Doing Business Ranking is determined by the World Bank Group and is ranked out of a possible 185 countries. www.doingbusiness.org

Most recent statistics have been taken from the CIA World Factbook unless noted otherwise.

International Franchising Opportunities

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