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Flag of Ecuador

Ecuador

South America

Capital
Quito
Population
16.9 million (2022)
Currency
US Dollar USD
Plugs
AB 120 V
Drives on the
right
Local time
Ecuador highlighted on a globe

Plugs and voltage

Type A socket, as found in Ecuador Type A Type B socket, as found in Ecuador Type B

Ecuador uses Types A and B sockets. Mains supply is 120 V at 60 Hz.

At 120 V, devices from 220–240 V countries that are not dual-voltage will run weakly or not at all. Chargers labelled “100–240V” work fine with just a plug adapter.

Money

$ US Dollar USD

Reference rates, 2026-10-30 (ECB)
1 EUR1.12 USD
1 GBP1.34 USD
1 JPY0.006359 USD
1 AUD0.7025 USD

US Dollar: where it's used and rates

Price level 44 (US = 100, 2025)

Everyday household prices in Ecuador are about 44% of US prices when converted at market exchange rates: cheaper than the median country (50). All countries

Language

  • Spanishofficial96%
  • Quechuaofficial17%

Bars show the share of the population that speaks each language (CLDR estimates).

Time

Ecuador spans 2 time offsets right now:

  • UTC−6 Pacific / Galapagos
  • UTC−5 America / Guayaquil

The capital is on UTC−5 (America/Guayaquil).

Driving

Traffic in Ecuador drives on the right, so the steering wheel is on the left.

Public holidays in the next 12 months

15 national public holidays from 2 November 2026. Banks, offices and many shops close; regional holidays are not shown. Dates marked “estimated” follow a lunar calendar and can move by a day.

November 2026

  • All Souls' Day
  • Independence of Cuenca

December 2026

  • Christmas Day

January 2027

  • New Year's Day

February 2027

  • Carnival
  • Carnival

March 2027

  • Good Friday

April 2027

  • Labor Day (observed)

May 2027

  • Labor Day
  • The Battle of Pichincha

August 2027

  • Declaration of Independence of Quito (observed)
  • Declaration of Independence of Quito

October 2027

  • Independence of Guayaquil (observed)
  • Independence of Guayaquil

November 2027

  • All Souls' Day (observed)

Travel advisories

United States · State Department

Level 2 Exercise increased caution

Read the full advisory. Checked 2026-11-02.

United Kingdom · FCDO

  • FCDO advises against all but essential travel to parts of the country

Updated 2026-11-01. Read the full advice. Checked 2026-11-02.

Advisories are written for each government's own citizens and change without notice: read the original before you travel.

Other practical facts

Calling code
+593
Internet domain
.ec
Measurement
Metric
Paper size
A4
Week starts on
Monday
Read more
Wikipedia
Coat of arms or emblem of Ecuador
Coat of arms / emblem

More in South America

Compare all of South America side by side

Flag: Flag of Ecuador.svg, Public domain. Arms: Coat of arms of Ecuador.svg, CC0, Ysangkok and others. Electricity: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), see methodology.