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Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is the center of the political, economic and social activities of Ecuador. It is the second city of economic importance after Guayaquil. In Quito you can find the Government Palace, where the President lives and the main seed of public and private offices are established.

Official name
Metropolitan District of Quito

Foundation
6th of December 1534

Cultural Patrimony by UNESCO
November 1978

Location
13km South latitude of the equatorial line, in the Highlands of Ecuador

Area
12 000 square kilometers

Altitude
2 800 meters

Climate
Between 10 and 25ºC (50 and 77 Fahrenheit degrees). The climate varies, with sunny mornings, rain in the afternoon and cold at night.a

Population
Approximately 1'500.000 inhabitants

Official Language.
Spanish. English is taught in schools as a second language.

Religion
90% Roman Catholics and 10% Christian religions

Currency
The official currency is the American Dollar. Ecuadorian coins have the equivalent value of US dollars, but are only valid in Ecuador.

Local time
GMT-5

Electric Energy
Use 110 V, 60 cycles, AC, that is the same as in the United States. It is not compatible with energy of Great Britain, Australia and some countries of Europe.

Weight and measurements
Ecuador uses the International Metric system, if you are used to using miles, leagues, ounces, etc., please consult a metric converter.

Patriotic symbols
The Shield of Arms of the City of San Francisco of Quito was granted by the emperor Carlos V King of Germany and Carlos I King of Spain, by means of Royal Certificate, the 14th of March of 1541 in the Villa of Talavera - Spain, which still exists today. The Flag of the City was made official the 17th of May of 1944 by the Municipal Council of Quito. It is divided by a horizontal rectangle in three parallel stripes; the central part is red and the two lateral ones are blue. Fray Bernardino Echeverria wrote the hymn of the city and its music is a work of Fray Agustín Azkúnaga.

Health
The Institute of Social Security (IESS) guarantees public health There are several national and international companies that provide private health insurance, mainly in the urban areas. The rate of mortality is of 4,26/1,000 and the birth rate is 23.18/1.000.

Education
The illiteracy rate is of the 10.2%. The public education is deficient to its majority and private education is not available for most of the population.

Government
The Municipality of the Metropolitan District of Quito directs Quito. The greatest authority is the Mayor, accompanied by a group of councilmen and advisors chosen by popular vote. The present Mayor is the General Paco Moncayo. The next major elections are at second semester of 2006.

Infrastructure
The government of Ecuador has been able to modernize the infrastructure of Ecuador and Quito as its capital with great benefits. Quito is a modern city with a great infrastructure of roads, houses, businesses and services for its inhabitants and visitors. The International Airport, Mariscal Sucre is located in the north of the city, where there are commercial centers, luxury hotels, buildings and companies giving the feeling of a metropolis of the new millennium.

Economy and society
The economic history of Quito has a total nexus with Ecuador. Ecuador has lived through the years, through stages crisis and of a booming economy. The great wealth of Ecuadorian soils produced products of quality for exporting like bananas, cacao and coffee. From there came the boom of Cacao, Banana pickers and oil left a lot of money that consequently were used wisely or poorly by the government.

The external debt, nevertheless, forgot about the social debt and for that reason some areas of the population live in extreme misery, due to the reduced hegemonic group, which continues to accumulate. Due to the banking crisis, the official currency, the Sucre, became the dollar.

The 9th of January 2005 marked the five-year anniversary of the dollarization in the country. In conclusion and looking back to 1999, where the most serious crisis of the last decade started, the dollarization was a positive move. The dollarization helped obtain an economic stability, lowered inflation and attracted investment. However, it also brought about other serious consequences to society, like a more expensive standard of living for everybody.

The capital of the country, since the beginning is Quito, is the center for political powers and the main financial groups. It also has the more important touristy zones and the famous Colonial area. The Historical Center contains beautiful churches, plazas and houses with an intriguing architecture, mainly, Baroque. The city is a metropolis that grows everyday, especially in the financial, cultural and touristy activities.

According to the Chamber of Commerce of Quito (2005), the official numbers of Quito referring to the social development indicate:

97% of the families have electric energy
87% have garbage removal
79% have sewage
71% have education
66% have housing
68% have health services

But besides the positive numbers in these services, it also shows:
9% indigency
33% poverty
4% illiteracy

The summary of the main preoccupations of the population of Quito is:

Public insecurity, pollution, unemployment, cleanliness, deforestation and informal and illegal work.

The economic indicators of the Chamber of Commerce of Quito also show:
Monthly Inflation
0,03 % (Jul 2006)

Annual Inflation
4 % (December 2005)

Risk of the Country
845 Points (January 2006)

International Monetary Reserve
1655,2 millions dollars (January 2006)

Price of oil
60 USD(January 2006)

INTEREST RATES

Sources:
Chamber of Commerce of Quito
Ecuador Central Bank
Investigation done by Get Quito Ecuador