Ecuador is a South American country situated on the equator at the western edge of the continent. Its 283,561 square kilometers (109,483 square miles) includes the Gálapagos Islands. Roughly one-third of its 13.7 million citizens are under fifteen years of age. Blanco-mestizos of mixed Caucasian and Amerindian ethnicity dominate the population (65%). One-quarter of Ecuadorians are Amerindian, and there are small Spanish (7%) and black (3%) populations. Spanish is the official language, but Quechua and other Amerindian languages are widely used. The population is 95 percent Roman Catholic.

The Andean highlands of central Ecuador are dotted with active volcanoes, including one overshadowing the capital city of Quito. To the west lies the Pacific coastal plain where the country's largest city and business center, Guayaquil, is located. To the east is sparsely populated jungle. In 1942 Ecuador ceded 200,000 square kilometers (124,280 square miles) of disputed territory to Peru. Sporadic border clashes culminated in renewed hostilities until a...