Mountains in Ecuador

Ecuador Economy

Ecuador's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 115.0 billion in 2022.

GDP per capita of USD 6,390 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 1.5% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

Economic structure:

In 2021, services accounted for 59% of overall GDP, manufacturing 17%, other industrial activity 15%, and agriculture 9%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 61% of GDP in 2021, government consumption 15%, fixed investment 22%, and net exports 2%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2021, manufactured products made up 6% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 32%, food 48%, ores and metals 7% and agricultural raw materials 4%, with other categories accounting for 3% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 65% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 19%, food 12%, ores and metals 2% and agricultural raw materials 1%, with other goods accounting for 1% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 33 billion in 2022, while total imports were USD 30 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 1.5% in the decade to 2022. To read more about GDP growth in Ecuador, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

Ecuador's fiscal deficit averaged 5.2% of GDP in the decade to 2022. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Unemployment:

The unemployment rate averaged 4.6% in the decade to 2022. For more information on Ecuador's unemployment click here.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 1.9% in the decade to 2022. Go to our Ecuador inflation page for extra insight.

Monetary Policy:

Ecuador's monetary policy rate ended 2022 at 8.48%, up from 8.17% a decade earlier. See our Ecuador monetary policy page for additional details.
The economy is expected to have recorded a muted expansion in Q4 after just 0.4% year-on-year GDP growth in Q3. Elevated rates of violent crime and a blockade of an oil field by indigenous groups will have weighed on momentum in the fourth quarter. Looking at available data, while economic activity rose in October, merchandise exports declined in annual terms in October-November and oil production fell in Q4 as a whole. Turning to Q1 2024, economic activity is likely being depressed by a wave of drug-related violence and the state of emergency imposed from January. In politics, Congress recently approved a tax hike on banks and was unable to reject President Noboa’s bid to hike the VAT rate by 1 percentage point. These measures will help finance the government’s war on the drug gangs and should tame the budget deficit.
Projections out to 2033.

37 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 21 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for Ecuador in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2033 on 37 economic indicators for Ecuador from a panel of 21 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the Ecuador economy. To download a sample report on the Ecuador's economy, click here . To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page .

Ecuador Economic Data

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Population (million) 17.0 17.3 17.5 17.8 18.0
GDP (USD bn) 107.5 107.6 95.9 107.4 116.6
GDP per capita (USD) 6,314 6,231 5,475 6,050 6,475
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) 2.9 0.1 -10.9 12.1 8.5
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) 1.0 0.2 -9.2 9.8 6.2
Domestic Demand (ann. var. %) -1.6 -1.6 -7.3 5.8 4.3
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) 2.1 2.1 -10.6 11.3 7.4
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) 3.9 -2.8 -4.0 0.0 1.8
Fixed Investment (ann. var. %) -1.3 -2.3 -21.8 13.2 8.5
Exports (G&S, ann. var. %) 1.9 4.9 -3.9 9.4 7.3
Imports (G&S, ann. var. %) 4.6 1.0 -18.3 21.5 10.5
Unemployment (% of active population, aop) 4.1 4.4 6.1 5.2 4.3
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) -2.8 -3.5 -7.1 -1.6 0.0
Public Debt (% of GDP) 49.8 53.0 63.6 56.4 53.5
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, eop) 0.3 -0.1 -0.9 1.9 3.7
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, aop) -0.2 0.3 -0.3 0.1 3.5
91-120 Day Average Deposit Rate (%, eop) 5.43 6.17 5.89 5.91 6.35
Current Account Balance (USD bn) -1.3 -0.2 2.2 3.1 2.1
Current Account Balance (% of GDP) -1.2 -0.2 2.3 2.9 1.8
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) -0.2 1.0 3.5 3.0 2.5
Merchandise Exports (USD bn) 22.2 22.8 20.6 27.0 33.0
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) 22.4 21.7 17.1 24.0 30.5
Merchandise Exports (ann. var. %) 13.3 2.8 -9.7 31.1 22.5
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) 15.9 -2.7 -21.4 40.3 27.2
Foreign Direct Investment (USD bn) 1.4 1.0 1.1 0.6 0.8
International Reserves (USD bn) 2.7 3.4 7.2 7.9 8.5
International Reserves (months of imports) 1.4 1.9 5.1 4.0 3.3
External Debt (USD bn) 40.2 46.1 52.5 56.3 57.5
External Debt (% of GDP) 37.4 42.8 54.7 52.4 49.4

Free Sample Report

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