Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Switzerland fits inside Ecuador 6.2 times.
Ecuador: 256,370 km² (2023) · Switzerland: 41,291 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Ecuador: 2,237 km (2026 edition) · Switzerland: 0 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Ecuador’s highest peak towers 1,633 m above Switzerland’s.
Ecuador: 6,267 m (2026 edition) · Switzerland: 4,634 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Ecuador has 2 times as many people as Switzerland.
Ecuador: 18.3 million (2025) · Switzerland: 9.09 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Switzerland is 3.1 times as densely populated as Ecuador.
Ecuador: 74 per km² (2025) · Switzerland: 230 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Switzerland are 11.4 cm taller than in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 167.3 cm (2019) · Switzerland: 178.7 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Switzerland are 9.1 cm taller than in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 155.3 cm (2019) · Switzerland: 164.3 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Switzerland is 14 years older than in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 28.4 years (2023) · Switzerland: 42.3 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Ecuador have 0.5 more children on average than in Switzerland.
Ecuador: 1.81 children per woman (2024) · Switzerland: 1.29 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
20% of people in Switzerland are 65 or older, versus 8.6% in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 8.6% (2025) · Switzerland: 20.4% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Switzerland has produced 20.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Ecuador 0.0.
Ecuador: 0 (2025) · Switzerland: 20.9 (2025)
How many official languages?
Switzerland has 4 official languages, Ecuador 1.
Ecuador: 1 (2026) · Switzerland: 4 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Switzerland’s economy is 8 times the size of Ecuador’s.
Ecuador: $130 billion (2025) · Switzerland: $1.04 trillion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Switzerland produces 6.1 times as much per person as Ecuador.
Ecuador: Int$16,757 (2025) · Switzerland: Int$102,513 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Ecuador than in Switzerland (Gini 12.1 points higher).
Ecuador: 45.9 (2025) · Switzerland: 33.8 (2022)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.9% in Switzerland, versus 3.3% in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 3.3% (2025) · Switzerland: 4.9% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Ecuador spends 2.2% of its GDP on the military, Switzerland 0.7%.
Ecuador: 2.2% (2024) · Switzerland: 0.7% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Switzerland’s price level (US = 100) is 2.6× Ecuador’s.
Ecuador: 43% (2025) · Switzerland: 112% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Switzerland spends 23 times as much on health per person as Ecuador.
Ecuador: $509 (2023) · Switzerland: $11,784 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Switzerland live 6.8 years longer than in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 77.6 years (2024) · Switzerland: 84.4 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Ecuador is 3.2 times as likely to die before turning one as in Switzerland.
Ecuador: 10.9 per 1,000 (2024) · Switzerland: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Switzerland has 94% more doctors per person than Ecuador.
Ecuador: 2.3 per 1,000 (2020) · Switzerland: 4.5 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
29% of adults in Ecuador are obese, versus 13% in Switzerland.
Ecuador: 28.7% (2024) · Switzerland: 12.9% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
23% of adults in Switzerland smoke, versus 10% in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 10.1% (2024) · Switzerland: 23.1% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Switzerland rate their lives 0.87 points higher than in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 6.14 (2025) · Switzerland: 7.02 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Switzerland drink 2.7 times as much alcohol as in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 3.2 litres (2023) · Switzerland: 8.8 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Switzerland has 14% more meat per person than Ecuador.
Ecuador: 56.2 kg (2023) · Switzerland: 64 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Switzerland has 781 kcal more food per person per day than Ecuador.
Ecuador: 2,621 kcal (2023) · Switzerland: 3,402 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Ecuador put in 65 more hours a year than in Switzerland.
Ecuador: 1,594 hours (2023) · Switzerland: 1,529 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Switzerland went to school 5 years longer than in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 9 years (2023) · Switzerland: 13.9 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Ecuador: no data · Switzerland: 1.04 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
97% of people in Switzerland are online, versus 77% in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 77% (2024) · Switzerland: 97% (2025)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Switzerland have electricity, versus 99% in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 98.5% (2024) · Switzerland: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
86% of people in Switzerland live in cities, versus 63% in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 63% (2025) · Switzerland: 86% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Switzerland has 129 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ecuador 102.
Ecuador: 102 (2024) · Switzerland: 129 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Switzerland’s railway network is 4.3 times as long as Ecuador’s.
Ecuador: 965 km (2022) · Switzerland: 4,122 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Switzerland fly 12 times as many passengers per resident as those from Ecuador.
Ecuador: 0.25 (2023) · Switzerland: 3.05 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 50% of Ecuador, but only 32% of Switzerland.
Ecuador: 49.5% (2023) · Switzerland: 32.4% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Switzerland emits 42% more CO₂ than someone in Ecuador.
Ecuador: 2.5 t (2024) · Switzerland: 3.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
79% of Ecuador’s electricity is renewable, versus 68% in Switzerland.
Ecuador: 79.4% (2025) · Switzerland: 67.8% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Ecuador carries 2 times as much fine dust as in Switzerland.
Ecuador: 17.7 µg/m³ (2024) · Switzerland: 9 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 77 times as likely to be murdered in Ecuador as in Switzerland.
Ecuador: 45.7 per 100k (2023) · Switzerland: 0.6 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Ecuador are 9.8 times as deadly as in Switzerland.
Ecuador: 23.4 per 100k (2021) · Switzerland: 2.4 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Ecuador is on average 14.7 °C warmer than Switzerland.
Ecuador: 21.3°C (2016–2025 avg) · Switzerland: 6.5°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Ecuador gets 2 times as much rain as Switzerland.
Ecuador: 3,204 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Switzerland: 1,616 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Ecuador bigger than Switzerland?
Ecuador is larger. Switzerland fits inside Ecuador 6.2 times.
Which has more people, Ecuador or Switzerland?
Ecuador has 2 times as many people as Switzerland (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Ecuador or Switzerland?
People in Switzerland live 6.8 years longer than in Ecuador. Life expectancy at birth is 77.6 years in Ecuador and 84.4 in Switzerland.
Are people taller in Ecuador or Switzerland?
Men in Switzerland are 11.4 cm taller than in Ecuador (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
