📜 A long story
Ecuador, 1800 → today
Ecuador grew from 500,000 in 1800 to 18 million; a newborn can expect 29 more years of life than in 1950, and output per person is 13× its 1870 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 500,000 people lived in Ecuador.
1900
1.45 million people.
2.9× the 1800 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1868.
1950
3.52 million people.
2.4× the 1900 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1939.
2023
18 million people, the latest year in this series.
5.1× the 1950 level
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1963.
Reached 20 times the 1800 level in 1988.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1950
In 1950, a newborn in Ecuador could expect to live 48.4 years, on average.
2023
77.4 years, the latest year in this series.
+29 years since 1950
Passed 50 years in 1954.
Passed 60 years in 1973.
Passed 70 years in 1993.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1870
In 1870, Ecuador produced about Int$760 per person, in 2011 prices.
1900
Int$1,100.
1.4× the 1870 level
1950
Int$2,970.
2.7× the 1900 level
Reached twice the 1870 level in 1914.
2022
Int$10,100, the latest year in this series.
3.4× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1870 level in 1964.
Reached 10 times the 1870 level in 2004.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 12% between 2014 and 2020 (Int$11,000 → Int$9,650).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates. Dashed stretches are years without data.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1892
In 1892, fossil fuels and industry in Ecuador emitted about 0.000064 t of CO₂ per person.
1950
0.2 t.
3,266× the 1892 level
Reached twice the 1892 level, reached 5 times the 1892 level, reached 10 times the 1892 level, reached 20 times the 1892 level in 1895.
Reached 50 times the 1892 level in 1905.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 100% between 1895 and 1900 (0.0025 t → 0.0000021 t).
2024
2.5 t, the latest year in this series.
12× the 1950 level
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
☕ Chapter 5 · Years of schooling
How long do people go to school?
1870
In 1870, people aged 15–64 in Ecuador had spent 0.2 years in school, on average.
1900
0.9 years.
+0.71 years since 1870
1950
2.6 years.
+1.7 years since 1900
Passed 2 years in 1935.
2015
8.5 years, the latest year in this series.
+5.9 years since 1950
Passed 4 years in 1965.
Passed 6 years in 1980.
Passed 8 years in 2010.
Long-run series (Lee & Lee, Barro & Lee) for people aged 15–64, every 5 years until 2015: a different age group than today’s figure (25 and older).