Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

is divided into 24

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

s ( es, provincias, singular''provincia''). The provinces of Ecuador and their capitals are:

List

¹ Population as per the census carried out on 2010-11-28 In addition, there were four areas that were non-delimited. These locations were: *

Las Golondrinas Las Golondrinas is a territory of Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; ...

: In a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

held on April 3, 2016, 56.9% of voters voted in favor of Las Golondrinas being incorporated into the Imbabura Province. *

La Manga del Cura La Manga del Cura is a territory located in the Manabí Province belonging to the canton El Carmen in Ecuador. The territory covers an area of approximately with around 24,000 inhabitants. One of the most important tourist sites in the territ ...

: In a

held on September 27, 2015, 64.2% of the voters voted in favor of La Manga del Cura being incorporated into the Manabí Province. * El Piedrero: incorporated into Guayas Province by the Presidential decree in 2017. * Matilde Esther: incorporated into Guayas Province by the Presidential decree in 2017

Regions and planning areas

Regionalization, or zoning, is the union of two or more adjoining provinces in order to decentralize the administrative functions of the capital, Quito. In Ecuador, there are seven regions, or zones, each shaped by the following provinces: * Region 1 (42,126 km², or 16,265 mi²): Esmeraldas,

Carchi Carchi () is a Provinces of Ecuador, province in Ecuador. The capital is Tulcán. The Carchi River rises on the slopes of Chiles (volcano), Chiles volcano and forms the boundary between Colombia and Ecuador near Tulcan. Rumichaca Bridge is the m ...

, Imbabura, and Sucumbios. Administrative city: Ibarra * Region 2 (43,498 km², or 16,795 mi²): Pichincha, Napo, and Orellana. Administrative city:

Tena TENA is a Sweden, Swedish-based brand of Essity that specializes in products for adults with urinary incontinence, urinary or fecal incontinence, such as pads and diapers. TENA also produces a youth diaper brand for teenagers and larger childre ...

* Region 3 (44,710 km², or 17,263 mi²):

Chimborazo Chimborazo () is a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 A.D. Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point on the Earth's surface from t ...

Tungurahua Tungurahua (; from Quichua ''tunguri'' (throat) and ''rahua'' (fire), "Throat of Fire")) is an active stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Oriental of Ecuador. The volcano gives its name to the province of Tungurahua. Volcanic activity rest ...

, Pastaza, and

Cotopaxi Cotopaxi () is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located in Latacunga city of Cotopaxi Province, about south of Quito, and northeast of the city of Latacunga, Ecuador. It is the second highest summit in Ecuador, reaching a h ...

. Administrative city:

Riobamba Riobamba (, full name San Pedro de Riobamba; Quechua: ''Rispampa'') is the capital of Chimborazo Province in central Ecuador, and is located in the Chambo River Valley of the Andes. It is south of Ecuador's capital Quito and located at an ele ...

* Region 4 (22,257 km², or 8,594 mi²): Manabí and Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas. Administrative city: Ciudad Alfaro * Region 5 (38,420 km², or 14,834 mi²): Santa Elena, Guayas, Los Ríos, Galápagos, and Bolívar. Administrative city:

Milagro Milagro means "miracle" in Spanish. Milagro may refer to: Places: *Milagro, Ecuador, a city * Milagro Canton, Ecuador, of which the city is the canton seat * Milagro River, Ecuador *Milagro, Navarre, Spain, a town and municipality * El Milagro, Q ...

* Region 6 (38,237 km², or 14,763 mi²): Cañar,

Azuay Azuay (), Province of Azuay is a province of Ecuador, created on 25 June 1824. It encompasses an area of . Its capital is Cuenca. It is located in the south center of Ecuador in the highlands. Its mountains reach above sea level in the natio ...

, and

Morona Santiago Morona Santiago () is a province in Ecuador. The province was established on February 24, 1954. The capital is Macas. Economy The provincial economy is industrially unexploited to its potential due to poor means of transportation. Its economy ...

. Administrative city: Cuenca * Region 7 (27,571 km², or 10,645 mi²): El Oro, Loja, and Zamora Chinchipe. Administrative city: Loja

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

and

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

are Metropolitan Districts. Galápagos, despite being included within Region 5, is also under a special unit.

References

External links

* {{Americas topic, Administrative divisions of Subdivisions of Ecuador Ecuador, Provinces Provinces, Ecuador Ecuador geography-related lists

List

Regions and planning areas

See also

References

External links