Religion in Ecuador

Population

According to Countryaah data, the country has a rapid population growth for the region and a very young population. The average population density is 60 residents per km2 (2018). About 65 percent of the population lives in cities, the largest of which are Guayaquil (2.3 million, 2010), Quito (1.6 million) and Cuenca (328,800).

According to thesciencetutor, of Ecuador’s population, 30 percent are Native Americans, 15 percent are white (mainly Spanish kittens) and 55 percent are miserable. The vast majority of Indians live in the Highlands (see Andean Indians), and among them are distinguished ethnic groups such as Cañari and Otavalo. In the eastern lowlands, there are only 65,000 Indians, including canelo and quijo, which belong to the area’s 30,000 quichu-speaking Indians, as well as shuar and achuar (together 20,000). The other 15,000 lowland Indians belong to smaller groups such as waorani (auca), záparo, cofán, secoya and siona. In the coastal area there are a few other indian groups such as colorado and cayapa, a total of 6,500.

The Highland Indians traditionally live on arable farms with an emphasis on cereals and potatoes, while the Indians in the lowland rainforests carry on burning (mainly cassava) supplemented with hunting and fishing. Since pre-Columbian times, extensive trade relations have connected the high and lowland peoples, and even today, the Quichu-speaking groups are, above all, eager traders. The lowland Indians on both sides of the Ecuadorian Andes are in great need of colonization, forest harvesting, plantation operations, livestock management and mineral extraction. When the authorities repeatedly ignored land rights promised to the Indians, they were provoked to violent confrontations with the colonizers. Shuar became the first Indian group in the Amazon in 1964 to form their own organization to better assert their rights.

People in Ecuador

Language

In addition to Spanish, which is an official language and is spoken by about 75% of the population, still lives around twenty native languages, spoken by just over 2 million natives. Of these languages, about 2/3 belong to the quechua family, in Ecuador called kichwa. Kichwa and the jívaros language shuar are given the status of official languages ​​in the country in the 2008 constitution, while other indigenous languages ​​are recognized as national languages ​​in the regions where they are spoken.

  • Visit abbreviationfinder.org for business, geography, history, politics, and society of Ecuador. Also find most commonly used abbreviations and acronyms about this country.

Religion

After independence in 1822, Protestant Bible societies and churches came, among others. Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists. Under the influence of the Latin American Episcopal Conferences (CELAM), a Catholic church renewal is underway. About 90% of the population is Catholic, but evangelical groups are growing rapidly. The colonial church pursued the original Native American religiosity, but an interreligious dialogue with Andean religious traditions, Abya Yala, is now in line with the visions of Native American Bishop Leonidas Proaños (1910–88). Ecumenical cooperation is aimed at poverty.

Ecuador Religion