re than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly.
The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its
external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70%
in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government
announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted
MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta
failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took
over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of
structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption
of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the
economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years
that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ - January
2003 to April 2005 - Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum
prices. However, the government under Alfredo PALACIO has reversed
economic reforms that reduced Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum
price swings and financial crises, allowing the central government
greater access to oil windfalls and disbursing surplus retirement
funds.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$60.48 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$32.57 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.6% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$4,500 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 6.3%
industry: 33.5%
services: 60.2% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
4.57 million (urban) (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 8%
industry: 24%
services: 68% (2001)

Unemployment rate:
10.6% official rate; but underemployment of 47% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
41% (2003)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 32%
note: data for urban households only (October 2003)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
42
note: data are for urban households (2003)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.4% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
22.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $11.5 billion
expenditures: planned $10.46 billion; including capital expenditures
of $1.6 billion (2006 est.)

Public debt:
36% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca),
plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy
products; balsa wood