| Native name | Provincia del Ecuador |
|---|---|
| Category | Unitary state |
| Territory | Ecuador |
| Current number | 24 Provinces |
| Population range | 28,583 (Galápagos) – 4,391,923 (Guayas) |
| Government | Provincial government |
| Subdivision | Canton, Parish |
Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces (Spanish: provincias, singular – provincia). The provinces of Ecuador and their capitals are:
List
| Location | Province | Capital | Largest City [1] | Population (2022 census)[2] | Area (km2) | Established |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azuay | Cuenca | 801,609 | 8,189 | 1824 | ||
| Bolívar, Ecuador | Guaranda | 199,078 | 4,148 | 1884 | ||
| Cañar | Azogues | La Troncal | 227,578 | 3,669 | 1880 | |
| Carchi | Tulcán | 172,828 | 3,790 | 1880 | ||
| Chimborazo | Riobamba | 471,933 | 5,999 | 1824 | ||
| Cotopaxi | Latacunga | 470,210 | 6,085 | 1851 | ||
| El Oro | Machala | 714,592 | 5,879 | 1884 | ||
| Esmeraldas | Esmeraldas | 553,900 | 16,132 | 1847 | ||
| Galápagos | Puerto Baquerizo Moreno | Puerto Ayora | 28,583 | 8,010 | 1973 | |
| Guayas | Guayaquil | 4,391,923 | 15,927 | 1824 | ||
| Imbabura | Ibarra | 469,879 | 4,611 | 1824 | ||
| Loja | Loja | 485,421 | 11,100 | 1824 | ||
| Los Ríos | Babahoyo | Quevedo | 898,652 | 7,100 | 1860 | |
| Manabí | Portoviejo | Manta | 1,592,840 | 19,427 | 1824 | |
| Morona Santiago | Macas | 192,508 | 25,690 | 1954 | ||
| Napo | Tena | 131,675 | 12,476 | 1959 | ||
| Orellana | Puerto Francisco de Orellana | 182,166 | 21,691 | 1998 | ||
| Pastaza | Puyo | 111,915 | 29,068 | 1959 | ||
| Pichincha | Quito | 3,089,473 | 9,692 | 1824 | ||
| Santa Elena | Santa Elena | La Libertad | 385,735 | 3,696 | 2007 | |
| Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Santo Domingo | 492,969 | 4,180 | 2007 | ||
| Sucumbíos | Nueva Loja | 199,014 | 18,612 | 1989 | ||
| Tungurahua | Ambato | 563,532 | 3,222 | 1860 | ||
| Zamora Chinchipe | Zamora | 110,973 | 10,556 | 1953 | ||
| Total | – | – | – | 16,938,986 | 283,561 square kilometres (109,484 sq mi) | |
1 Population as per the census carried out on 2022-10-01[3]
In addition, there were four areas that were non-delimited. These locations were:
- Las Golondrinas: In a referendum held on April 3, 2016, 56.9% of voters voted in favor of Las Golondrinas being incorporated into the Imbabura Province.[4]
- La Manga del Cura: In a referendum held on September 27, 2015, 64.2% of the voters voted in favor of La Manga del Cura being incorporated into the Manabí Province.[5]
- El Piedrero: incorporated into Guayas Province by the Presidential decree in 2017.[6]
- Matilde Esther: incorporated into Guayas Province by the Presidential decree in 2017[7]
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, Imbabura, and Sucumbíos. Administrative city: Ibarra
- Region 2 (43,498 km2, or 16,795 mi2): Pichincha, Napo, and Orellana. Administrative city: Tena
- Region 3 (44,710 km2, or 17,263 mi2): Chimborazo, Tungurahua, Pastaza, and Cotopaxi. Administrative city: Riobamba
- 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
- Region 6 (38,237 km2, or 14,763 mi2): Cañar, Azuay, and Morona Santiago. Administrative city: Cuenca
- Region 7 (27,571 km2, or 10,645 mi2): El Oro, Loja, and Zamora Chinchipe. Administrative city: Loja
Quito and Guayaquil are Metropolitan Districts. Galápagos, despite being included within Region 5,[8] is also under a special unit.[9]
See also
- List of Ecuadorian provinces by Human Development Index
- Cantons of Ecuador
- ISO 3166-2:EC, ISO 3166-2 for codes.
- (in French) Leaders of Ecuador provinces
References
- ^ "List of Populations of every Ecuadorian settlement since 2022"
- ^ "Ecuador creció en 2.5 millones de personas entre 2010 y 2022"
- ^ "Ecuador: Urban Places", https://www.citypopulation.de/php/ecuador,php, accessed 10 July 2017
- ^ "Las Golondrinas le pertenece a Imbabura" (in Spanish). 3 April 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "La Manga del Cura decide pertenecer a Manabí" (in Spanish). 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ "Con 7 decretos ejecutivos, Correa define los límites de Guayas" (in Spanish). El Telégrafo. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
- ^ "Con 7 decretos ejecutivos, Correa define los límites de Guayas" (in Spanish). El Telégrafo. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
- ^ "Niveles administrativos de planificación". Secretaría Nacional de Planificación y Desarrollo. Archived September 24, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
- ^ "Región 4 – Santo Domingo, Manabí y Galápagos". Ministry of Production, Employment and Competitiveness Coordination. Archived from the original on November 27, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2012.