Ecuador

Ecuador: steady but modest growth, 1980–2025

Dollarization in 2000, adopted to end a severe currency and banking crisis, removed independent monetary policy but stabilized prices; growth since has tracked oil exports and periodic political instability. Between 1980 and 2025, Ecuador's GDP per capita grew from $2,190 to $7,125 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 2.7% — steady but modest growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 2.9% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 3.3 points, reflecting relatively stable macroeconomic conditions. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 16.1% to 9.7% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 53.3% to 57.0% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 63.3 to 77.6 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 38.2% to 67.9%, while the urban population share grew from 47.0% to 63.4%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 1.57 to 2.64 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) narrowed from 50.5 to 45.9; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 21.6% to 3.4%.