Demographic features of the population of Ecuador include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Ecuador experienced rapid population growth like most countries, but four decades of economic instability pushed millions of Ecuadorians out of the country. However, a rebound economy in the 2000s in urban centres improved the situation of living standards for Ecuadorians in a traditional class stratified economy.

According to the 2022 census, 77.5% of the population identified as "Mestizos"—a category denoting mixed Spanish and Indigenous American ancestry— reflecting an increase from 71.9% recorded in 2000 census. Conversely, the proportion of individuals identifying as "White" declined significantly, from 6.1% in 2010 to 2.2% in 2022. Amerindians account for 7.7% of the population and 4.8% of the population consists of Afro-Ecuadorians. Other estimations put the Mestizo population at 55% to 65% and the indigenous population at 25%.Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities (2013), p. 422. Edited by Carl Skutsch Genetic research indicates that the ancestry of Ecuadorian Mestizos is predominantly Indigenous. Im August 2026 the population was reported to be 18,468,862.

Population

The Ecuadorian census is conducted by the governmental institution known as INEC, Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas y Censos (National Institute of Statistics and Census).INEC https://web.archive.org/web/20110201014932/http://www.inec.gob.ec/preliminares/somos.html The census in Ecuador is conducted every ten years, and its objective is to obtain the number of people residing within its borders. The current census now includes household information.

Index of growth: + Percentage of population growth (census periods) No. Time lapse Growth percentile 1 1950–1962 2.96% 2 1962–1974 3.10% 3 1974–1982 2.62% 4 1982–1990 2.19% 5 1990–2001 2.05% 6 2001–2010 1.52%Preliminary Results http://www4.elcomercio.com/Pais/crecimos__2,1_millones_en_10_anos_.aspx

UN estimates According to the total population was in , compared to only 3,470,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2015 was 29.0%, 63.4% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 6.7% was 65 years or older. Total population (x 1000)Proportionaged 0–14(%)Proportionaged 15–64(%)Proportionaged 65+(%) 19503 47039.555.25.3 19553 95741.653.54.9 19604 54643.352.04.7 19655 25044.551.04.5 19706 07344.351.54.3 19756 98743.752.24.1 19807 97641.854.14.1 19859 04640.055.94.1 199010 21838.257.54.3 199511 44136.359.14.6 200012 62934.760.35.0 200513 82633.161.55.4 201015 01131.063.06.0 201516 21229.164.36.6 202017 64327.465.07.6

Structure of the population

Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 7 815 935 7 958 814 15 774 749 100 0–4 864 669 826 731 1 691 400 10.72 5–9 854 691 816 503 1 671 194 10.59 10–14 815 838 783 725 1 599 563 10.14 15–19 756 376 737 082 1 493 458 9.47 20–24 685 997 682 849 1 368 846 8.68 25–29 620 881 635 987 1 256 868 7.97 30–34 559 055 593 148 1 152 203 7.30 35–39 495 340 538 054 1 033 394 6.55 40–44 437 744 476 215 913 959 5.79 45–49 387 618 419 090 806 708 5.11 50–54 336 267 360 935 697 202 4.42 55–59 279 746 298 503 578 249 3.67 60–64 223 411 238 973 462 384 2.93 65–69 172 623 187 448 360 071 2.28 70–74 128 033 142 255 270 288 1.71 75–79 89 929 101 191 191 120 1.21 80–84 57 585 64 467 122 052 0.77 85–89 31 289 34 891 66 180 0.42 90–94 13 655 15 370 29 025 0.18 95–99 4 898 5 145 10 043 0.06 100+ 290 252 542 0.03Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 2 535 198 2 426 959 4 962 157 31.46 15–64 4 782 435 4 980 836 9 763 271 61.89 65+ 498 302 551 019 1 049 321 6.65

Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 8 783 789 8 967 488 17 751 277 100 0–4 845 954 808 798 1 654 752 9.32 5–9 853 987 817 229 1 671 216 9.41 10–14 861 741 823 598 1 685 339 9.49 15–19 833 964 798 770 1 632 734 9.20 20–24 778 930 755 659 1 534 589 8.64 25–29 712 218 706 341 1 418 559 7.99 30–34 647 958 658 656 1 306 614 7.36 35–39 590 249 618 416 1 208 665 6.81 40–44 528 482 571 807 1 100 289 6.20 45–49 464 207 509 979 974 186 5.49 50–54 406 015 446 926 852 941 4.80 55–59 350 539 387 801 738 340 4.16 60–64 290 143 324 072 614 215 3.46 65–69 226 290 257 338 483 628 2.72 70–74 165 840 194 960 360 800 2.03 75–79 112 069 138 213 250 282 1.41 80–84 66 621 85 696 152 317 0.86 85–89 32 786 42 792 75 578 0.43 90–94 12 487 16 097 28 584 0.16 95–99 3 192 4 184 7 376 0.04 100+ 117 156 273 <0.01Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 2 561 682 2 449 625 5 011 307 28.23 15–64 5 602 705 5 778 427 11 381 132 64.11 65+ 619 402 739 436 1 358 838 7.65

Geography Due to the prevalence of malaria and yellow fever in the coastal region until the end of the 19th century, the Ecuadorian population was most heavily concentrated in the highlands and valleys of the "Sierra" region. In today's population approximately 50% of the population resides in the Coastal (Costa) region, while another 45% lives in the Andean Highland (Sierra) region. This means that roughly 95% of Ecuador's population is concentrated in these two regions, which together comprise only about half of the country's landmass. In contrast, the Amazonian (Oriente) region, which accounts for approximately half of Ecuador's total land area, is home to a 3-4% of the population. The smallest region, the Insular (Galapagos) region, has less than 0.2% of the total population.

The "Oriente" region, consisting of Amazonian lowlands to the east of the Andes and covering about half the country's land area, remains sparsely populated and contains only about 3% of the country's population, that for the most are indigenous peoples who maintain a wary distance from the recent Mestizo and white settlers. This is partly because of a history of violence between lowland Indigenous people and mestizo and white settlers. Although this history goes back to the colonial era, cycles of violence impacted local demographics of the Oriente as late as the early twentieth century. During the rubber boom, rubber barons enslaved native people and took them far away from Oriente towns to tap rubber. Sometimes they were also sold in Iquitos. In the early twentieth century, local observers estimated that tens of thousands of Indigenous people were taken downriver into Peru from Ecuador's Oriente.Matthew Ford, "The Rubber Economy in the Ecuadorian Amazon" in Ángela Vergara (editor), Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History (Dec. 2013). https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/61800/chapter/546347498?searchresult=1

The territories of the "Oriente" are home to as many as nine indigenous groups: Quichua, Shuar, Achuar, Waorani, Siona, Secoya, Shiwiar, and Cofan, all represented politically by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon, CONFENIAE.

As a result of the oil exploration and the development of the infrastructure required for the exploitation of the oil fields in the eastern jungles during the seventies and early eighties, there was a wave of settlement in the region. The Majority of these wave of internal immigration came from the southern province of Loja as a result of a drought that lasted three years and affected the southern provinces of the country. This boom of the petroleum industry has led to a mushrooming of the town of Lago Agrio (Nueva Loja) as well as substantial deforestation and pollution of wetlands and lakes.

Vital statistics Registration of vital events is in Ecuador not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. PeriodLive birthsper yearDeathsper yearNatural changeper yearCBR*CDR*NC*TFR*IMR*Life expectancy total males females 1950–1955 169,000 71,000 98,00045.619.226.46.7514048.447.149.6 1955–1960 190,000 71,000 119,00044.816.728.16.7512951.450.152.7 1960–1965 214,000 71,000 143,00043.614.529.16.6511954.753.456.1 1965–1970 239,000 73,000 166,00042.213.029.26.4010756.855.458.2 1970–1975 258,000 74,000 184,00039.611.428.25.809558.957.460.5 1975–1980 270,000 71,000 199,00036.29.526.75.058261.459.763.2 1980–1985 285,000 68,000 217,00033.58.025.54.456964.562.566.7 1985–1990 302,000 64,000 238,00031.46.724.74.005667.565.369.9 1990–1995 311,000 63,000 248,00028.75.822.93.554470.167.672.7 1995–2000 316,000 64,000 252,00026.35.420.93.203372.369.775.2 2000–2005 313,000 68,000 245,00024.25.119.12.942574.271.377.3 2005–2010 323,000 74,000 249,00022.15.017.12.692175.072.178.1 2010–2015 329,000 80,000 249,00021.05.115.92.561776.473.679.3 2015–2020 330,000 85,000 245,00019.95.114.82.441477.674.980.4 2020–2025 18.55.213.32.32 2025–2030 17.05.411.62.22 * CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Births and deaths