Provinces of Ecuador explained

Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces (Spanish; Castilian: provincias, singularprovincia). The provinces of Ecuador and their capitals are:

List

Map key	Province	Capital	Population (2022 census)^[1]	Area (km^2)	Established
1		Cuenca	801,609	8,189	1824
2		Guaranda	199,078	4,148	1884
3		Azogues	227,578	3,669	1880
4		Tulcán	172,828	3,790	1880
5		Riobamba	471,933	5,999	1824
6		Latacunga	470,210	6,085	1851
7		Machala	714,592	5,879	1884
8		Esmeraldas	553,900	16,132	1847
9		Puerto Baquerizo Moreno	28,583	8,010	1973
10		Guayaquil	4,391,923	15,927	1824
11		Ibarra	469,879	4,611	1824
12		Loja	485,421	11,100	1824
13		Babahoyo	898,652	7,100	1860
14		Portoviejo	1,592,840	19,427	1824
15		Macas	192,508	25,690	1954
16		Tena	131,675	12,476	1959
17		Puerto Francisco de Orellana	182,166	21,691	1998
18		Puyo	111,915	29,068	1959
19		Quito	3,089,473	9,692	1824
20		Santa Elena	385,735	3,696	2007
21		Santo Domingo	492,969	4,180	2007
22		Nueva Loja	199,014	18,612	1989
23		Ambato	563,532	3,222	1860
24		Zamora	110,973	10,556	1953
Total	Ecuador	Quito	16,938,986	283561sqkm

¹ Population as per the census carried out on 2022-10-01^[2]

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.^[3]
• 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.^[4]
• El Piedrero: incorporated into Guayas Province by the Presidential decree in 2017.^[5]
• Matilde Esther: incorporated into Guayas Province by the Presidential decree in 2017^[6]

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 Sucumbios. 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,^[7] is also under a special unit.^[8]

See also

• List of Ecuadorian provinces by Human Development Index
• Cantons of Ecuador
• , ISO 3166-2 for codes.
• Leaders of Ecuador provinces

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ecuador creció en 2.5 millones de personas entre 2010 y 2022.
2. "Ecuador: Urban Places", https://www.citypopulation.de/php/ecuador,php, accessed 10 July 2017
3. Web site: Las Golondrinas le pertenece a Imbabura. es. 16 October 2016.
4. Web site: La Manga del Cura decide pertenecer a Manabí. 28 September 2015 . es. 28 September 2015.
5. News: Con 7 decretos ejecutivos, Correa define los límites de Guayas . 15 June 2019 . El Telégrafo . 20 May 2017 . es.
6. News: Con 7 decretos ejecutivos, Correa define los límites de Guayas . 15 June 2019 . El Telégrafo . 20 May 2017 . es.
7. Web site: Niveles administrativos de planificación . Secretaría Nacional de Planificación y Desarrollo . September 24, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924073955/http://www.planificacion.gob.ec/3-niveles-administrativos-de-planificacion/ . September 24, 2015 . live . mdy-all .
8. Web site: Región 4 – Santo Domingo, Manabí y Galápagos . Ministry of Production, Employment and Competitiveness Coordination . February 20, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111127225748/http://www.mcpec.gob.ec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1047&Itemid=108 . November 27, 2011 .