What Is Ecuador's Population and Ethnic Makeup?
Ecuador’s population is just over 15 million. 67 percent of Ecuadorians live in cities. It is a young population, with a median age of 26. Since 2010, the population has grown by 1.6 percent each year.
71.9 percent of Ecuadorians are mestizo, an ethnicity made up of both Spanish and indigenous heritage. Afro-Ecuadorians make up 7.2 percent of the population. Indigenous people comprise another 7 percent, with heavy concentrations around Otavalo and the Amazon Basin. 6.1 percent of the population is white.
In the coastal Los Ríos Province, a group of subsistence farmers have opted to identify as Montubio. They base their identity on their traditional, agricultural lifestyle. Ethnically they are still considered mestizo. Montubian people make up around 7.4 percent of Ecuador’s population.
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