Spatial distribution of economic output and population in ecuadorian regions: 2015–2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53591/revug.v140i2.2968Keywords:
Economic geography, Territorial concentration, Regional inequality, Gross Value Added, Core–peripheryAbstract
This study examines the spatial distribution of Gross Value Added (GVA) and population in Ecuador during the period 2015–2023 from the analytical perspective of the New Economic Geography. The objective is to identify patterns of productive and demographic agglomeration, as well as the territorial disparities among the different provinces of the country. The research adopts a descriptive quantitative approach based on secondary data obtained from the Central Bank of Ecuador and the National Institute of Statistics and Census. By systematizing provincial information, the study analyzes the relative differences between land area, population, and value-added generation, allowing an examination of the territorial structure of the Ecuadorian economy and its recent evolution. The results reveal a high concentration of economic and demographic activity in the provinces of Guayas and Pichincha. Despite representing a relatively small share of the national territory, these provinces account for more than 58% of the national Gross Value Added and nearly half of the country’s population. This predominance is associated with higher levels of urbanization, infrastructure, productive diversification, and administrative functions, which consolidate their role as key hubs within the national economic system. In contrast, large areas of the Amazon region and the northern and southern highlands exhibit lower population densities, reduced productive dynamism, and an economic structure strongly linked to primary activities with limited productive linkages. This territorial configuration reproduces a center–periphery pattern that tends to reinforce regional inequalities and constrain processes of economic convergence. The findings provide an empirical basis for future research aimed at measuring territorial inequality more precisely through analytical tools such as Lorenz curves and Gini indices applied to the distribution of GVA and population.
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