Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces (, singularprovincia). The provinces of Ecuador and their capitals are:
List Location Province Capital Largest City Population (2022 census) Area (km2) Established Cuenca 801,609 8,189 1824 Guaranda 199,078 4,148 1884 AzoguesLa Troncal 227,578 3,669 1880 Tulcán 172,828 3,790 1880 Chimborazo Riobamba 471,933 5,999 1824 Latacunga 470,210 6,085 1851 Machala 714,592 5,879 1884 Esmeraldas 553,900 16,132 1847 Puerto Baquerizo MorenoPuerto Ayora 28,583 8,010 1973 Guayaquil 4,391,923 15,927 1824 Ibarra 469,879 4,611 1824 Loja 485,421 11,100 1824 BabahoyoQuevedo 898,652 7,100 1860 PortoviejoManta 1,592,840 19,427 1824 Macas 192,508 25,690 1954 Tena 131,675 12,476 1959 Puerto Francisco de Orellana 182,166 21,691 1998 Puyo 111,915 29,068 1959 Quito 3,089,473 9,692 1824 Santa ElenaLa Libertad 385,735 3,696 2007 Santo Domingo 492,969 4,180 2007 Nueva Loja 199,014 18,612 1989 Ambato 563,532 3,222 1860 Zamora 110,973 10,556 1953Total – – –16,938,986
1 Population as per the census carried out on 2022-10-01"Ecuador: Urban Places", https://www.citypopulation.de/php/ecuador,php, accessed 10 July 2017
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. 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. El Piedrero: incorporated into Guayas Province by the Presidential decree in 2017. Matilde Esther: incorporated into Guayas Province by the Presidential decree in 2017
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 Sucumbíos. 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, is also under a special unit.
See also List of Ecuadorian provinces by Human Development Index Cantons of Ecuador ISO 3166-2:EC, ISO 3166-2 for codes. Leaders of Ecuador provinces
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