New national business directory provides data

Nineteen percent of Ecuador’s companies, or about 134,000, are located in Quito according to the National Business Directory prepared by Ecuador’s National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC).  The directory shows that there are 704 556 companies in the country.

Quito’s lead comes as a surpirse, according to Pavel Muñoz, head of the National Secretariat for Planning and Development, since Guayaquil has a population of 3.1 million compared to Quito’s 2.5 million. “It’s an interesting statistic and shows the importance of being a capital city,” says Muñoz.

In addition to listing businesses, the new business directory also provides information about business categories, employment, housing, Social Security payments, sales and labor organizations.

Although there are more total businesses registered in Quito, the directory shows that Guayaquil has more business employment and leads Quito in the manufacturing category.