Ecuador: cost of living

What is the inflation rate in Ecuador?

Consumer prices in Ecuador rose 1.34% in the year to September 2026, compared with 0.72% a year earlier, according to the INEC's consumer price index bulletin for September 2026. Prices rose 0.30% in September alone and 1.65% since December 2025.

Food prices rose 1.14% in September. From July 2026 the INEC publishes the index on a new base (July 2025 – June 2026 = 100), using an updated basket of goods and services and the 2018 international classification of consumption. The bulletin also reports the cost of the basic family basket.

Official sources: consumer price index bulletin for September 2026

How much does the basic family basket cost in Ecuador?

The basic family consumption basket (CFBC) cost USD 833.82 in September 2026, up from USD 828.06 in August, according to the INEC's consumer price index bulletin. It cost USD 847.79 in the Sierra region and USD 820.91 on the Coast, and Cuenca was the most expensive city.

The basket is a monthly measure of the cost of the goods and services a four-person household needs, based on the spending of households whose main income comes from paid work. The INEC publishes the basket cost for each city and region alongside the monthly index.

Official sources: consumer price index bulletin

What is the poverty rate in Ecuador?

21.4% of Ecuadorians were in income poverty in December 2025, and 8.3% in extreme poverty, according to the INEC's poverty report. Poverty was 13.8% in urban areas and 37.6% in rural areas.

A person is counted as poor when household income per person is below USD 92.40 a month, and extremely poor below USD 52.07. Poverty was 28.0% in December 2024; the INEC says the national fall was not statistically significant, while the drop in urban areas (from 20.9%) was. Inequality, measured by the Gini index, was 0.470. The INEC also publishes poverty by consumption, by unmet basic needs and a multidimensional measure on its poverty page.

Official sources: poverty report · poverty page

What are the tax rates in Ecuador?

Ecuador's standard rate of value added tax (IVA) is 13%, with a 0% rate for listed goods and services and a 5% rate for construction materials, according to the Internal Revenue Service (SRI). Companies pay income tax at 25% of taxable profits, according to the SRI's income tax page.

The 25% company rate rises by three points where owners are based in tax havens and is reduced for reinvested profits, new companies, micro and small firms and regular exporters. Individuals pay income tax using progressive tables published by the SRI for each tax year, with a basic tax-free band; older people and people with disabilities get extra tax-free allowances. The VAT rate is the one in force as stated by the SRI on 15 October 2026.

Official sources: Internal Revenue Service (SRI) · income tax page

How fast are prices rising in Ecuador?

0.7%: that is consumer price inflation in Ecuador for 2025, according to the IMF. Since 2005 it has ranged from -0.3% (2020) to 8.4% (2008). Across Latin America & Caribbean the middle value was 2.1%, and Ecuador placed 25th highest of 29. World rank, highest first: 139th of 165.

What is household spending per person in Ecuador?

$3,950: that is household consumption per person in Ecuador for 2025, according to the World Bank. The peak was $3,976 in 2023 and the low $2,910 in 2005. Latin America & Caribbean median: $4,566; Ecuador is 11th highest of 15. Worldwide: 63rd of 124.

How many people in Ecuador live on under $3 a day?

In 2025, the share of people living on less than $3.00 a day in Ecuador was 3.4%, according to the World Bank. That is the lowest since at least 2005.

What is the poverty rate in Ecuador?

21.4%: that is the share of people below the national poverty line in Ecuador for 2025, according to the World Bank. No year since 2005 has been lower. It is 5th highest of 8 in Latin America & Caribbean, where the median is 23.5%.

How unequal are incomes in Ecuador?

According to the World Bank, the Gini index in Ecuador was 45.9 in 2025. Since 2005 it has ranged from 44.6 (2023) to 53.4 (2007).

What is food insecurity in Ecuador?

31.1%: that is moderate or severe food insecurity in Ecuador for 2024, according to the FAO. The peak was 37.3% in 2021 and the low 20.7% in 2015. It is 9th highest of 21 in Latin America & Caribbean, where the median is 28.0%. Of 135 countries with 2024 data, 52nd highest.