Socioeconomic development and environmental sustainability in Ecuador: analysis of public indicators (2015–2025)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51247/2px8kc64Keywords:
desarrollo socioeconómico, sostenibilidad ambiental, indicadores ambientales, Ecuador, análisis estadísticoAbstract
This study analyzes the relationship between socioeconomic development and environmental sustainability in Ecuador during the 2015–2025 period, examining public indicators related to gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, total population, urban population, protected areas, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, and freshwater withdrawal. A quantitative approach was adopted, using a non-experimental, longitudinal, descriptive-correlational design. Data were obtained from the World Bank and the EDGAR database and processed using RStudio. Descriptive statistics, linear regression, and Pearson correlation were applied to identify temporal variations and associations among the indicators. The results show a 19.23% increase in GDP per capita and a 12.44% increase in total population. The proportion of protected areas increased by 5.8 percentage points, while CO₂ emissions rose by 5.64%. A positive correlation was identified between GDP per capita and CO₂ emissions (r = 0.890), as well as between GDP per capita and protected areas (r = 0.826). However, these associations do not establish causal relationships. The study concludes that the combined analysis of socioeconomic and environmental indicators helps identify relevant trends in understanding the evolution of sustainability in Ecuador. Nevertheless, limitations in data coverage and the small number of observations constrain the interpretation of the findings
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