Map of Santa Elena, Ecuador

Santa Elena is the administrative centre of Santa Elena, Ecuador, with a population of about 42,214. It lies at 2.2262°S, 80.8587°W. Santa Elena is about 341 km (212 mi) southwest of Quito, the capital. The nearest city on our map is La Libertad, 6 km to the west.

Santa Elena at a glance

Where is Santa Elena?

• The 26th largest city in Ecuador by recorded population.
• Located in the Southern and Western hemispheres.
• Daylight ranges from about 12 h 00 min on the shortest day to 12 h 15 min on the longest day (around 21 June and 21 December).

Cities near Santa Elena

• La Libertad — 6 km west
• Salinas — 10 km west
• Jipijapa — 102 km north
• Daule — 106 km northeast
• Guayaquil — 108 km east
• Eloy Alfaro — 112 km east
• Portoviejo — 138 km north
• Milagro — 141 km east
• Balzar — 143 km northeast
• Machala — 152 km southeast

Largest cities in Santa Elena

• Salinas — 43,862

Largest cities in Ecuador

• Quito — 2,781,641
• Guayaquil — 2,723,665
• Cuenca — 636,996
• Santo Domingo de los Colorados — 458,580
• Ambato — 387,309
• Portoviejo — 321,800
• Eloy Alfaro — 315,724
• Machala — 289,141
• Loja — 274,112
• Manta — 264,281

Map of Ecuador and all its cities →

Sources: place names, coordinates, populations and time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0, data retrieved October 2026). Population figures are the latest values recorded in GeoNames; depending on the country they refer to the city proper, a municipality or a wider urban area, so they can differ from census or metro-area figures. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.