CATEGORIES
◆ COMMUNICATIONS(8 fields)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
1 (2000)
Internet country code
.re
Internet users
10,000 (2000)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001)
Telephone system
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use
268,500 (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular
197,000 (September 2000)
Television broadcast stations
35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001)
◆ ECONOMY(36 fields)
Agriculture - products
sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn
Budget
revenues: $1.26 billion expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998)
Currency
euro (EUR)
Currency code
EUR
Debt - external
$NA
Economic aid - recipient
$NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France
Economy - overview
The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France.
Electricity - consumption
1.005 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production
1.08 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 55.5% hydro: 44.5% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Exchange rates
euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998)
Exports
$214 million f.o.b. (1997)
Exports - commodities
sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993)
Exports - partners
France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 8% industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita
purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
2.5% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports
$2.5 billion c.i.f. (1997)
Imports - commodities
manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products
Imports - partners
France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000)
Industrial production growth rate
NA%
Industries
sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
NA%
Labor force
309,900 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000)
Oil - consumption
18,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports
NA (2001)
Oil - imports
NA (2001)
Oil - production
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line
NA%
Unemployment rate
36% (1999 est.)
◆ GEOGRAPHY(17 fields)
Area
total: 2,517 sq km water: 10 sq km land: 2,507 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Rhode Island
Climate
tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April
Coastline
207 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m
Environment - current issues
NA
Geographic coordinates
21 06 S, 55 36 E
Geography - note
this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean
Irrigated land
120 sq km (1998 est.)
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
arable land: 13.2% permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.)
Location
Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
Map references
World
Maritime claims
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Natural hazards
periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano
Natural resources
fish, arable land, hydropower
Terrain
mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast
◆ GOVERNMENT(19 fields)
Administrative divisions
none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons
Capital
Saint-Denis
Constitution
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Country name
conventional long form: Department of Reunion conventional short form: Reunion local short form: Ile de la Reunion local long form: none former: Bourbon Island
Dependency status
overseas department of France
Diplomatic representation from the US
none (overseas department of France)
Diplomatic representation in the US
none (overseas department of France)
Executive branch
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA) elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA
Flag description
the flag of France is used
Government type
NA
Independence
none (overseas department of France)
International organization participation
FZ, InOC, WFTU
Judicial branch
Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel
Legal system
French law
Legislative branch
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1
National holiday
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
Political parties and leaders
Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]
Political pressure groups and leaders
NA
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
◆ INTRODUCTION(1 fields)
Background
The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route.
◆ MILITARY(6 fields)
Military - note
defense is the responsibility of France
Military branches
no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie)
Military manpower - availability
males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service
males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age
18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually
males: 6,795 (2003 est.)
◆ PEOPLE(19 fields)
Age structure
0-14 years: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501) 15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.)
Birth rate
20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate
5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Ethnic groups
French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
NA%
HIV/AIDS - deaths
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
NA
Infant mortality rate
total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births
Languages
French (official), Creole widely used
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 73.43 years male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.)
Median age
total: 26.4 years male: 25.2 years female: 27.5 years (2002)
Nationality
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural) adjective: Reunionese
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Population
755,171 (July 2003 est.)
Population growth rate
1.47% (2003 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.)
◆ TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES(1 fields)
Disputes - international
none
◆ TRANSPORTATION(6 fields)
Airports
2 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways
total: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)
Highways
total: 2,724 km paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994)
Ports and harbors
Le Port, Pointe des Galets
Railways
0 km
Waterways
none