| 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. |
| Location: |
Southern Africa,
island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
21 06 S, 55 36 E |
| Area: |
total:
2,512 sq km
land: 2,502 sq km
water: 10 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly smaller
than Rhode Island |
| Maritime
claims: |
exclusive
economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
tropical, but
temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May
to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
| Terrain: |
mostly rugged and
mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
| Natural
resources: |
fish, arable
land, hydropower |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
17%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 5%
forests and woodland: 35%
other: 41% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
60 sq km (1993
est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
periodic,
devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la
Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
| Environment
- current issues: |
NA |
| Population: |
732,570 (July
2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
32.07% (male 120,259; female 114,669)
15-64 years: 62.25% (male 224,347; female
231,698)
65 years and over: 5.68% (male 16,892; female
24,705) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.57% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
21.26
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
5.52 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| 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: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
8.49 deaths/1,000
live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 72.93 years
male: 69.53 years
female: 76.49 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.58 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
| Ethnic
groups: |
French, African,
Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic
86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
| Languages: |
French
(official), Creole widely used |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79%
male: 76%
female: 80% (1982 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion
local long form: none
local short form: Ile de la Reunion
former: Bourbon Island |
| Dependency
status: |
overseas
department of France |
| 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 |
| Independence: |
none (overseas
department of France) |
| National
holiday: |
Bastille Day, 14
July (1789) |
| Constitution: |
28 September 1958
(French Constitution) |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of
state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since
17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Robert POMMIES (since
NA 1996)
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
elections: French president elected by popular
vote for a seven-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 |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral
General Council (47 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 NA March
1994 (next to be held NA 2000); 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 - PCR 12, PS 12, UDF 11,
RPR 5, others 7; Regional Council - percent of vote by party
- NA%; seats by party - PCR 7, UDF 8, PS 6, RPR 4, various
right-wing candidates 15, various left-wing candidates 5
note: Reunion elects three representatives to
the French Senate; elections last held 14 April 1996 (next
to be held NA 2001); results - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - RPR 1, PCR 2; Reunion also elects five
deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last
held 25 May and 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002);
results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
PCR 3, PS 1, and RPR-UDF 1 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Court of Appeals
or Cour d'Appel |
| 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 |
| International
organization participation: |
FZ, InOC, WFTU |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
none (overseas
department of France) |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
none (overseas
department of France) |
| Flag
description: |
the flag of
France is used |
| Economy
- overview: |
The economy has
traditionally been based on agriculture. 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 more than 40% 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. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $3.4 billion (1998 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
3.8% (1998 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $4,800 (1998 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
NA% |
| Labor
force: |
261,000 (1995) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 8%,
industry 19%, services 73% (1990) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
42.8% (1998) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
NA
expenditures: NA |
| Industries: |
sugar, rum,
cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
1.1 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
54.55%
hydro: 45.45%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
1.023 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
sugarcane,
vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
| 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% (1994) |
| 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% (1994) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$NA; note -
substantial annual subsidies from France |
| Currency: |
French franc (FRF);
euro (EUR) |
| Exchange
rates: |
euros per US
dollar - 1.06594 (January 2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.9386
(1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367
(1997), 5.1155 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
236,500 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
85,000 (1999) |
| 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) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 2, FM 55,
shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
22 (plus 18
low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
127,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.re |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
10,000 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane
road)
unpaved: 1,424 km
note: 370 km of road are maintained by national
authorities, 754 km by departmental authorities and 1600 km
by local authorities (1994) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Le Port, Pointe
des Galets |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
French forces
(Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
18 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age
15-49: 190,846 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 97,497 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males:
6,243 (2001 est.) |
| Military
- note: |
defense is the
responsibility of France |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
|
