REUNION
(overseas department of France)
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 2,510 km2; land area: 2,500 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Rhode Island
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 201 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical, but 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
Natural resources: fish, arable land
Land use: arable land 20%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and
pastures 4%; forest and woodland 35%; other 39%; includes irrigated
2%
Environment: periodic devastating cyclones
Note: located 750 km east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean
PEOPLE
Population: 607,086 (July 1991), growth rate 1.9% (1991)
Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 76 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Reunionese (sing. and pl.);
adjective--Reunionese
Ethnic divisions: most of the population is of intermixed French,
African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, and Indian ancestry
Religion: Roman Catholic 94%
Language: French (official); Creole widely used
Literacy: 69% (male 67%, female 74%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1982)
Labor force: NA; agriculture 30%, industry 21%, services 49%
(1981); 63% of population of working age (1983)
Organized labor: General Confederation of Workers of Reunion (CGTR)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Department of Reunion
Type: overseas department of France
Capital: Saint-Denis
Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France)
Independence: none (overseas department of France)
Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
Legal system: French law
National holiday: Taking of the Bastille, 14 July (1789)
Executive branch: French president, commissioner of the Republic
Legislative branch: unicameral General Council, unicameral Regional
Council
Judicial branch: Court of Appeals (Cour d'appel)
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Francois MITTERRAND
(since 21 May 1981);
Head of Government--Commissioner of the Republic Daniel CONSTANTIN
(since September 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
Rally for the Republic (RPR), Francois MAS;
Union for French Democracy (UDF), Gilbert GERARD;
Communist Party of Reunion (PCR), Paul VERGES;
France-Reunion Future (FRA), Andre THIEN AH KOON;
Socialist Party (PS), Jean-Claude FRUTEAU;
Social Democrats (CDS), other small parties
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
General Council--last held March 1986 (next to be held 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(36 total) number of seats by party NA;
Regional Council--last held 16 March 1986
(next to be held March 1991);
results--RPR/UDF 36.8%, PCR 28.2%, FRA and other right wing 17.3%,
PS 14.1%, other 3.6%;
seats--(45 total) RPR/UDF 18, PCR 13, FRA and other right wing 8, PS 6;
French Senate--last held 24 September 1989 (next to be held
September 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(3 total) RPR-UDF 1, PS 1, independent 1;
French National Assembly--last held 5 and 12 June 1988
(next to be held June 1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(5 total) PCR 2, RPR 1, UDF-CDS 1, FRA 1
Communists: Communist party small but has support among sugarcane
cutters, the minuscule Popular Movement for the Liberation of Reunion
(MPLR), and in the district of Le Port
Member of: FZ, WFTU
Diplomatic representation: as an overseas department of France,
Reunionese interests are represented in the US by France
Flag: 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 recently amounted to one-third of the labor force. The white
and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments
of the population, adding to the social tensions generated by poverty
and unemployment. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on
continued financial assistance from France.
GDP: $3.37 billion, per capita $6,000 (1987 est.); real growth
rate 9% (1987 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.3% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 35% (February 1991)
Budget: revenues $358 million; expenditures $914 million, including
capital expenditures of $NA (1986)
Exports: $166 million (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--sugar 75%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 4%,
lobster 3%, vanilla and tea 1%;
partners--France, Mauritius, Bahrain, South Africa, Italy
Imports: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco,
machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum
products;
partners--France, Mauritius, Bahrain, South Africa, Italy
External debt: NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; about 25% of GDP
Electricity: 245,000 kW capacity; 546 million kWh produced,
965 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: sugar, rum, cigarettes, several small shops producing
handicraft items
Agriculture: accounts for 30% of labor force; dominant sector of
economy; cash crops--sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco; food crops--tropical
fruits, vegetables, corn; imports large share of food needs
Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-88), $14.1 billion
Currency: French franc (plural--francs); 1 French franc (F) =
100 centimes
Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1--5.1307 (January 1991),
5.4453 (1990), 6.3801 (1989), 5.9569 (1988), 6.0107 (1987), 6.9261
(1986), 8.9852 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: 2,800 km total; 2,200 km paved, 600 km gravel, crushed
stone, or stabilized earth
Ports: Pointe des Galets
Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft
Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: adequate system for needs; modern open-wire
line and radio relay network; principal center Saint-Denis;
radiocommunication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new radio relay route
to Mauritius; 85,900 telephones; stations--3 AM, 13 FM, 1 (18 relays) TV;
1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 162,017; 83,959 fit for
military service; 5,979 reach military age (18) annually
Note: defense is the responsibility of France