CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Reunion


 * }

!| 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: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 10 sq km land: 2,507 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 1.2% other: 85.2% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Geography - note:
 * Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar
 * 21 06 S, 55 36 E
 * World
 * total: 2,517 sq km
 * slightly smaller than Rhode Island
 * 0 km
 * 207 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April
 * mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast
 * lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
 * fish, arable land, hydropower
 * arable land: 13.6%
 * 120 sq km (1998 est.)
 * periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano
 * NA
 * 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
 * }


 * }

!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 63.1% (male 238,553; female 245,236) 65 years and over: 6% (male 18,626; female 27,248) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 25.4 years female: 27.7 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: 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 (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 7.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 8.71 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 70.29 years female: 77.26 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Reunionese !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.)
 * 766,153 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 30.9% (male 121,050; female 115,440)
 * total: 26.5 years
 * 1.42% (2004 est.)
 * 19.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 7.95 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 73.69 years
 * 2.5 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
 * French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian
 * Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995)
 * French (official), Creole widely used
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
 * }


 * }

!| Country name: conventional short form: Reunion local short form: Ile de la Reunion local long form: none former: Bourbon Island !| Dependency status: !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: 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 !| Legislative branch: elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010) 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 (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 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 !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: !| Diplomatic representation from the US: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Department of Reunion
 * overseas department of France
 * NA
 * Saint-Denis
 * 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
 * none (overseas department of France)
 * Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)
 * 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)
 * French law
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique VIAN (since 16 August 2004)
 * 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)
 * Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel
 * 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]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA]
 * NA
 * InOC, UPU, WFTU
 * none (overseas department of France)
 * none (overseas department of France)
 * the flag of France is used
 * }


 * }

!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * 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.
 * purchasing power parity - $4.348 billion (2003 est.)
 * 2.5% (2003 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2001 est.)
 * agriculture: 8%
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * NA
 * 309,900 (2000)
 * agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000)
 * 36% (1999 est.)
 * revenues: $1.26 billion
 * sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn
 * sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction
 * NA
 * 1.08 billion kWh (2001)
 * 1.005 billion kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 18,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $214 million f.o.b. (1997)
 * sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993)
 * France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000)
 * $2.5 billion c.i.f. (1997)
 * manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products
 * France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000)
 * NA
 * $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.)
 * euro (EUR)
 * EUR
 * euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)
 * calendar year
 * }


 * }

!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 300,000 est (2001)
 * 489,800 (2002)
 * general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
 * AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001)
 * 173,000 (1997)
 * 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001)
 * 127,000 (1997)
 * .re
 * 1 (2000)
 * 150,000 (2002)
 * }


 * }

!| Highways: paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: by type: chemical tanker 1 foreign-owned: Sweden 1 registered in other countries: 1 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
 * total: 2,724 km
 * Le Port, Pointe des Galets
 * total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
 * 2 (2003 est.)
 * total: 2
 * }


 * }

!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: !| Military - note:
 * no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie)
 * 18 years of age (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 202,385 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 103,073 (2004 est.)
 * males: 7,070 (2004 est.)
 * defense is the responsibility of France
 * }