Réunion's economy has been based almost entirely on sugar for more than a century. Cane is grown on most cultivable land, though vanilla bean and some fruits and vegetables, tobacco, and geraniums (for perfume) are also produced. About a dozen big estates with milling facilities produce the bulk of the cane crop. Sugar represents about 75 % of Réunion's exports, and such sugar by-products as rum and molasses account for much of the rest. Much of Réunion's trade is with France. Unemployment continues to be a problem. A few paved roads connect the main towns on the island. Le Port can handle large ships through artificial port facilities. An international airport is located near Saint-Denis.
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 portions 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.
As an overseas département of France, Réunion elects five deputies to the French National Assembly and three to the Senate. The département is administered by an appointed prefect and a general council composed of 44 elected members. There is also a regional council (created 1974) for Réunion that coordinates social and economic development policies. The Réunionese are full citizens of France, and classes in the département's schools are conducted in French.
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)
Uncolonised when first visited by Portuguese navigators in the early 1500s, Réunion was settled in the mid-1600s, when the French East India Company accomplished a layover station for ships rounding the Cape of Good Hope en route to India. African slaves were imported first to work coffee and then sugar plantations; with the abolition of slavery in 1848, indentured labourers from Indochina, India, and East Africa were brought in. Réunion was governed by France as a colony until 1946, when it became an overseas département of France. The headquarters of the French military forces in the Indian Ocean was accomplished on Réunion in 1973, with the reached of personnel withdrawn from Madagascar. Pop. (1992 est.) 623,000.
Réunion, overseas department and administrative region of France, largest of the Mascarene island group in the Indian Ocean, southeast of Madagascar. The island is volcanic in origin and is mountainous. The highest peak, Piton des Neiges, rises 3,069 m (10,069 ft) above sea level. The climate is tropical, with a rainy season lasting from November to April; the island is subject to destructive tropical storms. The island's economy is controlled by the cultivation of sugarcane. The principal exports are sugar, lobsters, rum, vanilla, and perfume essences. The capital of Réunion is Saint-Denis, a port on the northern coast. The island is densely populated. The inhabitants are mainly of mixed African, Asian, and French descent, and about 90 % are Roman Catholic.
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French is officially language.
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International organization Member
FZ, InOC, WFTU.
Réunion was first settled in the 17th century by colonists from France. Slave labourers were brought in from East Africa to work on plantations, and later Malays, Annamites, Chinese, and Malabar Indians were imported as indentured labourers. Today most of the population is of mixed descent (Creole), with African descent predominant. The limited amount of land has induced substantial emigration, largely to France but also to Madagascar. The island's population density is high, even in areas that typically would be considered too mountainous to support a dense population. Saint-Denis, the capital and largest urban area on the island, contains almost one-fifth of the total population. The language in common use on the island is Creole; French, is the official language. About 90 % of the population is Roman Catholic.
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]
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.
