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                                   
                                                                                
