| GEOGRAPHY |
| 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 |
| Capital: |
Saint-Denis |
| Location: |
Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
21 06 S, 55 36 E |
| Area: |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km
water: 10 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
| Land
Boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
207 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
fish, arable land, hydropower |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
NA |
| Administratives
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) |
| Legal
System; |
French law |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique VIAN (since 16 August 2004)
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 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 |
| Legislative
Branch: |
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)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); 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: |
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]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
776,948 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 30.4% (male 120,698/female 115,108)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 243,668/female 250,143)
65 years and over: 6.1% (male 19,234/female 28,097) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 26.72 years
male: 25.53 years
female: 27.92 years (2005 est.) |
| 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 |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
300,000 est (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
489,800 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
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: |
AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
| Internet country
code: |
.re |
| Internet hosts: |
|
| Internet users: |
150,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road)
unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1
foreign-owned: 1 (France 1)
registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
| Airports: |
2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
|
| Heliports: |
|
