1981 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1981 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
2,512 km'; two-thirds of island extremely rugged, consisting of volcanic mountains; 48,600 hectares (less than onefifth of the land) under cultivation
Branches
Council of Ministers; appointive 30-member Advisory Council
Coastline
201 km
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm
Member of
Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), GCC.IBRD, ICAO, IFAD, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ISCON, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
most of the population is of thoroughly intermixed ancestry of French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, and Indian origin
Labor force
primarily agricultural workers; high seasonal unemployment
Language
French (official), Creole widely used
Literacy
over 80% among younger generation
Nationality
noun — Reunionese (sing, and pi.); adjective — Reunionese
Population
521,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.4%
Religion
94% Roman Catholic
Government
Branches
Reunion is administered by a Prefect appointed by the French Minister of Interior, assisted by a Secretary General and an elected 36-man General Council
Capital
Saint-Denis
Elections
last municipal and general council elections in 1976; parliamentary election June 1981
Government leader
Prefect Michel LEVALLOIS
Legal system
French law
Official name
Department of Reunion
Suffrage
universal adult
Type
overseas department of France; represented in French Parliament by three deputies and two senators
Economy
Agriculture
farming and grazing on small scale; commercial fishing increasing in importance; most food imported; rice and dates staple diet
Budget
(1980) revenue $5.2 billion, expenditure $3.0 billion
Electric power
capacity 903,900 kW (1980); 2.416 billion kWh produced (1980), 10,737 kWh per capita
Exports
crude oil dominates; exports $6.2 billion (1980) of which petroleum is $5.8 billion
Fiscal year
1 April-31 March
GNP
$5.0 billion (1979), $29,900 plus per capita
Imports
$1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1980)
Major industries
oil production and refining; crude oil production from onshore and offshore averaged 473,000 b/d (1980); 100% takeover was announced in October 1976 of the Qatar Petroleum Company, still negotiating with Qatar Shell about offshore fields; oil revenues accrued $4.7 billion (est.) in 1980, representing 91% of government/royal family income; major development projects include $7 million harbor at Ad Dawhah, fertilizer plant, two desalting plants, refrigerated storage for fishing, and a cement plant
Monetary conversion rate
1 Qatar riyal=US$0.27 (1980)
Communications
Airfields
4 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways, 1 with runways over 3,659 m, 1 with runways, 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
3 major transport aircraft, including 1 leased in
Highways
805 km total; 442 km bituminous; 362 km gravel; undetermined mileage of earth tracks
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 31 December 1978, $157 million; 7.3% of" central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, about 115,000; about 62,000 fit for military service
Pipelines
crude oil, 169 km; natural gas, 97 km
Ports
1 major (Ad Dawhah), 1 minor
Railroads
none
Telecommunications
good urban facilities; 29,000 telephones (15.4 per 100 popl.); international service through an Indian Ocean satellite station and a troposcatter link to Bahrain; 2 AM, 1 FM, and 2 TV stations DEFENSE FORCES