STATISTICS: REUNION

Runion Official name: Dpartement de la Runion (Department of Runion). Political status: overseas department (France) with two legislative houses (General Council ; Regional Council ). Chief of state: President of France. Heads of government: Prefect (for France); President of General Council (for Runion); President of Regional Council (for Runion). Capital: Saint-Denis. Official language: French. Official religion: none. Monetary unit: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes; valuation (Sept. 25, 1998) 1 U.S.$ = F 5.60; 1 = F 9.53. Demography Population (1998): 692,000. Density (1998): persons per sq mi 714.9, persons per sq km 276.0. Urban-rural (1995): urban 67.8%; rural 32.2%. Sex distribution (1995): male 49.00%; female 51.00%. Age breakdown (1995): under 15, 29.4%; 15-29, 27.7%; 30-44, 21.7%; 45-59, 12.2%; 60-74, 6.9%; 75 and over, 2.1%. Population projection: (2000) 716,000; (2010) 847,000. Doubling time: 49 years. Ethnic composition (1983): mixed race 63.5%; East Indian 28.2%; Chinese 2.2%; white 1.9%; East African 1.1%; other 3.1%. Religious affiliation (1995): Roman Catholic 89.4%; Pentecostal 2.7%; other Christian 1.8%; other (mostly Muslim) 6.1%. Major cities (1990): Saint-Denis (1994) 104,454{1}; Le Port 29,190; Le Tampon 27,300; Saint-Andr 25,237; Saint-Pierre 23,899. Vital statistics Birth rate per 1,000 population (1996): 19.6 (world avg. 25.0); (1994) legitimate 44.1%; illegitimate 55.9%. Death rate per 1,000 population (1996): 5.4 (world avg. 9.3). Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (1996): 14.2 (world avg. 15.7). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 1996): 2.3. Marriage rate per 1,000 population (1996): 4.9. Divorce rate per 1,000 population (1995): 1.4. Life expectancy at birth (1996): male 71.7 years; female 78.0 years. Major causes of death per 100,000 population (1993): diseases of the circulatory system 170.1; malignant neoplasms (cancers) 99.7; accidents, suicide, and violence 65.3; diseases of the digestive system (including all deaths associated with alcoholism) 59.5; diseases of the respiratory system 41.5. National economy Budget (1995). Revenue: F 4,067,000,000 (receipts from the French central government and local administrative bodies 49.8%, subsidies and related receipts 12.8%, new loans 8.6%). Expenditures: F 4,066,000,000 (current expenditures 69.0%, development expenditures 31.0%). Public debt (external, outstanding): n.a. Tourism (1995): receipts U.S.$224,000,000; expenditures, n.a. Gross national product (at current market prices; 1995): U.S.$5,850,000,000 (U.S.$8,880 per capita). Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (1996): sugarcane 1,806,000 corn (maize) 18,000, cabbages 16,000, potatoes 15,000, pineapples 6,500, bananas 6,000, green onions and shallots 5,800, tomatoes 4,000, eggplants 3,200, pimento 430, ginger 95, tobacco 20, vanilla 6, geranium essence (1995) 5.2; livestock (number of live animals) 95,000 pigs, 32,000 goats, 26,500 cattle; roundwood (1995) 36,100 cu m; fish (value of catch in F '000,000; 1994) lobster 45{2}, other 47. Mining and quarrying: gravel and sand for local use. Manufacturing (value added in F '000,000; 1994): construction materials (mostly cement) 345; alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages (excluding milk) 253; fabricated metals 252; printing and publishing 129; refined sugar and other sugar products 123. Construction (value of public construction; 1994): residential F 741,600,000; nonresidential, n.a. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 1996) 1,386,000,000 ( 1,143,000,000); coal, none (none); crude petroleum, none (none); petroleum products (metric tons; 1995) none (507,000); natural gas, none (none). Population economically active (1993): total 234,576; activity rate of total population 36.9% (participation rates: ages 15-64, 56.7%; female 41.7%; unemployed [July-September 1996] 39.7%). Household income and expenditure. Average household size (1994) 3.5; income per household (1994) F 114,900 (U.S.$20,695); sources of income (1994): wages and salaries and self-employment 68.9%, transfer payments 16.0%, interest, dividends, and self-employment 15.1%; expenditure (1994-95): food and beverages 22.0%, transportation and communications 19.0%, housing and energy 10.0%, household furnishings 8.0%, recreation 6.0%. Land use (1994): forested 35.2%; meadows and pastures 4.8%; agricultural and under permanent cultivation 19.6%; other 40.4%. Foreign trade Imports (1995): F 13,494,000,000 (consumer goods 25.3%, food and agricultural products 20.1%, transport equipment 14.2%, fabricated metals 7.0%, mineral fuels 4.7%). Major import sources: France 66.3%; Italy 3.5%; Bahrain 3.1%. Exports (1995): F 1,036,000,000 (sugar 63.0%, machinery and apparatus 9.9%, transport equipment 4.5%, lobster 4.2%, rum 2.4%). Major export destinations: France 71.4%; Japan 6.1%; Belgium 5.0%. Transport Transport. Railroads:{3}. Roads (1994): total length 1,711 mi, 2,754 km (paved 79%). Vehicles (1995): passenger cars 157,700; trucks and buses 38,600. Merchant marine (1992): vessels (100 gross tons and over) 7; total deadweight tonnage 33,476. Air transport (1996): passenger arrivals 629,034, passenger departures 624,733; cargo unloaded 13,678 metric tons, cargo loaded 4,396 metric tons; airports (1996) with scheduled flights 1. Education and health Educational attainment (1986-87). Percentage of population age 25 and over having: no formal schooling 18.8%; primary education 44.3%; lower secondary 21.6%; upper secondary 11.0%; higher 4.3%. Literacy (1996): total population age 16-66 literate 373,487 (91.3%); males literate 179,154 (89.9%); females literate 194,333 (92.7%). Health (1995): physicians (1996) 1,164 (1 per 571 persons); hospital beds 2,902 (1 per 225 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births 7.3. Food (1995): daily per capita caloric intake 3,308 (vegetable products 79%, animal products 21%); 146% of FAO recommended minimum requirement. Military Total active duty personnel (1996): 4,000 French troops{4}. {1} Urban population. {2} Lobster are trapped around the islands of Saint-Paul and Nouvelle Amsterdam in the overseas territory of French Southern and Antarctic Lands. {3} No public railways; railways in use are for sugar industry. {4} Includes troops stationed on Mayotte.