]! ^! The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. 
]" ^" Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar ^# 21 06 S, 55 36 E ^$ World ^% `! 2,517 sq km `" 2,507 sq km `# 10 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Rhode Island ^' 0 km ^( 207 km ^) `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm ^* tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April ^+ mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast ^, `% Indian Ocean 0 m `& Piton des Neiges 3,069 m ^- fish, arable land, hydropower ^. `' 13.6% `( 1.2% `) 85.2% (2001) ^/ 120 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano ^1 NA ^2 this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean 
]# ^3 776,948 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 30.4% (male 120,698/female 115,108) `+ 63.6% (male 243,668/female 250,143) `, 6.1% (male 19,234/female 28,097) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 26.72 years `- 25.53 years `. 27.92 years (2005 est.) ^6 1.38% (2005 est.) ^7 19.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.05 male(s)/female `+ 0.97 male(s)/female `, 0.68 male(s)/female `1 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births `- 8.52 deaths/1,000 live births `. 6.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 73.95 years `- 70.55 years `. 77.52 years (2005 est.) ^= 2.47 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA% ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Reunionese (singular and plural) `3 Reunionese ^B French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian ^C Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) ^D French (official), Creole widely used ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 88.9% `- 87% `. 90.8% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Department of Reunion `5 Reunion `V none `W Ile de la Reunion `X Bourbon Island ^G overseas department of France ^H NA ^I Saint-Denis ^J 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 ^K none (overseas department of France) ^L Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) ^M 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) ^N French law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Laurent CAYREL (since 16 July 2005) `7 President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) `8 NA `9 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 ^Q 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) `9 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) `: 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 ^R Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel ^S 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] ^T NA ^U InOC, UPU, WFTU ^V none (overseas department of France) ^W none (overseas department of France) ^X the flag of France is used 
]% ^Y The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. 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 one-third 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 segments 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. ^Z $4.57 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 2.5% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $6,000 (2004 est.) ^] `; 8% `< 19% `= 73% (2000 est.) ^^ 309,900 (2000) ^_ agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) ^` 36% (1999 est.) ^a NA% _! `> NA% `? NA% _" NA% _# `@ $1.26 billion `A $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998) _$ sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn _% sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction _& NA% _' 1.166 billion kWh (2002) _( 1.084 billion kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 18,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $214 million f.o.b. (1997) _0 sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) _1 France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) _2 $2.5 billion c.i.f. (1997) _3 manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products _4 France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) _5 $NA _6 NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) _7 euro (EUR) _8 euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 300,000 est (2001) _; 489,800 (2002) _< `B adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis `C modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network `D 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 _= AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) _> 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) _? .re _A 150,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 1,214 km (including 88 km of four-lane roads) (2001) _C Le Port _K `! 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT by type: chemical tanker 1 `S 1 (France 1) `\ 1 (2005) _D 2 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `G 1 `_ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) _M 18 years of age (2004) _] males age 18-49: 183,421 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 142,578 (2005 est.) _^ `` 7,339 (2005 est.) _G defense is the responsibility of France 
]) _H none 