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

NOTE: The information regarding Reunion on this page is re-published from the 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Reunion Economy 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Reunion Economy 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.